Canterbury are sitting pretty at the top of the ladder after stringing together six wins on the bounce to open the season. The Bulldogs haven’t achieved this feat at the beginning of a campaign since 1938.
Several players are being linked to earning State of Origin jerseys off the back of the perfect start, while the Dogs are being viewed as a genuine premiership threat.
Yet while everything is rosy at Belmore, the club were drawn into the circus revolving around Lachlan Galvin last week as the teenager’s manager attempted to extricate him from the Wests Tigers.
MORE: Trade smarter with eToro, the world's leading social investing platform
Cameron Ciraldo opens up on Lachlan Galvin links
Canterbury supremo Phil Gould has talked glowingly of the playmaker since he first appeared in the NRL last year. It was inevitable that the club would be linked heavily for a play at Galvin as soon as the situation developed.
However, Gould moved to distance the Dogs from the speculation just days after Isaac Moses and the Tigers waged war on each other in the media.
Cameron Ciraldo has now weighed into the conversation, outlining how he and Gould are on the same page regarding any potential approach for the five-eighth.
"We’ve got our plan and we’re sticking to that," Ciraldo said.
"It’s been working really well for us and the guys in those positions have been doing a great job.
"We’ve got a pathways system that we’ve put a lot of time and effort into and it's reaping some rewards as well. So, we’ll stick to what we’re doing and let everyone else worry about the other stuff."
Matt Burton has owned the No.6 jersey for several years after the experiment to turn him into a halfback was eventually abandoned.
Drew Hutchison partnered him in the halves, before Gold Coast recruit Toby Sexton made the No.7 jersey his own midway through last year.
The halfback is due to come off-contract at the end of the season though and no recent progression has been made on an extension, according to the Bulldogs coach.
Regardless, Ciraldo once again moved to distance the Dogs from a pursuit of Galvin with highly rated teenager Mitch Woods waiting in the wings for an opportunity in the halves.
"We’re a development club," he declared.
"We’ve been on that path for several years now and we’ve put a lot of time and effort into it. We won’t be bringing too many people from the outside in."
Ciraldo did admit the prospect of bringing Galvin to Belmore was certainly an enticing one after the former Australian Schoolboys star has registered 21 try assists in just 27 matches in first grade.
Yet once again he reiterated how, for the time being, the Dogs will not entertain a move as he remains under contract at the Tigers.
"When there are good players that come onto the market, you’ve always got to have those conversations and look at what’s best for the club," Ciraldo said.
"We can’t talk to him for another seven months, anyway. So, Gus shut down all the speculation and we’ll get on with what we’re doing."