Trent Barrett has quit as Bulldogs coach effective immediately, reports Nine’s Danny Weidler.
“I understand he quit last night,” Weidler tweeted.
https://twitter.com/Danny_Weidler/status/1525996164956692480?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
The news brings to a head a storm that was gathering above the under-pressure coach, with the Bulldogs’ board due to assemble for an emergency meeting regarding Barrett’s future on Monday.
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That meeting will presumably now focus on who will replace Barrett as an immediate stand-in coach and then a permanent replacement.
According to a News Corp report, Bulldogs players have been left shellshocked by the news and have had their training schedule for the week abandoned.
They were reportedly sent home from training on Monday morning and are not expected to return to duty until Wednesday.
The Barrett bombshell comes just weeks after Canterbury’s head of football Phil Gould backed him to be the club’s long-term coach.
“He will be the coach at the Bulldogs for a long time as far as I’m concerned. He’s got such a wonderful nature as a coach,” Gould told Nine’s 100% Footy earlier this season.
“He has great knowledge, great delivery, great communication.”
The Bulldogs finished at the bottom of the ladder last season and currently anchor this season’s competition table on four points, having won two matches in the first 10 rounds.
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