Have the Bulldogs Lost the Plot in 2026?

Joel Johnston

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Last updated: Wed 06 May 2026 05:59

Joel Johnston 06 May 2026

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Coach Ciraldo's decisions have broken up effective player combinations.
Bulldogs’ attack lacks structure and identity, leading to poor results.
Fans seek clear answers and accountability from club leadership.

Bulldogs head coach Cameron Ciraldo. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)

Have the Bulldogs Lost the Plot in 2026?

Cam Ciraldo and the Bulldogs board are officially taking the piss.

I've tried to be measured about this. I've given them the benefit of the doubt week after week. But after what we saw in Round 9 and the stuff that came out of that post-game presser, I'm calling it. This club is in its worst position since the rebuild started, and a big chunk of it is completely self-inflicted.

The Galvin Decision Is Indefensible

Let me lay this out plainly. Lachlan Galvin and Jacob Preston had built something. A genuine combination. The kind that gets a young halfback's best mate into Blues contention. The kind that makes an attack look dangerous. The only time the Bulldogs looked like they were going to do anything on the weekend was when Galvin had his hands on the ball.

So what does Ciraldo do? He strips away the right-hand man. He shifts Preston across to the left side of the field. He takes away the one connection that was actually working and leaves him out there with no hooker asking questions, no help from the edge, and the entire weight of a stalled attack on the shoulders of a 19-year-old.

And then, when it falls apart, the scrutiny lands on the kid. That's the part that gets me.

People want to bag Galvin for the short ball to Preston, his pet play. Joey Johns had a pet play. Jonathan Thurston had a pet play. Every great half in the history of this game had a pet play. That's not a weakness. That's your weapon. Don't take his weapon away and then wonder why he's not firing.

Dolphins v Canterbury Rd 10 Game Preview

An Attack with No Answers

The Cowboys had conceded 34 to the Sharks, 38 to Manly, and 31 to the Broncos in the weeks before this game. They were not a defensive juggernaut. They were there to be taken on.

The Bulldogs managed 12 points.

There was no deception. No structure. No layers to anything they were trying to do. No Burton bombs raining down on fullbacks who spend all week dreading the thing. Just one-out footy and, when that dried up, kicks into the air hoping something would land. That's not a game plan. That's a team that has run out of ideas and isn't willing to make the changes that might actually fix it.

No Accountability, No Answers

This is where it really tips over the edge for me.

After a performance like that, against a Cowboys side that was there for the taking, the conversation coming out of the presser drifted toward ruck control and referee decisions. Not once was there any real ownership of the calls that put this team in the position it's in. The unforced changes. The broken combinations. The decisions that have been questioned for weeks now with no real answer given.

Bulldogs fans deserve better than that. They deserve a straight answer. Right now they're not getting one.

What Does This Team Actually Look Like?

That's the question no one at Belmore seems to be able to answer. What is the best spine? What is the best edge combination? What style of football are they trying to play? Because from the outside, it looks like a different answer every single week.

The talent is there. It's clearly there. But talent without clarity is just chaos with good players standing in it. Until there are clear answers to those questions, until there's an identity that the whole team understands and can fall back on when things get hard, performances like this are going to keep coming.

And from where I'm sitting, Bulldogs fans have every right to be outraged.