OPINION: How Cyclone Gus can save Trent Barrett's career
OPINION
This Canterbury side will kill Trent Barrett's coaching career dead cold unless he quickly asserts some sort of control.
Yes, it was just a trial match, but the Bulldogs' 30-6 loss to Cronulla on Monday night showed up some worrying signs for a team coming off a wooden spoon.
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There were some different faces out there but you could have been mistaken for thinking you'd awoken from a coma and the world was stuck in 2021.
Outside of the impressive Matt Burton, it was the same mistake-riddled, poor option-taking, defensive misreading, ill-disciplined Canterbury we saw last season.
A heavy penalty count against his side only added to Barrett's weighty to-do list before the opening round.
He's got a huge job in front of him – and not a lot of time to put it straight.
Winger Jayden Okunbor is a walking mistake, Josh Jackson is all heart but too often takes finds himself in the wrong place at the wrong time in attack.
Matt Dufty is a livewire with ball in hand and a defensive question mark without it (hello Dragons fans), Jack Hetherington is all go but comes with errors and Jake Averillo is not a half who will lead you to the top eight.
And all this before we get to the big issue of the day - Mr Tevita Pangai Junior.
His aggression is welcome but the lack of discipline and self-control is a major concern for a side that must strive to get every minute of every game right.
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A wild-eyed TPJ looked more interested in taking a Cronulla player out with a series of cheap shots than playing the destructive football that makes him one of the most damaging players in the game.
He was at it early, attempting to give Sione Katoa a buzz cut with his forearm after just a few minutes, before going all nuclear on an unsuspecting Royce Hunt after the Sharks heavyweight trucked the ball forward.
He was placed on report for both incidents and sin-binned for the second, his one-man vigilante act costing the Dogs in a big way.
It might be time for Barrett to show some aggression of his own before it's too late.
He needs to give Pangai a shakedown and remind him in no uncertain terms that aggression is fine but pumpkin head plays are a one-way ticket to the bench or worse.
There's even been suggestions Cyclone Gus – aka Dogs general manager of football, Phil Gould - should be unleashed in all its fury to deliver one of his infamous 'wake up to yourself' speeches-cum-warnings.
Barrett is under the pump like no other coach in the NRL.
Given a much-improved roster, he has run out of excuses.
He needs early wins to convince the right people he is the man for the job long term.
If not, his days as a head coach will be over before the season is out.
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