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Opinion
The first grand final I ever attended was the 1987 decider between a star-studded Manly team and a gritty Raiders unit that were to bloom into an incredible success story just a few seasons later.
The general consensus at the time and for some period before, was that the Sea Eagles were not particularly interested in developing talent and building a premiership team from within.
Most people were of the view that Manly were in the business of buying premierships and in a non-salary capped era, that was achievable as long as the purse strings were well stocked.
I will always remember the story former Canterbury halfback and club legend Steve Mortimer told in regards to the meeting he had with Manly officials in 1987, as he grappled with Bulldogs coach Warren Ryan’s style and personal view of his own play.
After sitting and discussing a possible move to the Sea Eagles, Mortimer claims to have nearly fallen off his chair after reading the numbers that made up the cash component of a Silvertails offer, that had been slid across the table towards him on a handwritten coaster.
Some strange sense of loyalty kept the man known as “Turvey” with the Dogs, and a pleasant end to his glittering time there would play out in 1988 after over 270 first-grade games.
Yet the enormity of the offer teased in his direction provides the backdrop to Manly’s win in ’87.
The squad included representative internationals Michael O’Connor and Dale Shearer, English enforcer Kevin Ward, New Zealand’s Darrell Williams and 1987 State of Origin stars in the forms of Noel Cleal, Phil Daley, Des Hasler, Cliff Lyons and Paul Vautin.
The SCG before the 1987 grand final. (Photo: Getty Images)
Throw in City Seconds’ Mark Brokenshire and Country Origin players Mal Cochrane and Ron Gibbs and it is little wonder that the Sea Eagles made their way to the finals via an 18-win season under the late Bob Fulton as coach.
Manly had form on the board after raiding the Magpies stocks a few years earlier and aside from honest local contributors in Stuart Davis, David Ronson and Daley, the team was essentially a well purchased machine that had more acquired quality than any other in the competition.
That history has me analysing a Bulldogs roster that seems destined for greatness in the short term, with the premiership window opening inch by inch this season and next.
Like the Sea Eagles, and despite the salary cap restrictions of the modern day, it is a bought team based on the work of Phil Gould’s efforts to once again make the Bulldogs a destination club.
Bulldogs legends Terry Lamb and Steve Mortimer. (Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)
With the kerfuffle surrounding Wests Tigers’ Lachlan Galvin drawing all the NRL headlines this week, rumours of exactly where the teenager will land once the severing of ties with his current club has taken place are rampant.
The Eels, Bulldogs and Roosters appear to be the three clubs in the frame, yet claims that a deal has already been struck with Parramatta are well off the mark considering the illegalities of doing so at this stage of the season and the players’ interest in how all three perform in 2025.
Cast your mind back to a photo taken of Viliame Kikau at Bulldogs HQ back in 2021 and ignore any comments that Gould makes about Galvin and his likelihood or unlikelihood of ending up at the Kennel.
The veteran coach and administrator plays the media, the game and situation better than anyone and comments made this week in regards to the Bulldogs looking more towards development from within are disingenuous when it comes to the prospect of signing the hottest youngster in the game.
Phil Gould (Photo by Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images)
The Bulldogs have not possessed a premiership winning half-back since Brent Sherwin and must still wonder whether the circumstances that saw them allow Johnathan Thurston to leave the club at the end of the 2004 season might have been worth re-consideration.
Now sitting atop the ladder after six rounds and looking one of the teams to beat early on, the Bulldogs have recruited aggressively over the last three seasons.
Penrith stars Matt Burton, Stephen Crichton and Kikau draw the headlines, Josh Curran, Reed Mahoney, Kurt Mann, Sitili Tupouniua and Bronson Xerri all appear to have been masterstrokes from the front office and Leo Thompson’s arrival in 2026 will have Cameron Ciraldo’s team hunting a premiership sooner rather than later.
Matt Burton is swamped by teammates after booting the Dogs to a golden-point win.(Photo by Matt King/Getty Images)
Toilers like Max King, Harry Hayes and Jacob Preston are the perfect foils for the big stars and the emotion around local junior Jacob Kiraz keeps the fans believing in the building from within narrative.
Yet don’t be fooled. The Canterbury squad has been astutely bought, crafted and assembled under the watchful eye of Gus. Now, just one piece of the puzzle remains. The location and acquisition of a premiership winning half-back might be all that holds Canterbury back this season.
Once that player is added, there should be nothing to stop them completing a ninth victory lap on grand final day. That player could well be Galvin, despite everything that Gould has and will say over the next six months.
If this crystal ball prediction plays out and the Dogs raise the trophy within three seasons, it will complete the best recruitment drive of the NRL era; with no team ever having turned over an almost entire squad so quickly and finding success.
Gould gets the players Ciraldo needs and the Dogs have purchased a quality squad, with just a touch of class required to make the crucial difference. If Galvin is that player and Canterbury get him, the mission will be near completion.