It has been a tough few days for the Bulldogs club – particularly our members and fans.
Fan Behaviour
We are all disappointed in the actions of a few fans and frustrated at the way they have cast all of us in a bad light. We are working with ANZ Stadium, the NSW Police and the NRL to review security plans for all future games and to identify those responsible for the anti-social behaviour on Friday. We will do everything in our powers to find these people and ensure they face the consequences of their actions. It may take us a few weeks to complete this investigation and in the meantime I would ask that our true fans show up on Sunday to support our boys against the Dragons and show how a loud and passionate Bulldogs crowd behaves. We are enjoying record levels of membership already this year - 18,000 people have confirmed their dedication to our Club. Much of this growth can be attributed to the safe and friendly atmosphere that we’ve all worked to create together so that coming to a Bulldogs game is a fun day out.
Let’s do our best to maintain these standards and remind ourselves of our Members Code of Conduct.
http://www.bulldogs.com.au/membership/code-of-conduct.html
Player Charges
We found ourselves in a very challenging position with 5 charges this week. We reviewed the charges from every angle and felt that the early guilty plea was the best action for them all.
Specifically, in relation to the James Graham Contrary Conduct charge, this was discussed at length with both Des and James and together we’ve agreed the best way forward is to accept the charge as laid. .
I understand that some are frustrated by the fact we didn’t defend our captain with the NRL. What I can say to you is that we stand behind James 100% as the Captain of the Bulldogs. We believe he will be a leader of this Club for many years and we have all learnt some valuable lessons from Friday afternoon. In this situation, we felt in was not about taking on the NRL judiciary, but ensuring we accept a level of responsibility and can move on, focused on the real battle of winning the NRL Premiership.
We have the best Coach to see us through the next few challenging weeks and I look forward to all your support as we show what it is to be #proudtobeabulldog
