Cameron Ciraldo’s surprising spine call has saved the Bulldogs’ season. Despite the halves that are waiting in the wings, should the club stick with what’s been working?
Meanwhile, one of the game’s best centres is set to command over $1 million a season from his next deal. Is he worth it though?
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Round 23
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Welcome to foxsports.com.au’s Buy or Sell, where we give a verdict on the big, burning narratives in the NRL.
DOGS SHOULD ROLL WITH A CRICHTON/GALVIN HALVES COMBO NEXT SEASON
The Bulldogs’ top eight hopes were on life support a month ago, but now, they’re sitting just inside thanks to a recent form spike.
The Bulldogs have won four of five games this season when Stephen Crichton and Lachlan Galvin are the starting halves.
The move to shift a world class centre in Crichton to the unfamiliar five-eighth role and Matt Burton out to centre has turned out to be a masterstroke by coach Cameron Ciraldo.
Beginning with the Dogs’ one-point win over Manly in Round 16, the Bulldogs have won five of their last six, with Crichton at five eighth in four of those wins.
At the time, it was assumed that Crichton’s shift into a ballplaying role would be a stopgap option.
However, the Bulldogs have found their best form with the new spine set up, which let club great Bulldogs great Braith Anasta to wonder whether Ciraldo keeps things the way they are, not only for the rest of the season, but beyond.
“None of thought it was long-term. I don’t think even Ciraldo thought that but do you think that he’s going, ‘well hang on, have we found something here?’” Anasta said on NRL360.
While he’s not a natural six, Crichton has been a calming influence on Galvin and the pair are more or less sharing the ball handling duties.
Crichton discussed the change in a press conference this week.
He admits he does miss playing centre, but is warming into the new role.
He also revealed that the switch wasn’t a total shock, given his workload during the off-season.
“It’s been a massive change from centre to five-eighth. Obviously leadership wise and kind of being the main voice on the field there helping Lachie and just balancing the field in that sense as well,” Crichton said.
“I’ve still got a lot of things to improve on, especially defensively and just trying excellence in that way. But yeah, I’m loving the transition into the halves.
“During the whole off-season I was training at fullback and five eighth. I’ve done a lot of reps in the centre position, so in the off-season, we did a lot of reps with me playing at six and just playing around with it just in case a scenario like this came. So I had a lot of repetitions under my belt playing six.”
At 21, Galvin’s best football is still ahead of him.
Who knows what position he’ll carve out a career in, but it’s clear that he’s come on as a halfback and there’s every chance he could one day be one of the game’s best playmakers.
Naturally, there have been teething issues for Galvin and he’s had to deal with playing in a high-pressure environment given his publicised exit from the Tigers, the pressure around a big club like the Bulldogs and the expectations heading into the season.
He’s handled it with class and Crichton has seen huge leaps from the young gun, but the Bulldogs skipper is also striving for excellence.
“Patience is the biggest thing for us. We’ve got a young halfback that sees the game a lot different to others and sitting back and watching the game back with him, he sees the game a lot different to others,” Crichton said.
“Just teaching him the patience of the game and winning the game at the back end of the game instead of chasing everything pretty early is the biggest learning for Lachie and I feel like the last couple of weeks, he’s really nailed that.
“There are still moments in the game where he can be a lot better at that, but with the transition into six, I probably am a little more calmer with Lachie and just playing alongside him, just the learnings around being patient with the ball.”
Yes, the club have a pair of promising young halves in Mitch Woods and Alex Conti who are well-regarded, but for next season at the very least, the Bulldogs should stick fat with what’s clearly working now instead of chopping and changing their key positions, which has been a constant theme under Ciraldo over the last 12 to 18 months.
Verdict – Buy
EZRA MAM’S STARTING SPOT IS IN DANGER AHEAD OF NEW ARRIVAL
At his best, Ezra Mam is a scintillating gamebreaker and one of the NRL’s most exciting playmakers.
We saw it in the 2023 grand final. He showed how hot he can get in the run to and during the finals last season as well.
However, Mam has been a shell of himself this season. In his defence, many Broncos players have.
Given the club’s horror year, Michael Maguire won’t be afraid to make some tough calls during the off-season and pre-season to ensure the Broncos are back in the finals hunt where they belong.
Halfback Jonah Pezet will be one of a handful of new faces at the club.
Pezet hasn’t had the year he would’ve liked in Parramatta but the mindset will be totally different arriving at a team where you have some contract stability.
There’s also Tom Duffy in the system.
