This thread was prompted by the 2017 top 8 flops thread, and the vast majority of posters believing the Dogs will miss the 8 this year. I remember when the signing was first announced, Hasler's move to the Dogs was talked up by fans of various clubs (not just the Dogs) as their great new hope, obviously off the back of his successes at the Eagles.
Remarkable how much has changed in the following years. It started off strong, with a first place finish and a GF appearance against Melbourne in 2012, where they lost. That was Ben Barba's Dally M year, which contributed a fair bit to their success clearly. Ever since then however, Des Dogs have seen a steady decline. 1st place became 6th in 2013 only to go out in week 1 of the finals against Newcastle, followed by another unlikely GF appearance in 2014 from 7th place only to get towelled up by Souffs. 7th became 5th in 2015 with another towelling in week 2 of the finals ending their season, then another 7th placed finish last year only to be sent packing emphatically by the Panthers in week 1.
Considering the pedigree Des walked into the joint with in 2012, his results have been average at best. 2 GF appearances and a minor premiership notwithstanding, he led Manly to many finals appearances, 3 GF's and 2 premierships, one of which was the 40 nil schooling of Melbourne. He was being talked up as an elite coach up there with Bellyache and Bennett. So why such a big drop off in success?
For mine, their recruitment and player management under his watch has been horrendous. The word that comes to mind is "boring". They don't have many players capable of the individual brilliance that the likes of a Barba or the Morris twins are capable of, and their pack, while physically huge compared to other clubs, can't provide a good enough platform to mask the severe lack of flair in the spine and backline. Josh Reynolds and Moses Mbye just don't seem to have what it takes to be a premiership halves pairing. In fact in all honesty, Reynolds is a liability more than anything else. His attitude issues on field see him off it far more often than any half should ever be (his chair kicking moment at Suncorp is the stuff of legend, just as one example). By extension Mbye, for all his obvious talent just doesn't have enough to carry the whole spine/backline on his own.
This, combined with certain players like Josh Jackson among others being over the hill and even worse off season gains and losses this year and things aren't looking great for Des and the Kennel. The mighty have fallen bigly.
