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NRL: Canterbury Bulldogs implore Josh Reynolds not to blame himself for Storm defeat
By Chris Barrett
Josh Reynolds blamed himself for Canterbury's round-one defeat to Melbourne but ahead of Thursday's showdown against the Sydney Roosters his teammates are not hearing any of that.
"Joshy did [apologise to the team] but Joshy was trying hard the whole game. You can't fault his effort," Bulldogs winger Brett Morris said on Monday.
Hard marker: Josh Reynolds was critical of himself after Canterbury's defeat to Melbourne.Credit: Getty Images
"At certain parts of the game maybe he needs to calm down a little but it was across the park, it wasn't just Josh, making errors on catches and passes which at crucial times we need to make. So it wasn't just Josh's fault, the boys re-affirmed that."
Reynolds, 27, isn't just hard on himself but brutally honest. He was filthy with himself for a series of handling errors in the wet at Belmore Sportsground as Des Hasler's side camped in Storm territory, saying he got "too excited" and was "sick of being rash".
However, while the playmaker's natural intensity can bring him unstuck it is also a great asset, Morris insisted. The key, it seems, is establishing balance.
"That's the way Josh plays. He's a passionate bloke, he plays with his heart on his sleeve," Morris said.
"Sometimes I think, and he knows within himself, there are times when he needs to knock it back a gear and think about the time of the game where we're at and what's needed in the situation. He's aware of that as a player, but we love him. He tries hard every week and that's all you can ask for.
"He's one of those guys who's passionate about his team, about his club, about the way he plays and certainly if he lost that you'd start to worry. He's an ultimate competitor and as players we love that about him. We don't want him to change . Yeah, he can be hard on himself at times, but you've got to realise there are 12 other blokes out there. We can all pick up the slack as well."
Reynolds and the Bulldogs face a stern test to get their first competition points against the Roosters, who looked particularly slick with Mitchell Pearce joined by new halves partner Luke Keary for a round-one win over Gold Coast Titans.
"Their halves really gelled together quite well," Morris said. "You've got Keary, who's an absolute competitor and Pearcey, who steers the ship around. I thought those two combined really well on the weekend."
While Canterbury are $26 outsiders to win the competition, the expectations that the Roosters will return to being major title-contenders was only enhanced in round one, with bookmakers now listing them behind only Melbourne and North Queensland in premiership favouritism.
"I thought they were probably the best side in the opening round," Bulldogs front-rower Aiden Tolman said.
"It's going to be a big challenge for us. We don't want to go back-to-back losses so we need to make sure we're better this week. They're a great side, they've got a big pack and we need to go at 'em."