Not sure if Toby Sexton owns a crystal ball, but surely he could never have predicted the 2025 he’s currently having.
After steering the Canterbury Bulldogs to the top of the NRL ladder during the first half of the season, the 24-year-old now finds himself in a state of complete selection limbo.
Until this weekend, Sexton had started at number seven in all 16 games for the Bulldogs in 2025.
However in Cameron Ciraldo’s latest halves selection shuffle, Sexton has not only lost his halfback spot to Lachlan Galvin for this weekend’s match against the Dragons—he’s been left out of the Bulldogs 17 altogether.
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At Belmore today, Sexton’s Bulldogs teammate Jacob Preston gave his reaction to the Round 20 halves shake-up.
“I wouldn’t say we snapped heads (when we heard the news about Sexton),” Preston said.
“But obviously we checked on Toby, he’s a great person with a real ‘team first’ mentality.
“You always feel for your mates, but this is rugby league, it is what it is. He was down here today, ripping in, just getting on with it.”
First Galvin, next Woods?
Under normal circumstances you would assume, barring late changes, Sexton would be lining up in NSW Cup against the Sea Eagles at Belmore on Saturday afternoon, and he may well do.
But this is where things get even more complicated—because that halfback spot is currently held by NSW U19 playmaker Mitchell Woods who Canterbury see as their next gun number seven, most likely playing alongside Galvin in the not-too-distant future.
By then of course Sexton will be long gone, having signed with Catalan Dragons in the Super League from next season.
But what happens over the next two and half months?
Clearly Sexton has to play, somewhere, the question is where—and at the expense of whom?