Paul Crawley column preview of Round 25, why Bulldogs fans are frustrated over big Phil Gould, Cameron Ciraldo calls, Jacob Preston contract offer

What is it they say about the pot calling the kettle black?

It was a bit rich Cameron Ciraldo calling his players “slow learners” after the loss to South Sydney that could end up costing Canterbury a place in the finals.

Ciraldo himself is now approaching the end of his fourth season as head coach.

Meanwhile, Phil Gould has been back as general manager of football for five years as of last month.

We all know how Gus’ so-called five-year plan at Penrith finished up before the Panthers moved him on — and how the Panthers pretty much started again after Gould had been there for nine years in total.

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Bulldogs fans would be entitled to be concerned this could end up being a case of history repeated, especially given both Gould and Ciraldo were handed five-year extensions at the end of last year through until 2031.

How could even their most loyal fans possibly look back now and not think those deals were premature?

That’s not ignoring the fact the Bulldogs were sitting dead last on the ladder when Gould returned in 2021, when Trent Barrett was still coach.

But for all the good Gould and Ciraldo did building a roster good enough to get to the top of the table last year, the constant changing of the spine has just left everyone confused.

None more so than the players themselves.

It’s now been 13 months since Lachlan Galvin was handed the No.7 jersey from Toby Sexton.

Meanwhile, the player formerly known as the world’s best centre, Stephen Crichton, is doing his best at five-eighth.

But being the chief playmaker is just not Crichton’s natural strength.

And in fairness to Matt Burton, he was going better than okay at five-eighth when he still had a traditional halfback as his partner.

Yet the only true halfback still in the Bulldogs’ top squad, Sean O’Sullivan, has become the forgotten man in the race to save their season as they prepare to take on the last-placed Dragons this weekend.

I get the feeling if this goes pear-shaped on Saturday night, Bulldogs fans will be howling from the stands at Allianz Stadium.

And who could blame them?

Because the blowtorch should not be focused on the spluttering spine right now.

It should be squarely on the two men who have built the roster.

And I’m well aware the Broncos, Storm and Raiders also finished top four last year — and are currently below the Bulldogs on the ladder.

But that still doesn’t excuse how Canterbury has ended up in this position.

The irony is that when Galvin got his first start at halfback ahead of Sexton in round 20 last year, it was also against the Dragons.

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At the time Canterbury was averaging 22.85 points a game while conceding only 16.87.

They are now averaging 19.14 in attack and conceding 22.19.

And no, this is not about targeting Galvin and blaming him for what’s gone wrong.

As is pointed out week after week, the kid tries his heart out every time he runs onto the field.

And he didn’t just arrive at Belmore one morning and decide he was taking over Sexton’s spot.

That decision was made for him.

Yet now Crichton has had to shift into the halves because there is apparently not a good enough communicator in their spine.

Then we go back to the Reed Mahoney decision.

As capable a utility player as Bailey Hayward was coming off the bench last year, no one could seriously argue he is anywhere near the same class as Mahoney as a dummy half.

And while Connor Tracey’s effort also can’t be questioned, his skill level is just nowhere near other elite fullbacks in the game.

Yet Tracey was also given a contract extension.

So, for all the talent Gus and Ciraldo have brought together since they took charge of the club, there is no question they have let themselves down when it comes to the make-up of the spine.

And despite all the explanations that were leaked through the media about Sexton not being the halfback to take them to a title, there is no way the Bulldogs are closer to a premiership now than they were with Sexton and Mahoney in the side.

That’s not ignoring the fact the Bulldogs haven’t had much luck over the past fortnight as their top eight hopes tumbled.

Had someone put up their hand to catch the Sam Walker bomb that cost them against the Roosters (where they gave up a 10-point lead in the last 15 minutes), they could have been sitting seventh going into last week’s game against Souths.

Then against the Rabbitohs they had two early tries denied by outstanding defensive plays from Jack Wighton and Cameron Murray.

They score those tries and who knows how that game unfolds.

Yet the ladder is what it is.

And while I don’t question the effort of the players, we are entitled to question the process that has taken this squad from leading the comp last year to being in very real danger of missing the finals if they lose against the Dragons on Saturday.

PRESTON LOW-BALL OFFER ‘ABSOLUTE INSULT’

The concerns for the Bulldogs don’t stop there.

Now we hear Jacob Preston has knocked back a low-ball three-year offer which reportedly averages out at just over $600,000-a-season.

If that is even close to the offer that was put to Preston, it is an absolute insult.

Especially when you consider what some other edge backrowers are commanding in the current market.

The talk is Liam Martin wants $1 million-a-season to re-sign with the Panthers.

Hudson Young is looking at $900,000 to even consider staying at the Raiders, and he’ll get a stack more off PNG.

While the Tigers could go higher than $1m-a-season to try and retain Samuela Fainu.

And the Dogs think it’s okay to offer Preston $600,000-a-season and he’ll just cop it sweet?

Preston has every right to have his nose out of joint.

PANTHERS TITLE CHARGE ON SHAKY GROUND

Have you seen the NRL ladder that shows how the race to the finals would look if we started at round 16?

While some are starting to question if the Panthers can win the comp without Isaah Yeo, the Fox Sports Lab ladder highlights just how much the Panthers have been struggling with only three wins from their last eight games.

That includes losses against the Titans, Cowboys and Broncos, as well as to the Warriors and Roosters in succession.

The Panthers actually come in at 11th, below Melbourne and even Parramatta.

Up top is the Roosters as the only side who have won all eight games followed by the Warriors, Dolphins, Sharks, Knights, Raiders, Dogs and Rabbitohs rounding out the eight.

Then comes the Cowboys, Storm, Eels and Panthers.

The Dragons are 12th ahead of the Titans, Broncos, Sea Eagles and the poor old Tigers are last, as the only team without a win in their last eight matches.

And wouldn’t you know it, the Tigers take on the top placed Roosters on Sunday without Adam Doueihi.

Good luck with that.