PAY CHECKS OUT FOR BULLDOGS LEADER
REPRESENTATIVE Canterbury forward Josh Jackson last night applauded the appointment of new coach Dean Pay who he declared “knows what the Bulldogs culture is all about’’.
Pay, who played 108 games for the Bulldogs, including the 1995 grand final victory, will take over from Des Hasler for the next two seasons.
Jackson said Pay had experienced success at Belmore, and was the right man to help restore those good times at the club.
Melbourne coach Craig Bellamy, who had Pay working with him as an assistant and with the under-20s for three seasons, also pointed out Pay ‘’knows what the Bulldogs stand for’’, something Hasler was criticised for by some Bulldogs greats.
“It will be great for the club, he’s won a premiership with the club, he knows what the Bulldogs culture is all about, he has a lot of experience, he’s been an assistant under guys like Craig Bellamy and Ricky Stuart at the moment, and he’s well respected by all the players he has coached,’’ Jackson said.
“We just need to get back to a successful culture.
“Obviously he knows what it’s all about because he was there in 1995 when they won the grand final.
“The Bulldogs club demands success and hopefully he can bring it.’’
Pay has been working as an assistant to Stuart in Canberra and was only interviewed by the Bulldogs board on Tuesday.
The 48-year-old said he was ready to become an NRL head coach and liked the idea of ‘’coming home’’.