Latest news with #CameronCiraldo
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Missing detail about Toby Sexton called out after Bulldogs axing for Lachie Galvin
Former NRL premiership winner Matty Johns has leapt to the defence of axed Bulldogs halfback Toby Sexton after flipping the narrative around teammate Lachie Galvin on its head. Canterbury coach Cameron Ciraldo made the brutal decision to dump Sexton in favour of Galvin for last week's nail-biting two-point win over the Dragons. The move ultimately paid dividends with Galvin setting up the match-winning try in the dying stages after throwing a superb cut-out pass to Jethro Rinakama. But it was hardly a dominant performance from the star recruit, who showed flashes of brilliance but still struggled to help take the Bulldogs attack to the next level. Ciraldo has spoken about the need to evolve his side's attack and come up with ways to try and break down the best teams and defensive structures in the competition. It's why many believe Ciraldo made the right choice by replacing Sexton with Galvin, after pointing out some of the unflattering attacking stats of the axed No.7. It was widely publicised before Sexton was dropped that he had not registered a single try assist in his past seven games. And critics also pointed out that he had the fewest try assists and line breaks of any of the halfbacks in the top four teams this season. Matty Johns takes aim at 'stats' after defending Toby Sexton But Johns said it was 'disrespectful' to discredit a player that had helped turn the previously struggling Bulldogs into a genuine premiership contender and said the stats don't tell the whole story. "One thing that does irk me a bit is the stat sheet that has been released to all the journalists on Toby Sexton," Johns began saying on SEN radio. "Saying 'oh look at this he's only got two this and that'. I just think that's so disrespectful given where Toby has taken that team. I just think he deserves a lot better than that. So it's pretty crook. "Stats tell a lie a lot of the time. And for Toby, yes he's not doing the same amount of try assists as Nathan (Cleary), those guys. But sometimes when you're in the halves it's the things you don't do that are really important. Like pushing your passes, overstepping your bounds and things like that. "Regardless of what he's done and try assists and what appears on the stats sheet, he has taken the Dogs - look where they were when he walked into that team - and look where they are now. And a lot of that is (down to) Toby." Ironically, some of the stats actually back up Johns' argument. One glance at the Bulldogs' win-loss record with and without Sexton, illustrates his influence on the team. Across the last two seasons, the Dogs have won just three of nine games (33%) when Sexton has not been playing, compared to 23 of 32 games (71.9%) when he has been in the team. RELATED: Major blow for Panthers as two players sign with Dragons Cameron Smith flags new role after missing gig to Kevin Walters But while former Bulldogs premiership winner Braith Anasta admitted that Sexton has done a sensational job at No.7 for the Dogs, he feels Galvin can ultimately take them to that next level to potentially win a premiership. 'It's not about winning right now, games, it's about winning the comp,' he said on NRL 360. 'That's the big shift here. They can win, they know they can win club games, and when it gets to the finals, we all know, the level goes up, it's elite, it's the best of the best, you've got to find another level. And they haven't found that for a while now, and they're looking for it.'
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
'That's pretty much what I do': Galvin on magic play
It's been seven weeks of headlines and scrutiny since Lachlan Galvin joined Canterbury but the young gun felt none of the pressure as he came up with the match-winning play against St George Illawarra. At fulltime on Saturday night, Galvin downplayed his magic cutout pass to Jethro Rinakama that allowed the rookie winger to slide over for a try and snatch a 20-18 win in the final two minutes. For coach Cameron Ciraldo, the pass was "one of the bravest" he'd seen from any NRL player, much less a youngster in his first game as a first-grade halfback. For Galvin, it was all part of the job description. "I just saw it and took it, that's pretty much what I do. I seen the pass and I threw it," he said. "I'm always going to do that, I'm always going to back my instinct. That's just me." Wasn't easy but got the job done. — Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs (@NRL_Bulldogs) July 19, 2025 The play helped vindicate Ciraldo's call to oust Toby Sexton for the clash in the hope that Galvin at halfback may be the answer to the Bulldogs' long-running halves problem. Sexton and Galvin have been jostling to partner Matt Burton in the halves since the latter joined top-four hopefuls Canterbury from Wests Tigers. Ciraldo has played three different halves combinations in the Dogs' last three games, but the situation appeared to be growing more urgent given finals are drawing closer. But with the game on the line in his first proper audition at halfback, Galvin felt none of the pressure. "Natural instincts kicked in and I seen him come up and I just threw it," he said. "No pressure, I put the work in at training, 'Ciro' and all the coaching staff and the boys have put trust in me. I'm always confident going out there." View this post on Instagram A post shared by NRL (@nrl) But the headlines have not been lost on Galvin, whose messy exit from the Tigers has been the biggest story of the NRL season. Galvin, who only turned 20 this week, is not so naive as to think the outside noise will quieten down any time soon. "It is what it is," he said. "People are always going to have their opinions but I'm just going to keep working. I listen to the people inside the four walls at Belmore and that's 'Ciro' and all the coaches and all the boys. "I keep working hard and for it to pay off tonight and me to keep building for the rest of the year, that's all I'm going to do." Ciraldo indicated at fulltime that Galvin will be given extended time at halfback with the view to refining his combinations with Burton ahead of the finals. "(Burton) is mad to play with, he's got such a strong running game so I'm just trying to free up space for him to use that," Galvin said. "We're building a good bond now. He's real good out on the field. He talks well. Love him."
