After a gutsy 6-4 victory over the North Queensland Cowboys in Round 1, the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs have since lost six in a row.
The latest - a 34-14 loss against the Brisbane Broncos - showed that the current pack of Dogs have potential but lack the ability to maintain form for more than 40 minutes.
These early struggling ways have led Bulldogs General Manager Phil Gould to take additional steps in the hopes of sparking a resurgence for the downtrodden side.
According toย Fox Sports' James Hooper, the former Penrith boss has delivered a spray to the Bulldogs squad ahead of their match against the Sydney Roosters this Saturday.
Gould, in the past, has shown a significant hands-on approach to the teams he manages - namely the Penrith Panthers, to which his fingerprints are all over their current success.
However, during his Bulldogs tenure, outside of his spearheading of Kyle Flanagan's return to first grade, Gould has stood largely out of the way.
Until now, as it's being reported Gould has made his presence felt during both a film session and an on-field training session.
As stated within Hooper's report, the manager aimed his spray at Flanagan along with a number of other players.
Bulldogs coach Trent Barrett has come out and thrown his support behind Gould and his current hands-on approach.
โItโs not the first time Gus has spoken to the players. He and I speak on a daily basis often more than ten times a day,โ Barrett toldย Fox Sports.
โWe thought it was a good idea. We had a chat last week about some statistics that we keep and then Gus came in and presented to the team.
โThere was a hell of a lot of improvement in the first half against the Broncos but then there were a couple of things that I thought Gus could help us with. It was good.
โI wanted Gus to have a voice in a certain part of the field and give the team a bit of a rocket around our discipline and our line speed.
โIโve absolutely got no dramas with it because Gus can help us. Thatโs what heโs there for. Heโs been terrific for me.
โHe wants to win too and we all want results so if he thinks he can help with a couple of things then by all means, help. Weโre all in it together.โ
The Bulldog's defensive collapse in the second half of their Round 7 match against the Broncos is the latest in a long line of disappointing performances where they just haven't been able to string a full 80 minutes together.
Hopefully, the interjection by Gould at training has sparked some fire in the current squad as not only are they facing a potential seven-game losing streak when they go up against a Roosters squad rearing to avenge a disappointing Anzac Day loss against the Dragons, but they'll be doing so without their captain Josh Jackson who's been ruled out of the contest with COVID.
