Coach explains reason Dogs dropped Sexton for Galvin
Scott Bailey |
Cameron Ciraldo says Canterbury had to make tough decisions if they want to take it to the NRL’s best, after dropping halfback Toby Sexton to bring in Lachlan Galvin.
Six weeks after arriving at Belmore, Galvin will play his first game alongside Matt Burton in the halves on Saturday against St George Illawarra.
The decision to drop Sexton is one of the toughest of any team this year, after the former Gold Coast No.7 helped take the Bulldogs to the top of the ladder.
But after falling to third in recent weeks, Ciraldo said he had to make the tough call in order to challenge the best sides.
“The last little period we’ve been working really hard on our attack,” Ciraldo said on SEN.
“We’ve been trying to evolve our attack gearing towards the back end of the year, understanding what’s going to beat those top teams who have really good defensive systems.
“And we just felt like we weren’t sort of getting there.
“Probably because we’re sitting on a good part of the ladder people think you don’t have to change.
“But we’re coming in every day wanting to be a better football team and wanting to be better players, and sometimes you have to make tough decisions around that.”
Ciraldo said he expected Galvin to benefit from being left out of last week’s win over North Queensland, after spending the game with him in the coach’s box.
Since arriving as a mid-season signing from Wests Tigers last month, Galvin has played two games off the bench and twice started during State of Origin-impacted rounds.
He now has eight games to fit into the Bulldogs’ structures before finals.
“Lachie has been showing some really good signs at training with his natural talent with the ball and with how he can unlock players around him,” Ciraldo said.
The coach again rejected any suggestion Galvin’s arrival had impacted squad harmony, and insisted it had not put unnecessary pressure on Sexton.
Sexton has since agreed to move to Catalans in the English Super League next season, after the Bulldogs did not open negotiations for an extension.
“He has improved a lot over time. Him leaving for a really good deal at Catalans makes us really proud of the environment we were able to create,” Ciraldo said.
“It was a tough decision (to drop him) because we love Toby and he’s done a great job for us, and we’re not giving up on him.
“Everyone has that (selection) pressure.
“I remember having that conversation with Jacob Preston at the end of last year telling him we were bringing Sitili Tupouniua in.
“We’ve got jobs to do, but we’ve got a deep squad and that’s the great thing we’ve been able to put together.”
Meanwhile, Ciraldo revealed Tupouniua was on track to return from a hamstring injury against the Dragons, provided he got through training on Thursday.
AAP
