Cameron Ciraldo has revealed the “most pleasing thing which no one would have seen” in Bronson Xerri’s return after the Bulldogs handed the Panthers their first loss of the season.
Entering Thursday’s game, it was a case of Penrith by how many after Ivan Cleary’s side smoked the Storm 50-10 last week on their way to a 5-0 start to the season.
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The Bulldogs, meanwhile, were without their best communicator in skipper Stephen Crichton, with Ciraldo revealing after the Good Friday loss to South Sydney that he had controversially replaced the injured Crichton with Sean O’Sullivan mid-game to fill that specific void.
It is why the Bulldogs coach was so impressed with Xerri in his comeback game, telling reporters on Thursday night that the centre’s communication was the “most pleasing” part of his return.
“He did well,” Ciraldo said.
“The most pleasing thing, which no one would have seen, is how well he was communicating out there.
“The players in there were already talking about that and that was something he needed to go and work on and people in the stands might not see that or value that as much as we do, but awesome to see he’s brought that into his game.”
Speaking to Channel Nine post-game, Xerri said he took his reserve grade demotion “on the chin” and was “blessed” to get another opportunity to prove himself in the top side.
“Ciro had his reasons to not put me on and I put the team first, it is what it is,” Xerri added.
“It’s been tough. I had to go back and ask myself some tough questions. (I had) honest conversations with Ciro. We both know where we stand and I love this club.”
Even if Xerri made a considerable impression on Ciraldo, it was teammate Lachlan Galvin who stole the headlines at Accor Stadium.
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While Panthers halfback Nathan Cleary’s 200th game was all the talk ahead of Thursday night, Galvin was celebrating a milestone of his own.
Sure, 50 games pales in comparison but as Ciraldo pointed out in his press conference, it is often said that it takes that many games to “feel like an NRL player”.
Galvin certainly looked like he belonged against the Panthers, pulling their left-edge defence apart with surgical precision.
The young halfback had four linebreak assists and a try assist in the win, prompting one reporter to ask Ciraldo if it was the best game of Galvin’s career.
“Yeah, maybe. I don’t know. I haven’t thought that far,” Ciraldo replied.
“It was his 50th game tonight, a lot of people say it takes 50 games to feel like an NRL player or understand it a lot. I thought he was brilliant. He controlled the game for long periods. He did what he needed to do.
“He didn’t overplay his hand. He’s improving every week. He has to deal with a fair bit, Lachie. There’s always question marks about him, but he’s handled it great.”
It may be predictable at this point, but the Bulldogs proved on Thursday night that stopping the Galvin to Jacob Preston connection is easier said than done.
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“They’ve formed a really good combination those two,” Ciraldo said.
“Ever since Lachie came into the team, Jacob’s really formed a good combination running off him and he’s sort of elevated his game as well.
“So it’s good to see those guys combining well and hopefully we can build off that.”
It wasn’t just Preston, though. The entire Bulldogs pack stood tall on Thursday, with Ciraldo declaring they were “tremendous”.
While the Bulldogs started 2026 with two wins, neither was convincing and back-to-back losses against the Knights and Rabbitohs had serious questions being asked of their premiership credentials.
Specifically, the attack once again looked to be a major weakness with the Bulldogs finally scoring 20 points last week and only after a garbage-time try to Connor Tracey.
Given Ciraldo is more of a defensive-minded coach, the early results have seen the spotlight turned on former Knights coach Adam O’Brien, who is in charge of the Bulldogs’ attack along with new attack analyst Michael Kulen.
Ciraldo described the criticism of both as “pretty unfair”.
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“We’re not the first team to come back from Vegas and not hit the ground running after it, but I think the most pleasing thing for me is how much everyone within our four walls believed in what we were doing, stuck to our process,” Ciraldo said.
“The players are awesome. They just trust in what we’re doing. The staff is unreal. We’ve got a new coaching staff with the likes of Adam O’Brien and Mick Kulen running the attack.
“It’s been pretty unfair on them, some of the stuff I’ve heard as well. They’ve been working really hard behind the scenes.
“They’ve put a great foundation into our game and they deserve a big wrap for the nice performance as well.”
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