News Phil Gould delves into Bulldogs issues as pressure mounts on Cameron Ciraldo

[Gene Krupa]

Yes most of our squad live in the Sutherland Shire and commute but it’s still an issue in attracting players to an already struggling club.

As they may see Scott Morrison, that would be a turn off for several players.

 

[Glenn L]

Gould can't keep saying 5 more years every 2 years. It's starting to look like it might be beyond even him. Eventually he will walk away. I just hope someone at the club is learning from all this to step up when this happens. I don't want to think of the alternative.

 

[Moedogg]

Phil Gould has delivered some much-needed clarity for Bulldogs fans, with the club in tatters after their 66-0 loss to Newcastle last weekend.

Canterbury came into the season with plenty of optimism after adding the likes of Viliame Kikau and Reed Mahoney to their roster, as well as a new coach in Cameron Ciraldo, but still find themselves lingering in the bottom-four.

The defeat at the hands of the Knights, who only sit a couple of spots ahead of the Bulldogs on the ladder, was the tipping point for many fans to vent their frustration both at the ground and on social media.

In the wake of the loss, Gould has gone to market and landed a solution to the club's playmaking woes, adding out-of-favour Titans halfback Toby Sexton on an immediate deal until the end of 2024.

The decision leaves question marks over a number of players at Belmore, with the likes of Kyle Flanagan and Bailey Biondi-Odo both off-contract and teenage sensation Karl Oloapu looking at a potential switch to the middle.

Bulldogs boss Phil Gould explains Toby Sexton signing

In a rare press conference on Tuesday, the club's head of football detailed the decision to sign Sexton, but believes the next great No.7 at the Bulldogs will come from their own system.

“Toby will be a great addition to the club," Gould said.

"He probably got his pathway blocked up there a little bit at the moment and we’re looking for a No.7 and a game manager. He gets his opportunity down here and we’re looking forward to him coming down.

"We’ve signed him for two years, so he will get his opportunity. No.7s are very hard to come by and they’re very expensive if you want the best around… we’re gonna have to develop our own.

"We’ve got some good young kids in the system that we’re really happy with, but they’re some years away yet and we need to build the right culture and development system here."





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RUGBY-LEAGUE
CANTERBURY-BANKSTOWN BULLDOGS
Bulldogs halfback future: Phil Gould provides clarity over Toby Sexton signing, Karl Oloapu plans
Author Photo
Liam O'Loughlin
2 hours ago
•
6 min read

(Getty Images)
Phil Gould has delivered some much-needed clarity for Bulldogs fans, with the club in tatters after their 66-0 loss to Newcastle last weekend.

Canterbury came into the season with plenty of optimism after adding the likes of Viliame Kikau and Reed Mahoney to their roster, as well as a new coach in Cameron Ciraldo, but still find themselves lingering in the bottom-four.

0 seconds of 6 seconds
48:40

The defeat at the hands of the Knights, who only sit a couple of spots ahead of the Bulldogs on the ladder, was the tipping point for many fans to vent their frustration both at the ground and on social media.

In the wake of the loss, Gould has gone to market and landed a solution to the club's playmaking woes, adding out-of-favour Titans halfback Toby Sexton on an immediate deal until the end of 2024.


The decision leaves question marks over a number of players at Belmore, with the likes of Kyle Flanagan and Bailey Biondi-Odo both off-contract and teenage sensation Karl Oloapu looking at a potential switch to the middle.

MORE: Brad Fittler's coaching career clouded ahead of final Origin game



Bulldogs boss Phil Gould explains Toby Sexton signing

In a rare press conference on Tuesday, the club's head of football detailed the decision to sign Sexton, but believes the next great No.7 at the Bulldogs will come from their own system.

“Toby will be a great addition to the club," Gould said.

"He probably got his pathway blocked up there a little bit at the moment and we’re looking for a No.7 and a game manager. He gets his opportunity down here and we’re looking forward to him coming down.

"We’ve signed him for two years, so he will get his opportunity. No.7s are very hard to come by and they’re very expensive if you want the best around… we’re gonna have to develop our own.

"We’ve got some good young kids in the system that we’re really happy with, but they’re some years away yet and we need to build the right culture and development system here."


One young player that Gould is likely referring to Mitchell Woods, who has become a highly sought-after talent in both NRL and AFL circles after impressing in junior rep competitions.

The teenager led the Bulldogs to the Harold Matts title earlier this year and the club are hopeful of locking him down long-term, despite his jump to first grade still likely a number of years away.

Sexton has assumed the halfback role for the Round 19 clash with South Sydney, with the aforementioned Flanagan named on the bench and Khaled Rajab dropped from the side.

