Bulldogs skipper Reed Mahoney has admitted he doubted his choice to hitch the Belmore-based outfit after a turbulent debut marketing campaign because the membership’s captain.
The 25-year-old landed in Belmore forward of the 2023 season and was handed the management function by rookie coach Cameron Ciraldo, calling upon his finals experiences with the Eels.
But what was in retailer for him was a far cry from Parramatta’s grand remaining look in 2022, with the Bulldogs ending in fifteenth place with solely seven wins from 24 video games.
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Mahoney was requested by foxsports.com.au if it was powerful shifting from a aspect that had been just one win away from lifting the premiership trophy to the Bulldogs
Mahoney admitted he briefly questioned whether or not his transfer was the best choice however revealed it was the character of the folks round him which ensured he saved the religion.
“Well they (Parramatta) didn’t make finals either so that made me feel better, look mate you want to come here and think you’re having an immediate impact on the group,” he stated.
“I probably put a bit too much on my shoulders that I was going to come here and do that, it was hard of course.
“I think Kiks (Kikau) and a lot of other boys had the same sort of feeling, you go ‘oh, I’m not sure I made the right decision’.
“But when you’ve got really good people around you, coaches and players, and you see where we are going and the people you have coming you just keep working every day.
“You keep building brick by brick, and I think the last 12 weeks of pre-season we have done that and I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.”
Outside of the 2018 season the place he solely performed eight video games for the picket spoon-winning Eels, Mahoney featured within the finals within the 4 different years he performed beneath Brad Arthur.
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The gun hooker was an integral determine in Parramatta’s success however admitted his performances weren’t as much as customary for the in his debut season as a captain.
“The whole thing was a learning for me, when someone says to you that you’re a captain people just see there’s a C next to your name,” Mahoney stated.
“It’s more than that, it’s what you do every day and everything you do there’s a consequence, whether that is right or wrong.
“The whole season was a lesson for me and I’ve had a lot of time in the off-season to reflect on that and try to be the best version of me so I can lead by example.
“Hoping I get the opportunity again to try and do that and keep trying to put things in place.”
Mahoney doesn’t must look far again into the NRL historical past books for inspirational leaders.
Storm legend Cameron Smith was named Dally M Captain of the Year 5 instances and steered each Melbourne and Queensland across the park for over a decade.
Meanwhile, gamers like Boyd Cordner and Paul Gallen led with their actions over their phrases in premierships victories for the Roosters and Sharks respectively.
For Mahoney, being a captain and enduring what was a tricky marketing campaign has solely made him have a deeper appreciation for these leaders who’ve come earlier than him.
“Yeah of course, you sort of appreciate all the captains that have captained for hundreds of games, multiple hundreds of games. You appreciate how good they’ve been for so long,” he stated.
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“It’s more than what people see between the four walls here and it’s more than what you do on the field that makes you a good captain.
“I’ve got a lot of learning to do and a lot of things to do to get myself right, but I’m loving the challenge and excited for what the future holds.”
It wasn’t simply Mahoney that endured a baptism of fireplace in 2023, it was additionally a nightmare for Ciraldo who was one in every of rugby league’s most touted coaches forward of his appointment.
Ciraldo, nevertheless, is aware of the worth in constructing a venture having spent years in Penrith’s teaching system earlier than working beneath Ivan Cleary and successful two premierships.
Mahoney stated his relationship with Ciraldo had grown over their first yr collectively.
“It’s hard, you obviously pick and choose at everything and it probably took me a while to put my hand up and say some of my footy wasn’t up to standard,”
“I think we’ve got a really good relationship where I can sit down in his office and have conversations, whether he’s right or I’m right, and at the end of the day we sort it out.
“Our relationship is building quite well and it’s still got a long way to go… you’ve got to build trust, you’ve got to build combinations, new coach and things like that. There’s things I’ve taken out of last season and as a group we felt that a bit.
“Not making excuses but we had a lot of injuries to a lot of out star players last year early on, they were our leaders of the pack and that really did hinder us.
“We probably didn’t have the depth that we liked, but this year we have definitely got that.”
Source web site: www.foxsports.com.au
