The Bulldogs board has copped a hammering over the club's current predicament, and some of that is justified. But Hasler's sacking, however prolonged it may have been, is about one thing: results. The board gave Hasler what he wanted when he joined the club from Manly in 2012, and that was complete control of the football club.

Recruitment and retention was one of the major categories that fell under Hasler's responsibilities, and a breakdown of his key decisions during his rein highlights why the Bulldogs are in the mess they now find themselves in.

Hasler's four major signings were Tony Williams, Brett Morris, Michael Lichaa and Will Hopoate.

Williams never played to his price tag. Morris has struggled to overcome horrific knee injuries. Lichaa hasn't lived up to his potential amid suggestions the coach's game plan restricted him. And Hopoate hasn't been the answer to the club's attacking woes.

But it's not so much who Hasler brought in but perhaps those he let go that only amplify the frustrations of the board and club supporters.

Marty Taupau, Damien Cook, Dale Finucane - they would all walk into Canterbury's side in round one next year. The list goes on. Tim Lafai, Michael Ennis, Curtis Rona, Herman Ese'ese.

The only decision you could defend in hindsight was releasing Trent Hodkinson to Newcastle given the physical state of his body, however the high-price retention of Moses Mbye to fill the void left by Hodkinson's departure is now proving questionable given Mbye's struggle to figure out where he belongs on a football field.

What also became clear to the board was Hasler's inability to recognise blossoming talent and get the best out of it.

Since joining the Tigers in 2014, Taupau has gone on to become a New Zealand international and is now recognised as one of the most destructive forwards in the game at Manly. Cook is the dynamic spark the Bulldogs so dearly lack, and the South Sydney hooker could well find himself in contention for the NSW No.9 jersey after making his Country Origin debut earlier in the year.

Storm forward Finucane is also on the verge of the Origin arena and has been one of Melbourne's most reliable forwards as he moves towards playing in potentially his fourth grand final of his career next week.

Ennis, unwanted by Hasler because of the signing of Lichaa, left and won a premiership with Cronulla. Rona, the club's leading try scorer in 2015, has represented the Wallabies in rugby union. Lafai has found his feet at St George Illawarra after a rough first year and Ese'ese has shown Brisbane what they will be missing next year when he joins the Knights.

Other questionable decisions include the length of the extension for Aiden Tolman, who last year re-signed until the end of 2020. There's also the decision this year to keep Hopoate for a further three seasons in the midst of salary cap restraints.

When Hasler left Manly after a successful tenure that yielded two premierships, he did so with the Sea Eagles in a precarious salary cap position with players on heavily back-ended deals at the twilight of their careers.

It took Manly three or four years to recover from the turmoil it created surrounding players like Glenn Stewart, Brett Stewart and Anthony Watmough.

The same has happened at Canterbury with James Graham and Greg Eastwood, who would have been taking up at least $1.6 million of the salary cap next year if they remained at the club.

The board recognised Hasler's shortcomings in the recruitment and retention department last year, and almost parted ways with him in October. However they gave him another year to prove himself on the proviso they would be given a say in what happens at the club.

Enough was enough. They wanted change. Which is why chairman Ray Dib put everyone in the organisation on notice at the start of the year.

The board pursued James Tedesco. They pursued Aaron Woods. And together with Hasler, they pursued Kieran Foran. They managed to land two of the three, but it was always going to come at a price. In this situation, it would be favourite son Josh Reynolds and skipper James Graham, both players Hasler never wanted to lose.

Given he was fighting to save his own job and had almost been silenced because of it, this was a battle he was never going to win. Even with Canterbury winning their final three games of the season, the performance of hooker Lichaa, who appeared to be ignoring a three-year directive not to run the football, raised further concerns over the direction Hasler had taken the club. Club hierarchy began thinking maybe Lichaa was worth keeping after all.

In reflection, Hasler had a roster that should have won a premiership in his first few seasons at the club.

Perhaps reaching the 2014 grand final after limping into the finals series masked some of the problems that were beginning to surface. It gave the impression the premiership window was still open with that roster instead of making the necessary changes to avoid the salary cap predicament they now find themselves in.

Whoever takes over from Hasler won't have any wiggle room in the salary cap. In fact, at least another player still has to leave in order for the contracts of Foran and Woods to be registered. The irony is Hasler won't get to reap the benefits of the two best signings made during his time at the club.

MAJOR SIGNINGS UNDER HASLER

Tony Williams (4-year deal from 2012)
Brett Morris (4-year deal from 2015)
Michael Lichaa (3-year deal from 2015)
Chase Stanley (29 games in 4 years)
Will Hopoate (Joined 2016, extended to 2020)
Kieran Foran (Joining in 2018 on 4-year deal)
Aaron Woods (Joining in 2018 on 4-year deal)

HIGH PROFILE DEPARTURES

Marty Taupau (Joined Tigers in 2014)
Dale Finucane (Joined Storm in 2015)
Michael Ennis (Joined Sharks in 2016)
Damien Cook (Joined Rabbitohs in 2016)
Tim Lafai (Joined Dragons in 2016)
Curtis Rona (Joined Western Force in 2017)
Herman Ese'ese (Joined Broncos in 2016)
Trent Hodkinson (Joined Knights in 2016)
Josh Reynolds (Joining Tigers in 2018)
James Graham (Joining Dragons in 2018)

QUESTIONABLE RETENTION

Greg Eastwood
Sam Kasiano
Aiden Tolman
Moses Mbye