NRL: Warriors finish off shocked Bulldogs

The Warriors were too strong for the Bulldogs who earlier discovered their coach Kevin Moore was leaving. Photo / Getty Images

A tale of two coaches summed up the Warriors' victory over the Bulldogs.

The Warriors' disciplined handover, with Ivan Cleary in charge until the end of the season and with what looks like complete buy-in from his team, contrasted sharply with the Bulldogs' sudden jettisoning of 30-year-plus club stalwart, coach Kevin Moore. Moore had 35 wins from 66 games in charge (53 per cent) since starting the 2009 season when they finished as preliminary finalists and he was named Dally M Coach of the Year. They finished 13th last year.

Moore came across the Tasman with the club this week before relinquishing his duties, saying he could not continue to do his best in the job. Previous assistant coach Jim Dymock is in charge until the end of the season but Ricky Stuart and Daniel Anderson are touted as preferred candidates to take the role long-term.

In short, the Dogs are in a pickle - Friday's 36-12 difference on the scoreboard probably summed up the gulf between the two clubs even if only four points separate them on the ladder. To further illustrate that difference - and the value of momentum - the Warriors have won six of their last 10 matches; the Bulldogs have won two. If that wasn't bad enough, key player Michael Ennis is out for the season with a neck injury suffered six weeks ago. Ennis is getting a second opinion but admitted he had carried the injury into Origin I not knowing the full extent of the damage.

"I was playing with some pain and perhaps I tried to ignore it knowing how much was at stake for NSW," Ennis said.

The injury blow couldn't have come at a worse time for the reeling Dogs as they desperately fight to recover from the departure of Moore. Ennis' influence on the Dogs is undeniable. Since his arrival at Belmore from the Brisbane Broncos in 2009, they have lost seven of the nine matches played without him.

"After being involved with Origin, and the emotional high that goes with the whole six weeks, to be now not being able to help the boys through this tough period ... it's difficult not to feel pretty helpless," said Ennis. "And now with everything that has gone down with Kev, you just want to be around the boys to help fight our way back into the top eight."

Until yesterday, only Ennis' closest friends and family were aware of his plight. Not wanting to inflict further turmoil among his team-mates, the 27-year-old was reluctant to tell them of the news ahead of their match against the Warriors.

On top of that, there are rumours around the NRL that skipper Andrew Ryan could be the next one out of the Dogs door (see story p75). Small wonder they leaked 36 straight points after the Warriors dealt with the shock of going 12-0 down on Friday night.

"We trained well all week but to find out he [Moore] was leaving before training on Thursday was a genuine shock," said Bulldogs and Kiwi forward Greg Eastwood. "You hear rumours in the papers that if we didn't start winning he'd go but we were shocked it was so soon, because he flew over here with us before making the announcement.

"It still doesn't give us an excuse as to how we finished [against the Warriors]. That's our problem - finishing teams off and playing the whole 80. Coaches come and go but as players we have to put in a decent performance. It's a struggle at the moment."

Fellow forward Frank Pritchard said: "It hasn't been that tough of a week. We prepared well as a team. That piece of news before the game didn't help but you can't make excuses. We didn't expect him to go but I can't comment too much, it's out of my hands, bro. You just can't fall asleep against the Warriors, they blew us off the park in the second half."

Warriors prop Jacob Lillyman says despite a flagged coaching change in their own ranks, they're grateful to have stability with just seven rounds left.

"It gives you confidence. I'm sure I speak for a number of the boys in saying we're disappointed Ivan is going but you can't get too down about it. At least he's here for the rest of the year - it hasn't affected him. You wouldn't know anything had happened; it's business as usual.

"That's his greatest quality - he's level-headed, nothing fazes him. If he needs to get his point across he will; he's a great guy to have at the helm."

Manu Vatuvei reflected similar feelings. "We're lucky it's been sorted with Ivan. We know where he's going, it's all part of his career - like a player. It's tougher when a coach leaves mid-season, especially when he had already arrived over here. They could have spoken about it first. I feel sorry for the players finding out their coach had quit at such short notice."

- Additional reporting from David Riccio, Sunday Telegraph.