There’s two things that, as a coach, keep you in a job. First up, obviously, is winning. Winning cures all.
And if you can’t win, then you need to give the impression that you’re moving the team, whether that be to the fans or to the powers-that-be at the club.
The second bit is a bit more nebulous and subjective than the first – a win’s a win’s a win, right? – but it can buy enough time to move a team to the point where they turn the corner and become good again.
In a salary-capped comp like the NRL, that recovery is usually not that far away. Some sides perennially underperform – let’s not say who, but they play in the West and they dress like Tigers – and others perennial overperform, whether through culture – Melbourne – or largesse – the Roosters.
But for most everyone else, it’s a cycle of ups and downs. It’s a thought that fans should keep in mind when watching Cameron Ciraldo’s Baby Bulldogs at the moment.
More than most, Doggies fans know what a rebuild looks like. They’ve seen the false dawns before. But this one does look and feel different, with a new coach on a long term deal and a raft of rookies making their mark at first grade level.
It’s that which currently satisfies the second part of the coaching gambit. Fans tend to forgive poor results if they are accrued in the process of blooding new players, and clearly, that is what the Dogs are doing.
Despite adding some star power from the top of the NRL had of this year – notably Viliame Kikau and Reed Mahoney – Canterbury have been unable to kick on like most might have expected.
That’s largely been down to a huge injury crisis that left them struggling to so much as field a team at points earlier in the year.
But every in crisis is an opportunity – a crisitunity, as the great philosopher Homer put it – and Ciraldo certainly seems to be putting that idea to the test at the moment.
Last time Canterbury faced Cronulla – whom they will play this Sunday – they were in the depths of their injuries, but fielded a side that included Kyle Flanagan, Ryan Sutton, Josh Reynolds and Andrew Davey, all established first graders with plenty of experience.
Jacob Preston. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
That was in Round 8, and we are now in Round 16, where all four will miss out – indeed, Davey has left the club altogether.
In their place have come Karl Oloapu, Khaled Rajab, Harrison Edwards and Kurtis Morrin, who have fewer than 30 NRL appearances between them. They join Paul Alamoti and Jacob Preston, who made debuts this year and cemented spots in the side.
It’s a fair changing of the guard, and one that fans should get very excited about, because there’s serious precedent here.
If we look at the top of the NRL ladder, the top two places are clear examples of what can happen when the crisis leads to opportunity.
The Panthers, in first place, went through a similar phase in 2017 and 2018 under Anthony Griffin, when the likes of Jarome Luai, Moses Leota, Dylan Edwards, James Fisher-Harris and Kikau debuted.
They missed the finals altogether in 2019 – including a six game losing streak not unlike that which the Dogs endured this year – with a side that included 13 of the 17 that would win the 2021 Grand Final.
The Broncos scraped into the finals in 2019 then finished dead last in 2020, but across that period, blooded Payne Haas, Pat Carrigan, Herbie Farnworth, Jordan Riki and Kotoni Staggs.
The milestone, as far as junior coaches are concerned, is 50-75 games, or three full seasons, at which point it is clear whether a player is going to make it or not.
If they’re rep quality, they’ll probably have been picked by then, and if they make 75, there’s a very high chance they’ll go well beyond that.
Those five Broncos are all beyond that now – Staggs and Haas passed it last year – while the Panthers cohort came into that period around 2020, kicking off their reign of dominance in the NRL.
Under this logic, get booking the slap-up meal at Brothers Kebab in Belmore for early October 2025, because the Baby Bulldogs are coming.
Hayze Perham is tackled in Wollongong. (Photo by Matt King/Getty Images)
Alright, it’s a little more complicated than that, and plenty of other things have to go well – but there is plenty of upside for a team with little to no experience going into plenty of NRL games as rank underdogs.
It’s also worth considering the importance of cohesion in building a successful team.
Former Wallabies international Ben Darwin, now an expert in sports cohesion with his own company, Gain Line Analytics, went into this with yours truly for Forbes, back in 2021, when the Broncos were dreadful and Queensland were getting destroyed by NSW.
