Bulldogs coach Cameron Ciraldo has lashed out at what he called “ridiculous” media commentary surrounding teenage recruit Lachlan Galvin, following the scrutiny the young playmaker has faced since his mid-season move.
Galvin’s switch from the Wests Tigers to the Bulldogs has been one of the biggest talking points of the NRL season, with everyone from fans to commentators poring over his every move during his first four games in the blue and white.
But Ciraldo says much of the attention has been blown out of proportion — and may reflect broader agendas within the game.
“Some of the commentary around him is ridiculous,” Ciraldo said.
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“He’s a 19-year-old kid who has changed clubs mid-year and has come here looking to improve his football.
“Our job internally is to help him through that process, guide him and protect him. He’s doing a great job turning up and trying to get better each day.”
The 19-year-old, who made his second start at five-eighth last week against the Brisbane Broncos, came under media fire after the Bulldogs surrendered an 18–0 lead following halftime.
While Bulldogs coach Cameron Ciraldo admitted Galvin could have performed better in the Round 18 loss, he was quick to defend their young playmaker, calling out the intense criticism as overblown and unfair.
“I don’t know why there’s so much attention on him or why it comes to that because we had a number of players last week who didn’t play the way they wanted to play, and unfortunately Lachie was in the headlines for a lot of that,” Ciraldo stated.
“But he did a lot of things well, he’ll learn a lot of things out of that game and he’ll come back bigger and stronger.”
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To shield their players from the constant churn of online commentary and negative media cycles, Ciraldo revealed the club is making a conscious effort to educate them about avoiding such distractions.
“It’s hard for us to hear all that noise because we’re not watching all that stuff. We’re educating them to stay away from it as well, so we’re trying to get our boys off their phones and watching reality TV shows,” he said.
“We keep reinforcing that their reference points are their performances in these four walls. Hopefully, they’re listening.”
With the club’s Origin players expected to return for this weekend’s clash against the Cowboys in Townsville, Galvin has returned to the bench, with Toby Sexton set to shift into the hooker role when he comes on, replacing Reed Mahoney.
The move is based on how Galvin has been used in previous games and not, Ciraldo insists, part of a wider reshuffling to accommodate the young playmaker.