Karl Oloapu set to move to lock for Bulldogs

In the lead-up to the 2023 season, Canterbury splashed the cash on the untested schoolboy standout from Brisbane, paying a hefty $500,000 transfer fee in order to sign Oloapu to a long-term, big-money deal.

The 18-year-old has now made seven NRL appearances in his rookie campaign, featuring alongside Matt Burton in the halves, before succumbing to a neck injury in recent weeks.

Gould admitted Oloapu's transition into the first grade lineup came prematurely, and believes his future may be closer aligned to that of a NSW and Kangaroos representative.

"He’s done a really good job – 18 years of age and before he got here, the only football he had really played was at schoolboy level," Gould said.

"He didn’t do the off-season with us and he was blooded before his time a little bit, in a position that he’s not going to play long-term. We used him as a halfback there, just to give us a little bit of control, and I thought he did an outstanding job.

"I see him as a lock-forward, very much in the Cameron Murray mould, and I think he’s gonna be a really great player for this club for a long time."

Hayze Perham dropped by Bulldogs for Round 19

One of the casualties from the horror performance against Newcastle was fullback Hayze Perham, who has been axed in favour of departing utility Jake Averillo.

Perham joined the Dogs on a cut-price deal heading into the season, but was immediately thrown into the crucial No.1 jumper and has featured in the role for the majority of the season.

Gould responded to the recent criticism of Perham's performances and praised him after a tough first year in the blue and white jersey.

“Hayze Perham has been outstanding for us this year," he said.

"He’s a minimum wage kid who came here for an opportunity with no real position in mind. He’s a versatile player and the reason he was put to fullback is because he had the best voice in the team.

"He was a confident young kid and that was something that we lacked, real direction from the back. He’s probably not a fullback, but he’s made a good fist of it and done a really good job.

Good to hear him being honest about Perham not being a fullback and KO moving to lock.

 

[Nate DAWG]

Stop posting the same information. Someone take this ***** ability to make multiple threads every day

 

[DinkumDog]

We've made poor acquisition choices for no improvement. We've spent all our SC and have signed on big money contracts for way too long.

This is the only part of your statement that’s close to correct and we haven’t even spent all of the cap. The poor acquisitions in terms of cost preceeded both Gus and Ciro. They’ve made some mistakes (eg: Grub) but not costly ones. Gus got Cotric and Allan out the door early to try to rectify some of the expensive mistakes.

 

[DinkumDog]

As they may see Scott Morrison, that would be a turn off for several players.

You mean the Minister for Recruitment? .

 

[Howie B]

This .. [emoji115]…….the Bronco’s problems weren’t junior pathways, development retention or recruitment … it was mostly a coaching management problem .. they fixed that and bought a 7 and it was back to business as usual ..

The negative Nancy’s saying see both sides is laughable, I’ve only seen one side from them, the clubs doomed, the players suck, Gould & CC are crap .. what other side than that do they present ?

The article picks and chooses quotes. Both Anasta and Riccio did stick up for Gus and CC. Braith bagged the players which is fair.

Tallis and the other journos are clueless though

 

[AlzzBulldog]

We are gonna lose a whole new generation of supporters if thats the case.. sad times

 

[Bazildog]

“It’s not the Bulldogs way, they’ve lost their DNA. You just want to see that toughness, that tenaciousness,” Anasta said.

“They’ve lost it, this is my point. You watch a 66-0 and the attempts of tackling were pathetic.

“I don’t think there’s anyone out there who thinks Cameron Ciraldo’s position is under pressure, but what we did watch was a team who capitulate,” The Daily Telegraph’s Paul Crawley added.

“Defence is attitude, this season they have conceded the most points of any team. To get beaten by a team who is running 14th on the ladder 66-0 is an embarrassment any way you look at it.”

But for league legend Gorden Tallis, Bulldogs fans have every right to be frustrated.

He pointed to the Broncos who won the wooden spoon in 2020 but are now flying high at the top-end of the ladder in 2023.

Tallis believes the Bulldogs rebuild should be happening at a faster rate, especially considering the players who have been recruited to arrive in Belmore.

“You’ve got to be frustrated, Brisbane got the wooden spoon and look at them in three years? They turned it around quickly,” Tallis said.

“You can turn it around quickly and it is sustainable in Brisbane, you’d think.”

Defence.. Is still the key to us turning things around.

 

[DinkumDog]

Blaming Hasler, Cleal, Castle etc was acceptable up until around 2020/21. It’s no longer an excuse Kelp.

But Barrett is .

 

[John Matrix]

Haven't heard the cleaners opinion yet, when's that coming out.