Duffy has flashed glimpses this season to suggest he could be the club’s long-term answer but he still has a long way to go.
Mam is the presumed starter for Round 1, 2027 with either Pezet or Duffy to start alongside of him in the halves, but it won’t be a decision Maguire takes lightly.
Mam has been dropped this season with his defensive deficiences noted as the main reason.
If the 23-year-old continues to struggle in that area, Maguire won’t hesitate turning to a halves combo of Pezet and Duffy.
He just hasn’t had a decent impact with ball in hand either.
“He hasn’t been great. He doesn’t look happy and he hasn’t displayed any great form this season. He’s been poor,” journalist Brent Read said on NRL360.
“Like many of his teammates, he has a huge off-season ahead of him.”
While a halves pairing of two natural halfbacks in Pezet and Duffy has worked at other clubs, Mam adds an x-factor the other two players don’t possess and to win competitions, you need a player of Mam’s ilk in the side.
Simply put, the Broncos are a much better team when Mam’s on song.
He spoke to the media on Wednesday ahead of the Battle of Brisbane and admitted he and several players are under notice and hoping to finish the season strong.
“Noone wants to get dropped, whatever the situation may be,” he said.
“It’s about getting out there, putting our best foot forward, doing our best and giving no excuses to be put in that position.”
Verdict – Sell
Dogs confident in keeping Preston | 00:30
COWBOYS WON’T BOUNCE BACK AFTER DEFLATING LOSS
Not being overly brave here as the Cowboys are just one spot outside of the top eight with a favourable draw remaining, or perhaps we are given the club’s embarrassing 82-12 loss last Thursday night.
It was a performance which worried NRL legend Cooper Cronk, who said the Cowboys “won’t be able to bounce back from this.”
Coach Todd Payten described it as a “dark day” for the club and while it was just that, this is a side who can quickly erase it from their memory.
It hasn’t been uncommon for the Cowboys during the Payten era to put in a stinker one week and then look like worldbeaters the next.
They possess several stars who can quickly forget or put aside a bad mistake and move on. Most of the time, it’s a great quality to have, especially for a team that chances their arm like the Cowboys do.
This is a talented side who boast some impressive scalps this season.
Their win over the Broncos a fortnight ago was gutsy and while their attacking prowess is feared, they’ve been able to tough out some close wins on the back of their defence.
The Cowboys have a golden opportunity to right the ship when they take on the Titans tonight before a clash with the Eels. After those two winnable games, the North Queensland have the bye.
If they get to the week off without another loss, the finals are all but guaranteed and then star playmaker Tom Dearden is due back in Round 26.
With Jeremiah Nanai also back around the same time, the Cowboys have the well-rounded team to make a deep finals run if they’re able to book their spot in the eight.
Verdict – Sell
Voss & Cronk unpack historic Chooks game | 09:39
HERBIE FARNWORTH IS A $1 MILLION PLAYER
When choosing the world’s best centre, Stephen Crichton or Latrell Mitchell wouldn’t be wrong answers.
In fact, they’d probably be the two most popular. For good reason too.
Even though Crichton has moved into the six jersey for the Bulldogs and could remain there for some time (see above), showing off his versatility, he’s been an elite centre over the past several seasons and probably the best defensive one the NRL has.
Meanwhile, Mitchell’s form over the first ten rounds before injury struck was extraordinary. He was the game’s best player and a huge reason why Souths were travelling so well at the time.
But there’s a powerhouse based up in Queensland who can lay just as big a claim to the title. And it’s about to see him earn a tidy pay rise.
Dolphins star Herbie Farnworth is on near enough to $1 million at the moment – roughly $900,000 – but is set to become a free agent on November 1.
The Dolphins are obviously desperate to re-sign Farnworth but it is appearing more and more likely he’ll hit the open market.
If so, the Roosters will be poised to pounce.
According to journalist Brent Read, if Farnworth doesn’t sign with the Dolphins before November 1, he’s as good as gone.
It’s almost certain his next contract will fetch over $1 million.
Is he worth it though?
“I reckon he’s up there with Crichton and Latrell. He’s a $1 million player. I have no concerns playing him $1 million even though he’s a centre,” foxsports.com.au’s Paul Crawley said on NRL360.
“He doesn’t have Latrell’s silky skills, but he has a work rate that Latrell doesn’t have.
The influence he has on most games, is always there to see.
“I love him. He’s a beast. Every week, you know what you’re going to get,” ex-Roosters star Braith Anasta said.
Verdict – Buy
Dolphins could lose major stars | 03:03
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