News.com.au
5 days ago
- Sport
- News.com.au
‘One of the bravest passes I've seen': Lachlan Galvin breaks down his match-winning play, opens up on the pressure since joining the Bulldogs
Lachlan Galvin is aware of the criticism that's followed his mid-season move to the Bulldogs, but he insists it won't affect him after he celebrated his move to halfback by throwing what his coach described as one of the 'bravest' passes he's seen to lift his side to a dramatic win over the Dragons. His move from the Wests Tigers dominated the news cycle, and it hasn't stopped since he arrived at Belmore with everyone fascinated by how Cameron Ciraldo would use him. He's started games on the bench, at five-eighth and even dropped out of the 17, but Galvin will be Canterbury's halfback for the rest of the year after showing signs that he is the trump card they've been missing in attack. He scored a try in the first half after he backed up a big break by Stephen Crichton, but it's what he did with the game on the line that justified the move to bring him in. With his side struggling to land the killer blow, Galvin drifted to the edge, waited for Tyrell Sloan to make a decision in defence and then fired a long ball over the top to rookie Jethro Rinakama to score the winner in the corner. Lachie Galvin turns match winner? The Bulldogs lead ðŸ'€ ðŸ'° Watch #NRLBulldogsDragons on Ch.502 or stream on Kayo: âœ�ï¸� BLOG ðŸ'¢ MATCH CENTRE — Fox League (@FOXNRL) July 19, 2025 'Natural instincts kicked in and I saw him come up and I just threw it,' he said after the game. 'No pressure (because) I put the work in at training, 'Ciro' and all the coaching staff and the boys have put trust in me. I'm always confident going out there. When I see it, I'm just going to throw it. 'I just saw it and took it, that's pretty much what I do. I saw the pass and I threw it. I'm always going to do that, I'm always going to back my instinct. That's just me. 'I just saw (Sloan) come out pretty early. He'd done it a few times before with kicks at the back. I thought I might as well just throw it. Lucky it paid off.' The pass could have easily been intercepted but Galvin didn't hesitate with the game on the line. 'To make that play at the end, it's possibly one of the bravest passes I've seen,' Ciraldo said, revealing Galvin had done more than enough to keep the No.7 jersey before he nailed the crucial play. 'We all know he's had pressure on him, so I can't rap him enough for how well he's handled it. 'To trust his instincts and to trust himself to make that play just shows everyone what we've been seeing for the past six weeks.' His position in the team and the effect it's had on other players has been questioned, with fellow spine members Reed Mahoney and Toby Sexton set to leave the club at the end of the year. Mahoney scored a try on Saturday night while Sexton played well in NSW Cup, with Galvin adamant the outside noise isn't getting to him as he looks to spend the next seven weeks developing his combination with halves partner Matt Burton. 'It is what it is, people are always going to have their opinions but I'm just going to keep working,' he said. 'I listen to the people inside the four walls at Belmore and that's Ciro and all the coaches and all the boys. I keep working hard and for it to pay off tonight and me to keep building for the rest of the year, that's all I'm going to do. 'I'm just here to learn. That's all I want to do. I'm only 20 years of age, I just want to keep building. I'll just keep learning and keep building. Ciro and all the assistants are doing that for me. '(Burton) is mad to play with, he's got such a strong running game so I'm just trying to free up space for him to use that. 'What I can do for him to get him the ball and get the strike players in our team the ball, that's what I'm going to do. I love playing with him. We're building a good bond now. He's real good out on the field. He talks well. I love him.' Crichton was impressed with what he saw from the 20-year-old and praised him for how he's handled a turbulent few months. 'He's been copping a lot ever since he came to the club, but we see in our four walls what he does at training,' he said. 'The confidence for him to throw that pass shows what type of player he is. We're happy he's at our club.'
