Cameron Ciraldo’s mission to instill a tough edge to Canterbury will keep him busy in the off-season because they were yet again brittle in defence in their final match of the year on the Gold Coast.
The Bulldogs went down 34-30 to the Titans at Cbus Super Stadium to put a full stop on a disappointing season for both clubs.
“A terrible end to a horrible season for the Bulldogs,” was how their former premiership-winning five-eighth Braith Anasta described it on the Fox League broadcast before quickly diverting attention to Sunday’s later game between Cronulla and Canberra which had actual relevance.
For the visitors it was also the end to a controversial week in which the club was engulfed in controversy after it was revealed a Bulldogs player had taken mental health leave after being made to wrestle a long line of teammates as punishment for arriving late to training.
Co-captain Reed Mahoney and Ciraldo’s former mentor Ivan Cleary threw their support behind the rookie coach boss amid claims of overly strict training methods in the lead-up to the match.
An assistant coach in Penrith’s back-to-back premiership victories, Ciraldo has since doubled down on his approach, adamant that only hard work would lift the 15th-placed Bulldogs out of the mire.
But the Dogs again showed little bite on the field, conceding six tries to another team that will finish well outside the finals.
“I am just happy to get through today. I will think about that tomorrow. I did say we would review everything but we review everything every day,” Ciraldo said.
“I don’t want to talk about ladders. We have some guys coming in who love footy and are going to be good additions to our squad.”
The Titans dominated from the outset and after veteran five-eighth Kieran Foran sliced through for two tries in the opening quarter of the match, the home side was up 12-0.
Josh Addo-Carr hit back for the Dogs to halve the deficit but the Gold Coast went to half-time with an 18-6 advantage when AJ Brimson crossed just before the break.
Kurtis Morrin scrambled over to put Canterbury again behind by a converted try before Foran notched a rare hat-trick in the 53rd minute, the first in his lengthy career.
Addo-Carr’s second try again brought the Dogs into the contest but English hooker Kruise Leeming celebrated his final Titans appearance before a return to the Super League by scoring midway through the second half.
When winger Alofiana Khan-Pereira touched down in the left corner, Gold Coast had the match sealed at 34-18 with 12 minutes remaining.
A botched try by Matt Burton when he dropped the ball over the line proved costly. Addo-Carr registered a not so rare hat-trick when he spectacularly reeled in a kick downfield but despite a last-minute runaway try to Blake Wilson, the Titans held on to finish equal with the Dolphins with a 9-15 record but the new side leapfrogged them on for-and-against with their 34-10 upset win over the Warriors on Saturday.
The Dolphins have a potential injury concern from this match with 2024 recruit Jake Averillo hobbling off late with what was feared to be an ACL tear.
Ciraldo said an initial dressing room assessment had brought good news.
“It is better than we thought,” Ciraldo said. “The ACL feels pretty good so it could be just a PCL or a capsule thing, so good news there hopefully.”
Canterbury have now missed the NRL finals for the seventh consecutive season, an unacceptable result for such a proud club.
Matt Burton. (Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)
Ciraldo, in conjunction with Bulldogs supremo Phil Gould, will conduct a root-and-branch review of operations in the off-season.
Canterbury have secured Penrith duo Stephen Crichton and Jaeman Salmon along with Sydney Sydney’s Blake Taaffe and former Cronulla centre Bronson Xerri for 2024 to bolster the squad.
Their strong roster for next season will ensure Ciraldo is under the microscope should there be no dramatic improvement.
Jim Lenihan took over as interim Titans head coach after Justin Holbrook was sacked mid-season but has ensured the 14th placed team remained competitive before handing over to the incoming Des Hasler.
Lenihan will stay on board in 2024 as an assistant. “Hopefully we have started the ball rolling about shifting our mindset about what it takes for us to be a better football team,” he said.
with AAP
mushi
Roar Guru
In the immortal words of LL Cool J. Pride is what you had
BigGordon
Roar Rookie
I wonder if the NRL has thought about which referees are suited to what roles? Badger is a case in point. I know you can't make too many assumptions based on one game, but maybe her best role is actually controlling games because her skillset allows her to make good, quick decisions. In the Bunker though, perhaps she's trying too hard to look at all angles, consider all the options, takes way too long and she gets herself tied into mental knots? If there were enough retired but experienced refs who could sit behind a bank of screens and make good decisions, perhaps they'd unretire, allowing the younger brigade to control games.
andyfnq
Roar Rookie
Insipid is a bit rough - they played a team in a roughly similar spot on the ladder and only lost by 4 points. The offense finally looked good too - finally learning how and when to give it to the Fox where he can make the most of his speed, power and smarts. So while I am sure they wanted to win, they were always in it and fought to the end - certainly some positives from it. "Insipid" is when you turn in the sort of performance the Cowboys put in on the weekend :laughing:
Muzz Manyana
Roar Rookie
Does it bother Bulldogs supporters that Gus has his finger in so many Pie's. I wouldn't be mentioning it if the Dogs were heading in the right direction but that's not the case. Gould is the ultimate player imo.
Albo
Roar Rookie
I thought Badger had a good game . Much better than some of her recent efforts in the Bunker.
BigGordon
Roar Rookie
That was a particularly nonsense comment from Anasta. He focused on the Doggies defence which has been terrible for months and decided that was the main factor in this match. How were the Bulldogs going to suddenly turn the worst defence in the comp into the best in the last game of the year? Did he bother to watch the Doggies attack? Did he see three outstanding tries by The Fox? There's something nobody has mentioned and that was the officiating. You know a ref's done a good job when they don't rate a mention so good on Kasey Badger for the way she controlled this game. Belinda Sharpe did equally well in the Manly/ Wests match.
farkurnell
Roar Rookie
Or picking up druggies.
Albo
Roar Rookie
I wouldn't be giving too many wraps to Kikau, Burton & Mahoney. They have all been particularly underwhelming this season. Kikau missed a lot of the season but has done nothing since returning to the park in recent weeks. Burton has been getting worse as the year has gone on. I would have hooked him last week. And Mahoney is over enthusiastic taking so many wrong options trying to make something happen . All three are missing the support & systems of their previous clubs and are not good enough to lead this new Dogs operation.
Robbo
Roar Rookie
I thought Dogs would have had a bit more bite with their roster than they showed - there's some kind of disconnect which is beyond training too hard I reckon there's one or 2 too many petulant and entitled man-children. Kikau, Burton and Mahoney deserved better and didn't sign up for that
Tony Dargon
Roar Guru
I think Gus's only plan is to keep recruiting from Penrith
Hard Yards
Roar Rookie
Does anyone at the Dogs actually have a plan? I might say the same thing about the Sea Eagles, but the Dogs’ heads have slipped beneath the Qicksand. Bloody terrible.
Duncan Smith
Roar Guru
They won three out of their first five games, then went 4-15 for the rest of the year. Slim pickings.