Darwin compared the failing performances of Queensland teams at that time to the Iceland soccer team that shocked the world by defeating England in Euro 2016, explaining that teams playing together and staying together was vital, even in defeat.
“Failing together has the same effect as winning together,” he said. “It has the same impact. When we look at cohesion, we don’t look at where it comes from, in terms of did they win or did they lose.”
“Look at Iceland, and how much they lost through the juniors: as under-16s, under-18s and under-21s they were annihilated but when it came to play against England in the 2016 European Championships, their numbers were 220% higher than England’s. Those kids had basically never won anything, but cohesion doesn’t care.”
That hard data matches the anecdotal evidence of the Panthers and Broncos, who were rubbish in 2019 and 2021 respectively, but stuck tight with their young squads and reaped the benefits down the line.
One suspects that Ciraldo knows this to be true. The Dogs’ NSW Cup side is currently top of the ladder, and the likes of Reynolds, Sutton and Flanagan all played last week in a crushing 64-12 win over Parramatta’s reserve grade, as did Braidon Burns, Fa’amanu Brown and Jackson Topine.
Bulldogs coach Cameron Ciraldo is interviewed. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
As there are six rookies in the top grade side, so another six first graders were down in reggies. Nobody would bat an eyelid if Ciraldo had stuck with the tried and tested, instead he has gone to the next generation.
It’s a cliche in coaching to say ‘trust the process’, but it’s clear that Ciraldo has one and is sticking to it. He’s not just throwing them in and hoping for the best, either.
No coach in the NRL would have had better cause to point to injuries as an excuse, but at no point in their casualty crisis did Ciraldo do so. Ditto inexperience, which would be an easy out for the coach.
Instead, he’s chucked players into grade and held them to that standard. What he says behind closed doors might be different, but the public face, at least, is consistent.
Reading the tea leaves at Belmore, this faith in youth is how things are going to be now, and that’s a good thing.
Under Trent Barrett, the Bulldogs were no fun to watch and, from the outside in, even less fun to play for. When Baz was axed, Mick Potter’s Dogs didn’t win a great deal more, but they were free-flowing and actually looked like they wanted to be there.
It was exactly what the club needed at the time, and while Potter never accepted that his focus was on attack over defence – and bristled when asked about it – part of his goal, clearly, was to make Belmore a fun place to play footy again.
He said he cared about winning and their poor defence harmed that, but nobody bought that argument. The style mattered too, perhaps even more than the result.
Now, with Potter still on board as an assistant, Ciraldo seems to have taken that to the next level.
The style is still there, with the Dogs consistently spreading the football and having a crack, but now they’re doing it with the lowest average age in the NRL.
Indeed, when friend of the column Rugby League Eye Test ran this data in Round 1, the Dogs had the sixth youngest lineup in his sample size, going back to 2014. Brisbane 2020 and Penrith 2017 were in there with the five above them.
Now, in Round 16, with the additions of the 18-year-old Oloapu and the 21-year-old Rajab, that will likely have dropped further, not to mention that both of those players are in the spine.
It’s things like this that keep fans engaged and coming back. Cliche as it is, ‘trust the process’ might be the buzzword that Bulldogs fans need. The team might well be going somewhere – and, for once, it might not be a false dawn.
Uncle Buck
Roar Rookie
As a dog supporter since 1969 I have seen a lot of ups and down. Elation, tradgey, and chronic mismanagement. The last few years have been painfully for such a proud club. Watching Sunday's game I thought strongly that I had had enough. Turned the TV off at half time and went for a walk. Not the first time in recent years. The players are young but the level of dumb and careless mistakes was not acceptable. These mistakes are not where a player beets you with a clever step and acceleration, the mistakes smell like there is no consequences for doing dumb stuff. As the players age these traits become built into their personal game plan. There is one part of the match I will add to my lifetime highlights reel is Jake Averillo running down Nico Hynes. The determination combined with pain and effort is the Bulldog culture I know. And he hasn't been offered a contract with the Dogs. Did I use the mismanagement word a while back.
