Barrett leaves isolated players stinging
Trent Barrett has taken a jab at Canterbury's five isolated players, stating he hopes they feel disappointed watching their side's 66-0 humiliation to Manly.
The Bulldogs' season went from bad to worse with their biggest defeat in 86 years on Saturday, with their only two bigger losses coming in their inaugural season of 1935.
They barely threatened once in attack and were regularly caught short in defence, after Barrett was forced to call up three players.
Jack Hetherington and Jeremy Marshall-King along with debutants Chris Patolo and Falakiko Manu all finished up on report, while Matt Doorey was badly concussed.
It capped off a horror week for the club, who had Dylan Napa, Sione Katoa, Brandon Wakeham, Aaron Schoupp and Corey Waddell all isolated after breaching the bubble.
The group each became close contacts of a known COVID-19 case after the NRL told players not to visit pubs, cafes or restaurants in the eastern suburbs.
And while the club were fined $50,000 after the NRL claimed they had not effectively communicated the changes, they have stated they are disappointed with the breach notice.
And regardless, Barrett was clearly still stinging over the issue while warning they were no certainty to return to the team when they exit isolation on Monday.
"I hope they feel disappointed with themselves after having to watch their teammates do that," a frustrated Barrett said.
"I'll make that decision this week (if they come back). It's disappointing.
"I haven't even been able to see them face to face yet. I'm looking forward to seeing them on Monday.
"It's not nice to do that. I'd love to be able to bring Patolo and Kiks (Manu) into a full strength team, where we're a chance of winning the game.
"That's not one that they're going to want to remember. The whole club wasn't happy about it."
Barrett still claimed however it was "going a bit far" to label it the darkest day in the club's history, despite a clear rock-bottom moment for their season.
He also refused to be critical of Kyle Flanagan on his return in the halves, noting how little ball they had in the match.
They now face a ridiculously tough task to turn it around against the Sydney Roosters next Saturday, who are themselves coming off a 46-0 flogging from Melbourne.
