Bulldogs skipper Reed Mahoney has admitted he doubted his decision to join the Belmore-based outfit after a turbulent debut campaign as the club’s captain.
The 25-year-old landed in Belmore ahead of the 2023 season and was handed the leadership role by rookie coach Cameron Ciraldo, calling upon his finals experiences with the Eels.
But what was in store for him was a far cry from Parramatta’s grand final appearance in 2022, with the Bulldogs finishing in 15th place with only seven wins from 24 games.
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Mahoney was asked by foxsports.com.au if it was tough moving from a side that were only one win away from lifting the premiership trophy to the Bulldogs
Mahoney admitted he briefly questioned whether his move was the right decision but revealed it was the character of the people around him which ensured he kept the faith.
“Well they (Parramatta) didn’t make finals either so that made me feel better, look mate you want to come here and think you’re having an immediate impact on the group,” he said.
“I probably put a bit too much on my shoulders that I was going to come here and do that, it was hard of course.
“I think Kiks (Kikau) and a lot of other boys had the same sort of feeling, you go ‘oh, I’m not sure I made the right decision’.
“But when you’ve got really good people around you, coaches and players, and you see where we are going and the people you have coming you just keep working every day.
“You keep building brick by brick, and I think the last 12 weeks of pre-season we have done that and I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.”
Outside of the 2018 season where he only played eight games for the wooden spoon-winning Eels, Mahoney featured in the finals in the four other years he played under Brad Arthur.
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The gun hooker was an integral figure in Parramatta’s success but admitted his performances weren’t up to standard for the in his debut season as a captain.
“The whole thing was a learning for me, when someone says to you that you’re a captain people just see there’s a C next to your name,” Mahoney said.
“It’s more than that, it’s what you do every day and everything you do there’s a consequence, whether that is right or wrong.
“The whole season was a lesson for me and I’ve had a lot of time in the off-season to reflect on that and try to be the best version of me so I can lead by example.
“Hoping I get the opportunity again to try and do that and keep trying to put things in place.”
Mahoney doesn’t need to look far back into the NRL history books for inspirational leaders.
Storm legend Cameron Smith was named Dally M Captain of the Year five times and steered both Melbourne and Queensland around the park for over a decade.
Meanwhile, players like Boyd Cordner and Paul Gallen led with their actions over their words in premierships victories for the Roosters and Sharks respectively.
For Mahoney, being a captain and enduring what was a tough campaign has only made him have a deeper appreciation for those leaders who have come before him.
“Yeah of course, you sort of appreciate all the captains that have captained for hundreds of games, multiple hundreds of games. You appreciate how good they’ve been for so long,” he said.
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“It’s more than what people see between the four walls here and it’s more than what you do on the field that makes you a good captain.
“I’ve got a lot of learning to do and a lot of things to do to get myself right, but I’m loving the challenge and excited for what the future holds.”
It wasn’t just Mahoney that endured a baptism of fire in 2023, it was also a nightmare for Ciraldo who was one of rugby league’s most touted coaches ahead of his appointment.
Ciraldo, however, knows the value in building a project having spent years in Penrith’s coaching system before working under Ivan Cleary and winning two premierships.
Mahoney said his relationship with Ciraldo had grown over their first year together.
“It’s hard, you obviously pick and choose at everything and it probably took me a while to put my hand up and say some of my footy wasn’t up to standard,”
“I think we’ve got a really good relationship where I can sit down in his office and have conversations, whether he’s right or I’m right, and at the end of the day we sort it out.
“Our relationship is building quite well and it’s still got a long way to go… you’ve got to build trust, you’ve got to build combinations, new coach and things like that. There’s things I’ve taken out of last season and as a group we felt that a bit.
“Not making excuses but we had a lot of injuries to a lot of out star players last year early on, they were our leaders of the pack and that really did hinder us.
“We probably didn’t have the depth that we liked, but this year we have definitely got that.”