The Barry
Roar Guru
I didn’t say anything at all about who the Panthers have been signing I made the general observation that according to a lot of Panthers fans when they sign a player from another club, it’s because they’re unwanted… but when someone signs a Panthers player, it’s stealing You’re sorta confirming the theory. Every single Panther signing was unwanted by their clubs and they all went to Penrith for love… not because they were offered more money to do so… The Panthers didn’t offer Crichton a contract… so by your theory the Dogs just signed a player “unwanted” by his club… but I bet that’s not how you see it The Panthers have been handed the largest junior nursery, 10 times the size of some other Sydney clubs and then you get high and mighty about why other clubs can’t bring through their own juniors like the Panthers do… it’s hilarious Panthers set up academies in the Central West and “it’s look at our pathways, aren’t we clever” the Dogs do it in the Hunter and it’s Newcastle Bulldogs. Everything you come out with is absolute hypocritical nonsense…
Panthers
Roar Rookie
Yes, but Capewell wasn’t wanted at the Sharks at all. If we’re going to talk about any players that go to Penrith, at least be realistic. They aren’t buying any top players from any other club. The only players they ever get in recent years are those unwanted any more at their former clubs. That also goes for Salmon, Peachey, Sorenson ( who went there looking for an opportunity ), Hosking. Name one of them that were wanted at their former clubs? All cheap buys , as the Panthers couldn’t afford expensive players. That’s a far cry from the Bulldogs buys. Let’s seek out the best players from other clubs , such as Penrith. Then pay whatever is necessary to get them to the Bulldogs. Also use whatever influence that others bought by the Bulldogs, such as Ciraldo to get them there . Then at the same time , dump a heap of the current players at the club. Which they’ve already done on mass. The Bulldogs story was at least in part comparing the Bulldogs to the Panthers & Broncos . So I made a comparison as well. Guess what! The other two clubs have very little in common with the Bulldogs rebuild , in how they’ve gone about it. That would be to buy your way up the table. Bulldogs are also buying some other current first grade clubs local juniors in bulk , by buying their way into that area. Newcastle! Not so with Broncos or Penrith. Whether you like the comparison or not ? Nothing I’ve stated is incorrect.
The Barry
Roar Guru
So two clubs were interested in Capewell…that’s not quite unwanted Only one club was interested in Crichton, so I guess he was unwanted…nah, stolen junior… Of course clubs like the Bulldogs need to go outside their footprint to get juniors. Not every club is kissed on the d#$k like the Panthers to have a massive junior catchment. You guys act like it’s a curse when it’s the biggest advantage in the NRL… I love the panthers players and I love that heaps of them came through the system together… it’s awesome… fk yeah, I’m jealous of the success. What you’re going through now, is what I grew up with This is an article about the Bulldogs trying to build their future. You’ve tried to turn it into poor two time premiers Panthers
Panthers
Roar Rookie
The Sharks had released Capewell & the only 2 clubs that were interested in him were Newcastle & Penrith. So not quite sure what you’re referring to? As opposed to the Bulldogs who will pay any amount & use whatever means to get players from other clubs. With Penrith 1 of their favourites. However, with their junior set up in Newcastle. They may soon be the Canterbury Knights.
The Barry
Roar Guru
That’s right… when Penrith sign a player it’s because they’re “unwanted” When a Panthers player gets signed they’ve been “stolen” :laughing:
Panthers
Roar Rookie
Who were the older heads at Penrith in 2020? Capewell an unwanted Shark . Api Korisau I suppose, who went back there again. Not sure about all these other experienced players that were there then? Also, not all clubs at the top of the tree lose a lot of their best players. A couple of clubs further east come to mind.