News.com.au
6 days ago
- Sport
- News.com.au
NRL world says same thing about Lachlan Galvin as halfback produces mixed performance
Question marks over the Bulldogs' decision to replace Toby Sexton with Lachlan Galvin have only intensified after the No. 7 produced a rocks and diamonds display as Canterbury edged past the Dragons 20-18. The Bulldogs named Galvin at halfback for their clash on Saturday evening, with Sexton relegated to reserve grade. FOX LEAGUE, available on Kayo Sports, is the only place to watch every game of every round in the 2025 NRL Telstra Premiership, LIVE with no ad-breaks during play. New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1. It came after the Bulldogs only managed to score two tries in their 12-8 victory over the Cowboys last week. And as a result, Cameron Ciraldo pulled the trigger, parachuting Galvin into the starting side. But once again, his performance was split between pieces of brilliance and being completely ineffectual. The youngster crossed for a try early in the first half, backing up on the inside of Stephen Crichton after the representative centre broke the line. And he finished his performance by throwing a cutout pass to winger Jethro Rinakama, who scored in the corner to secure the two-point victory. But in between the pieces of quality, Galvin struggled to get a foothold in the match. The 20-year-old made several poor defensive reads and overplayed his hand in attack as the Bulldogs continue to struggle to recapture their early-season form. After going into the break 10 points up against the Dragons, some questionable efforts from the halfback helped the Red V back into the game. And it was his defensive effort that saw the Dragons take the lead 18-16 in the second half that drew groans from Canterbury supporters. As St George shifted the ball from right to left, Galvin charged out of the line to put pressure on Dragons half Kyle Flanagan, who effortlessly passed to Clint Gutherson, creating an overlap. The 20-year-old then made no effort to chase back, jogging to the line as the Red V drew and passed before Sione Finau scored in the corner. You can watch the moment in the player at the top of the page. And it had Dogs fans all left saying the same thing. 'Galvin has single-handedly ruined the Bulldogs' season,' one fan wrote on X. 'Is Galvin the worst defensive half in the comp?' another asked. 'Can we give him back. What is Galvin doing?' a third added. However, his moment of quality at the end showed what he can do. But fans still aren't convinced. 'Rough second half, Galvin nervous, needs to breathe and just play. Ended the game with a fantastic pass though, has promise, just needs to play his best,' one fan said. 'Galvin literally did two good things in the whole damn game, and played crap for the rest of it, but bring on the ignoring the crap part,' another said. 'Oh, finally a win ffs lmao good on ya doggies. Galvin actually showed what he CAN do,' a third Dogs fan said. 'What a rubbish 78 minutes and then that. Galvin is a rollercoaster,' a fourth wrote. Cameron Ciraldo's call to drop Toby Sexton season-defining The Dogs built their formidable form off effort areas, somewhere Galvin has come up short to date. Since Galvin joined the club, the Bulldogs in Round 14, the former league leaders have not beaten a current top 8 team. And the decision to pick the youngster is likely to be a season-defining one, one way or another. Over the last two seasons, Sexton has played 32 games, with the Bulldogs winning 23 of those and losing just 9, for a win percentage of 71.9. In the same period, Sexton has missed 9 games, with the Bulldogs winning just 3 and losing 6 of those. Now that Ciraldo has opted to go with Galvin over Sexton, he will surely stick with it. Galvin has shown that he is a star of the future, but time will tell if he's ready to lead a team to premiership glory right now.
The Age
15-07-2025
- Sport
- The Age
Why the Bulldogs dropped Toby Sexton for Lachlan Galvin
While Canterbury fans were dancing in the streets getting caught up in the euphoria of their long-overdue rise to the top of the league, the Bulldogs coaching staff and senior players were seeing chinks in the armour that were being masked by the almost weekly collection of two competition points. Most coaches are paralysed by the fear of failure. A fear of losing their jobs. Bulldogs coach Cameron Ciraldo, however, has always adopted a philosophy of chasing success rather than avoiding failure. He knows he has the backing of the club to build, or at least attempt to, an empire similar to the one he helped create alongside Ivan Cleary at the Panthers over many years at the foot of the mountains. It's the kind of reassurance that encourages a decision-making process that prioritises the long-term sustained success of the club over a smash-and-grab pursuit of a one-off premiership at any cost. The kind of reassurance that instils a courage that stops you from offering an extension to your off-contract halfback that has led you to the top of the ladder if you don't believe he can keep you there. In the past seven weeks, the Super League-bound Sexton has not registered a single try assist for the Bulldogs. The six to his name in 2025 is one less than teammate and backrower Villiame Kikau has notched up this season. It's also one less than what Parramatta fill-in halfback Dean Hawkins has amassed in half the games played. Sexton has also failed to register a single line break in the entire 2025 season. He isn't in the top 50 players in line break assists, all the while touching the ball more than any other half in the competition bar Isaiya Katoa, Nicho Hynes and Daly Cherry-Evans.