 

[DinkumDog]

Everyone blames des but he fucken came close to winning a comp. Sure he back ended contracts but had he won 1 of those grandfinals no one would care.

Agree, the same punt he took at Manly and won (2008/2011). Then Manly went through tough times with Toovey and Barrett before Des came back and likely they’ll now go through time times again with the spending spree they’ve just gone on but no silverware to show for it. I agree had we won comps in 2012/14 there’d be a lot more comments around ‘well you can’t keep premiership winning groups together we just need to rebuild’. The lack of trophies in the cupboard deepens the pain.

 

[Gene Krupa]

Haven't heard the cleaners opinion yet, when's that coming out.

Don't encourage him.

 

[Craystar]

With these quoted years of 3,5,10 and so forth, Gus is referring to the junior development, which will take "x" amount of years to come to fruition in first grade

In regards to the current first grade side, it is frustrating as fuck that we have got a below average squad, and the biggest issue is there is fuck all quality available on the market now, with what we require so we can bolster our squad to be competitive.

We have signed Toby, so we will see what he offers for the remainder of the year

Blokes getting a hard on over props like Sele, Lodge, etc is a totally sideways movement

We need a prop in the mould and abilities such as a Tino/NAS/Haas, and than we need a workhorse prop like a Tolman to do the dirty work around Mahoney, and than another 2 props who add a punch like Tyson off the bench

Crichton, Xerri, JAC are going to provide sweet fuck all with our current forward pack

Surely there is a prop in the ESL in the mould of a Graham or Morley or Ellis ffs

 

[liljohny]

What would Bennett achieve if he took over the Dogs in 2023? He didn't deliver GF wins for the Knights or Dragons.

1. Unless you can time travel, it's an impossible question to answer.

2. Who won the 2010 GF and who was the coach? I'll give you a clue, Bennett was the coach!

 

[InGusWeTrust]

I think the knee jerk decisions is buying someone for a mil plus

Toby was gift wrapped to us by the titans

It could be a master stroke tbh. Get a genuine halfback immediately and hopefully finish the season with some positive results. I can’t believe GC released him. If I had to choose any hb off contract this season he’d be near or at the top of the list. He’s better than Cogger, Clune, Wakeham etc.

This is one extremely valuable asset Gus brings. He would have looked around and seen that Toby’s “path was blocked” to first grade at GC and then he goes to work and talks them into releasing him from what, two years he had after this season contracted?

Lol it’s been said before but the simple answer to your question is that Bennett got to start from scratch with an unmolested salary cap and and free rein to build the team he wanted, our salary cap had bastardised for a decade you don’t fix that overnight.

Dolphin hasn’t been competitive in many matches anyway. They’ve copped some floggings too. Benny is smart obviously and the pack he built was the main reason they’ve gone alright so far. Look at the experience and hardness of the Bromwich bros. Kaufusi, Gilbert! and he’s turned guys like Lemuelu into guns. Most of his pack are quality players that he bought though. Then you look at his halves and boy do they stink! Obviously they’ve done well enough to get some wins, but SOS, Milf and Katoa are average af. I haven’t seen anything in the Katoa kid but that’s ok because he’s a very young rookie. The reason I mention it is I reckon KO has shown more 8n his limited games, so imo we’re smart for making that signing.

 

[Nate DAWG]

Tallis and Anasta were having no bar of Gusses rubbish spin in the press conference. They called his bs out and it was a very refreshing listen after reading all the Gus cucks on here gobbling up his every word.

Anasta talked sense but Tallis was a great player but has limited understanding of anything and regularly dribbles shit. Comparing the Broncos to the dogs as if they are in the same position cap wise, player list, pathways and TPA opportunities is just dribbling shit

 

[Battybulldog]

I never thought I would say this but geez I miss Paul Kent.

Tallis has the footy iq of a bar stool. The broncos should have never got the spoon in 2020. Their squad was way too good for that. They had also made the finals the previous 10 years.

To make that comparison is ridiculous

Yeah Tallis is a flop. A broncos team of Haas, Carrigan, Fifita, Coates, Farnworth, Staggs, Oates and more won the spoon. All of those blokes walk in to our 13 currently.

 

[04 Dreaming]

I get the feeling you don't like Gus?

He’s a myth. It’s just very sad to me how he’s manipulated this club from the board room down to the fan bases who continue to worship him as the saviour despite taking us further backwards into the deepest of misery like we saw last weekend.

I won’t be gobbling up his excuses and spin to buy himself the full term of his million dollar contract. I’m too wise for that

 

[CQDog]

We are gonna lose a whole new generation of supporters if thats the case.. sad times

Fuck them kids they should show some loyalty. Good trait to have loyalty