RLFan
Roar Rookie
A lot fans seem to be p......d off at Perham being picked every week as fullback, despite poor efforts in defence. It is hard to justify him keeping his place in the team. I'll be very sorry if Averillo and Alamoti leave as they are both local juniors with a lot of promise, but no-one should begrudge them their opportunity. As for Penrith losing local juniors and others, it is what happens when you get to the top of the tree and others are trying to claw their way up. Both the Bulldogs and Tigers have been in that position and have spent big on some players, but it is a known fact, no matter how much young talent there is, a few older and wiser heads are what is needed in successful teams.
Nat
Roar Guru
I wouldn’t say recognition but definitely retention and development hasn’t been great. I can see talent there but time and a higher standard sought and set could prove fruitful in years to come.
Tim Carter
Roar Pro
I would've read said articles and simply not looked at the author. My bad.
Panthers
Roar Rookie
Got to make room for the likes of Crichton somehow? If the Bulldogs keep bringing in more expensive players from outside of the club, the players that are coming through the club can see that their pathway is blocked. So at best they may get an opportunity to play first grade , if a lot of other players are injured or playing SOO. So why stay if a better opportunity comes along elsewhere? Given that & that Penrith continue to lose their best locals , I’d be looking at just a few of the best juniors that are coming through at the Bulldogs & ask them if they’d like an opportunity to play at Penrith. :stoked:
The Barry
Roar Guru
Thanks Mike it’s good to read a positive spin on the bulldogs Buying in expensive talent can only ever be a short term solution. A strong junior production line is a necessity. You need quality young talent coming through filling roster spots of departing players. The news coming from the dogs seems pretty good It’s a little disappointing hearing that Alamoti and Averillo are on the brink of signing with with Cowboys and Dolphins respectively Both are local juniors. Been a lot of hype about Alamoti and he’s shown enough this season to suggest he’s in for a long NRL career Averillo has been messed around by the club being shuffled between halfback, 5/8 and fullback before finally getting an extended run at centre. He’s been playing very well It seems Ciraldo is keener on Hayze Perham which I find mind boggling. Preferring him to the two locals undermines everything the club is trying to achieve by building a junior base…
The Barry
Roar Guru
Agreed. The injury excuse alone puts a huge asterisk on this season but Ciraldo hasn’t rolled it out at all
Mike Meehall Wood
Editor
I did the whole WC last year and will be about for WWC this year (as far as NRL allows), plus I've been the Ange correspondent since I joined :laughing:
Abbot
Roar Rookie
Tigers talent recognition and retention has been terrible the last few years (at least since 2017). If the tigers hold the good ones and give them a pathway to & consistent time in first grade, then who knows how good they could be!
Tim Carter
Roar Pro
This reminds me of when I read a Disney comic as a kid and the letter to the editor was from the host of Saturday Disney. Love the passion! So... football articles??? You know you want to!
RLFan
Roar Rookie
It is what it is - they haven't been making excuses. It's been next man up and do your job. Hasn't always worked due to inexperience, and I feel they were a bit unfortunate lately. For three games in a row they have struck teams making a point, Tedesco at Roosters proving he should be picked for game 2, without him they would have won, ditto for Moses, and I am tipping Hynes will have a blinder on Sunday and put on a big score. Without the Fox and Burton it will be a big ask for young players, no matter now talented.
Mike Meehall Wood
Editor
The Knowledge is a long time obsession of mine - I think I got the only RL answer in it's history... https://www.theguardian.com/football/2016/sep/07/the-manchester-united-playing-career-that-lasted-a-matter-of-seconds
Maxtruck
Roar Rookie
Gould & Ciraldo must just about at the last page in the excuse book. Tigers, Dragons & Cowboys were all going worse than the Dogs a month ago but all three have turned the corner but the Dogs just keep dishing up the same and look likely for the spoon
Nat
Roar Guru
I believe this to be true but I wonder if this rule applies when running it across the example you used as perennial failures, the Tigers? Watching their NRL and reserve team I’ve been thinking there is something building there in raw talent and plenty of first grade experience (albeit losing games). They middled for a long time then sack but that time unearthed a fair bit of talent. Now they’ve added API and few other experienced guys to set a new standard could there be a similar trajectory in the next few years?