History repeats with Bulldogs bitten by Origin rule
Jasper Bruce |
Cameron Ciraldo admits it is frustrating Canterbury have again fallen victim to a State of Origin selection quirk, with Kurt Mann called away by Queensland but unlikely to play in the series opener.
Maroons coach Billy Slater named Mann his replacement player for Origin I, so the Bulldogs utility will only feature in the event of multiple game-ending head knocks, or one caused by an offence that results in a sin-binning.
But unlike other players on the Origin extended benches, Mann and NSW counterpart Campbell Graham will not be released back to their clubs before Round 12’s NRL fixtures begin.
Graham won’t miss NRL game time because South Sydney have the bye, but Mann will be required to remain in Origin camp as his Bulldogs host the Dolphins on Thursday night.
It has been a similar story for Mann’s Canterbury teammate Matt Burton in the past, with the utility named NSW’s replacement four times between 2023 and 2024.
Burton was not activated in any of those Origin games.
Even if Mann was, he’d still have had six days between the Bulldogs’ clash with the Dolphins and the series opener on May 28 – the same turnaround he has enjoyed before his last two NRL games.
“We would never begrudge him of that (being called into Origin camp), but it is quite frustrating to lose a player to 18th man,” Ciraldo said.
“Considering we play Thursday night and Origin isn’t until next Wednesday, it is (frustrating).
“But in saying that, we want our players in and around that arena, especially someone like Kurt, who has worked so hard for a long time.”
Mann has been selected in Queensland’s extended squad before but has been in career-best form since relocating from Newcastle last year.
If he made it onto the field this series, the 32-year-old would become the oldest Queensland debutant since Arthur Beetson in the inaugural Origin fixture in 1980.
“To get picked again to be in that scene at 32 years old shows the type of character he is,” Ciraldo said.
“He probably makes out that he’s a lot younger than he is, but the experience he’s brought to our club and the impact he’s had on our younger players is immeasurable.”
Ciraldo said he became a little teary when he called Bulldogs prop Max King to congratulate him on being named to make his NSW debut.
Complications from surgery on an achilles tendon injury had threatened King’s NRL career after he suffered the injury in 2021.
King has since transformed into the Bulldogs’ most important middle forward and will take the final spot on Laurie Daley’s bench for Origin I.
“Maybe when I rang him (I teared up). It was pretty special to hear that he’d gotten in the team,” Ciraldo said.
“Just knowing his journey and what he’s been through and how hard he’s worked, particularly over the last three years, it was awesome for us as a club and for Max himself.”
AAP
