Billy Slater has urged Canterbury to make sweeping changes before their elimination final against Penrith, insisting the Bulldogs cannot go into sudden-death football without shaking things up.
The Bulldogs were outclassed 26-18 by Melbourne in their qualifying final on Friday night, losing captain Stephen Crichton during the game to an ankle injury which has the potential to end his season.
Slater believes their recent struggles demand more than minor tweaks, and said the only way to spark Canterbury back into form is through bold, decisive changes.
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"Drastic situations, drastic circumstances, require drastic decisions," Slater said on a recent episode of The Sunday Footy Show.
"I would change the whole lot."
He pointed to Brisbane's late-season revival as proof that a struggling side can rediscover belief and momentum if they are prepared to make the right adjustments.
"Look at the Broncos, a month ago, they were gone… injuries down in Melbourne, gone. They’ve turned their season around," he said.
Amongst the proposed changes, the Storm legend wants Reed Mahoney restored as the starting hooker after he was controversially left out of the side all together heading into Friday night's match.
"I’d put Reed Mahoney back in at number nine, Bailey Hayward at number 14 - he’s the utility," Slater said.
"Bring him on as a small forward through the middle of the field when players get tired. I think that’s his best position.
"Toby Sexton’s the halfback, [Lachlan] Galvin’s the five-eighth, Matt Burton goes into the centres.
"Toby Sexton can play nice and straight, he’s a genuine halfback, I think it will free them up."
Since Galvin's arrival mid-season, the Bulldogs have shuffled their spine repeatedly, first with Sexton at halfback, and then with Burton alongside Galvin.
Critics have declared that these changes have caused too much disruption for the squad to handle over the last few weeks.
However, Slater argues that Canterbury's recent form shows that there is little to lose in gambling on a drastic reshuffle at this stage of the season.
"They’ve won two games in the last seven… and one of them was against a 16-man rested Panthers," he said.
"I think drastic changes here can actually rejuvenate this football team.
"You might just spark something."
For Canterbury, next week's clash with Penrith will decide whether their third season under Cameron Ciraldo ends abruptly, or whether bold selection calls might give them a fighting chance of lifting the Provan-Summons trophy.