[11] The Berries' one potential prolific tryscorer, winger and local junior Barry Stenhouse, suffered a career-ruining leg muscle injury in 1954,[12] a season after scoring fourteen tries and sharing a Sydney Morning Herald "Player of the Year" award with Keith Holman.[13]. The 1998 season also marked the farewell to Belmore Sports Ground as the Bulldogs home ground. The 2008 season was a tumultuous one for the Bulldogs. It was alleged that Canterbury players had been photographed stripping naked and one player vomiting in the street. The Bulldogs powered past the Melbourne Storm 43–18 in the second week of the Finals. In May 2013, former Netball New Zealand chief executive Raelene Castle was appointed CEO, the first female in the NRL's history. Brisbane Broncos won the Grand Final 38-12 (after leading 12–10 at half time). The Bulldogs defeated Wests and Easts to make it through to the Grand Final having the week off. Warren Ryan would be appointed coach and the Bulldogs would quickly go from the Entertainers to the Enforcers in very quick time. With both of those gone, Steve Folkes opted for Steve Price as captain ahead of the more experienced Darren Smith. Canterbury were defeated by St George 35–10 in the semis, but as minor premiers had the right to challenge in a grand final which saw them defeat the Dragons 11–9 in wet conditions after the scores were even at half-time. The Roosters were favoured to win the decider but the unheralded Bulldogs pack outmuscled the Roosters pack with Steve Mortimer doing the rest. The Anderson-Lamb coach-captain era at the Bulldogs lasted six seasons and they worked on a very successful rebuilding programme. This had been the first Premiership decider Canterbury had played in since 1967. Along with champion coach Frank Burge, these buys improved the Cantabs from 1935's two wins to nine in 1936, netting a place in the finals. [40], On the same day, it was revealed that because of the two players actions, new major sponsor Rashays had cancelled their $2 million sponsorship with the club. We are one of the largest rugby league discussion websites in Australia. The issue with the salary cap problems involved the previous administration and former coach Des Hasler who signed numerous players on back ended deals. Due to the bad start to the season, there were rumours that coach Dean Pay would be relieved of his duties but he was then granted a 12-month contract extension to remain as Canterbury coach until the end of 2020. Archive for older Bulldogs Discussion Threads A number of unidentified players were accused of gang raping a 20-year-old woman at a resort in Coffs Harbour, New South Wales. The official website of the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs. Phil Gould's success in 1988 saw Anderson take on the Under 21s position in 1989 and he was promoted to first grade, which saw Gould leave on bad terms and join the Penrith Panthers. Club legend Steve Mortimer was brought in to save the Club, and the Bulldogs then finished one game short of the Grand Final in 2003. However their finals campaign only lasted one match as they lost to Easts 16–9 in the second semi-final. [37][38], On 10 March 2020, Canterbury were rocked by another off-field scandal just two days before the start of the 2020 NRL season after it was alleged two Canterbury players Jayden Okunbor and Corey Harawira-Naera met two school girls during a school visit on a pre-season trip to Port Macquarie earlier in March, whilst a sexual encounter was alleged to occur, the school girls were of the age of consent and there was no criminal investigation pending. In 1948 they won only seven games, and after at one point looking like a surprise minor premiership in 1953 collapsed to never win more than six in a season from 1954 to 1959. Canterbury played consistent football all season to finish in a tie for top position with Eastern Suburbs having the superior for and against. They beat the Eels in the major semi-final 16–8 before marking their fiftieth season by beating them again for the 1984 Premiership. Anderson joined the newly formed Melbourne Storm with reserve grade coach Steve Folkes taking over the head coaching position. Prior to this, Canterbury had finished third in the regular season, three points behind South Sydney and four behind minor premiers St George.