The Bulldogs’ finals hopes may be over, but Cameron Ciraldo isn’t letting his side’s final game of the season be treated as a dead rubber.
Instead, Canterbury are treating Thursday night’s clash with Brisbane at Accor Stadium as their own grand final, determined to finish the year with one last performance for their fans at home.
While the game may have little impact on the finals picture, Ciraldo has made a conscious effort to turn the Bulldogs’ final week of the season into a special occasion.
Jacob Preston Try
The players took part in their final captain’s run at Accor Stadium, a reminder of the privilege of playing in the NRL and an opportunity to soak in their home ground one last time before the season comes to an end.
“Any game you get to play in the NRL, especially at a stadium like this, is a privilege and we should be grateful,” Ciraldo said.
“We train out here quite a bit; it’s our home ground and we mix it up at times during the season.
“We thought today, it’s our last game here, the field’s in great shape and we’re trying to make it a special occasion.”
Match: Bulldogs v Broncos
Round 27 -
home Team
Bulldogs
10th Position
away Team
Broncos
15th Position
Venue: Accor Stadium, Sydney
Match broadcasters:
- WatchNRL
The Bulldogs had been building momentum towards the back end of the season however a slow start to the year left them with too much work to do to climb inside the eight.
With 11 wins and 12 losses, Canterbury enter Thursday's match on the outside looking in and unable to overtake the Cowboys.
Despite missing the finals for the first time in three years, Ciraldo said he remained proud of the way his players had continued to fight.
“There has been a lot of learning this year and the way we finished the season, I’ve been really proud of our guys,” he said.
“We finished a couple of wins behind where we would have liked to and we can pinpoint where they were.
“We played some great footy along the way.”
And while some may label the final-round clash a dead rubber, Ciraldo was not a fan of that description.
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“There are no dead rubbers. It’s an NRL game,” he said.
“These guys have been dreaming of playing NRL since they were five years old and for our fans, it’s no dead rubber.
“Everything we have done this week is about putting our best performance in tomorrow night and the way the guys have prepared gives me confidence in that.”
The final game will also provide an opportunity for the Bulldogs to reflect on a season that included plenty of change.
One of the biggest talking points was the positional switch of star centre Stephen Crichton into the halves alongside young playmaker Lachlan Galvin.
Since Ciraldo moved Crichton into the No.6 jersey, the results began to turn.
“Over the next couple of weeks we will review that as a playing group and staff and go through what could have been and what we needed to be better at,” he said.
“There might be 16 teams sitting back at the end of the season thinking they failed. It depends how you want to view it.”
Ciraldo is also very proud of the development of his 21-year-old halfback, who continues to grow into his role as the Bulldogs' general.
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“He’s into his early 30s of playing at halfback and it’s been incredible what he’s been able to achieve throughout those 30 games,” Ciraldo said.
“What I love about him is that he’s learning every week.
“What Lachy has been able to achieve in his first 30 games is quite extraordinary. It’s just the start of the journey for him.”
Thursday night will also carry extra emotion for several Bulldogs who will be playing their final game for the club before moving elsewhere next season.
Bronson Xerri headlines the list of departing players, with Josh Curran and Jonathan Sua joining the Bears in 2027.
Ciraldo paid tribute to those players who took a chance on the Bulldogs when the club was in a different position and helped build the culture that exists today.
“There’s a fair amount of guys leaving, a couple have their futures up in the air and others are leaving for other clubs,” Ciraldo said.
“When those guys came to our club at the end of 2023, we weren’t in a great spot as a club and they took a risk on their careers to come here and change the culture of the club and the direction.
“I’ll be forever grateful to a number of those guys who took that risk and came and built the connection the group currently has.
“They will go down as guys that really changed the course of the club.”
