NRL 2024: Bulldogs star Jacob Kiraz reveals his ambitions to be Canterbury’s fullback
Jacob Kiraz has his eyes set on the Bulldogs’ No.1 jumper, adding yet add another layer of intrigue to Cameron Ciraldo’s back-five conundrum. Pick your Bulldogs lineup in our TEAM PICKER.
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A taste at the international level was enough for Jacob Kiraz to catch the fullback bug and now the Canterbury centre has his eyes set on the Bulldogs’ No.1 jumper.
Kiraz’s fullback ambitions add another layer of intrigue to coach Cameron Ciraldo’s back-five conundrum.
Already there have been calls to shift star recruit Stephen Crichton from centre into the No.1 jumper over the coach’s firstchoice Blake Taaffe.
Now another option has popped up in Kiraz, who had played most of his footy at NRL level on the wing before making the transitioninto the centres late last year.
Lebanon coach Michael Cheika played Kiraz at fullback during the World Cup in late 2022 and the 23-year-old has now put hishand up to be Canterbury’s long-term option in that position.
“Yeah, I do,” Kiraz said when asked if he harboured fullback ambitions.
“I know it’s hard to say what the future looks like but I had a taste there at the World Cup for my country. When I was youngerI played there, too.
“Right now, I’m happy to play anywhere and do what is best for the team. I probably prefer a different position (than centre)but I just want to win so badly, whether it’s at wing, centre or forward even. I just want to win. That’s where it’s atright now.”
Fit and healthy after overcoming a niggling back injury during the off-season, Kiraz has time on his side to make the positionalmove after signing a three-year extension to remain at Belmore until 2027.
Ciraldo’s other options at No.1 include Connor Tracey, who will make his debut for the club on the wing against his formerside Cronulla on Friday night while Josh Addo-Carr recovers from a shoulder injury, and boom fullback Joash Papalii.
A local junior, Papalii’s play-making and ability to create attacking opportunities were on full display in the NSW Cuplast weekend against Parramatta, when the 19-year-old set up two tries and had three linebreak assists.
“He does things on the field that no one else can really do and it comes from his natural talent and skill,” Kiraz said.
“That debut is going to come for him if he keeps killing it in NSW Cup.
“Joash is a high-energy guy. He brings a lot of laughs to training. He played with my younger brother so I’ve known him fora long time and he played for my junior club, the St Johns Eagles, so I’ve seen him come through and we are training togetherin the NRL. It’s surreal.”
Hayze Perham was Ciraldo’s first-choice fullback last year but he has now fallen down the pecking order behind Papalii inreserve grade, where he has been named at centre.
Tracey, who can fill in at centre, fullback or in the halves, has only played 16 of his 66 NRL matches on the wing but Kirazis backing the recruit.
“He (Tracey) is experienced,” Kiraz said. “He’s one of the older outside backs.
“He’s had three ACL injuries and serious shoulder injuries but you wouldn’t know it. He’s killed it at training and he deservesthe shot.
“He can get the job done there.
Ciraldo’s recruitment spree means Bronson Xerri is awaiting a run in the NRL side and the centre has again been named in the NSW Cup against the Newtown Jets.
Like Xerri, Matt Burton is an option at centre but Ciraldo is sticking with the 24-year-old at five-eighth.
While highly rated prospect Papalii is pressing his claims at fullback, youngster Eli Clark and powerhouse winger Jeral Skeltonare making their own bids in reserve grade to be selected in the NRL.
They are keeping the likes of NRL starters Blake Wilson and even Kiraz on their toes.
Rugby convert Skelton is giving Ciraldo plenty to think about after a two-try performance in round 1 that included a tryassist, two linebreaks, five tackle busts and 163 run metres.
MATTY JOHNS: WHY BULLDOGS DON’T NEED A SPINE OVERHAUL
—Fatima Kdouh and Phil Rothfield
Give centre Stephen Crichton the licence to thrill and relieve Matt Burton from the burden of the no. 6 jumper.
That’s the advice Fox League expert Matty Johns has for Canterbury coach Cameron Ciraldo to unlock much needed strike in the Bulldogs’ attack.
Ciraldo has already indicated there will be no overhaul of the Bulldogs spine anytime soon, convinced the side’s attack will “get better” with “more cohesion” over time.
Johns believes Canterbury doesn’t need an overhaul just yet and that Ciraldo should resist the temptation to switch Crichton to fullback.
“Fullback will get him more ball but in my opinion Stephen Crichton is one of the best defensive centres I have ever seen,” Johns told this masthead.
“On the weekend, Parramatta had plenty of room to move and it was two on two … most defenders would steady there but he just went bang and made a great tackle. That’s a really great, confident defender. He snuffed out a try.”
“I’d keep him there.”
Canterbury were forced to make 362 tackles against the Eels and struggled for possession. The lack of football made it difficult for Crichton to inject himself into the game.
The star centre finished the game with a meagre 51 run metres for eight runs. For Crichton’s $800,000 price tag, they’re numbers that won’t wash for very long.
So how does Ciraldo get a return on investment for Crichton?
Give him a licence to roam.
Just like powerhouse Sydney Roosters centre Joey Manu, who has been given an edit by coach Trent Robinson to go after the ball.
Ciraldo can make sure Crichton isn’t pinned to a 10 metre corridor on one side of the field.
Crichton can read the game, proven by his ability to snuff out a threat in attack, so allow him to sniff out an attacking opportunity on the other side of the ball, regardless of where the pill is on the field.
There is one call, however, that should be made now – move Burton to left centre, where there is less thinking and more running.
There is a school of thought that Burton needs to be unshackled from the responsibility of being a chief playmaker.
“I’ve seen it a million times. You get great running footballers like Matty, and what happens is, what they perceive to be their responsibility as a playmaker really starts to impinge on the rest of his game,” Johns said.
“Make the positional switch now to get him running the football. He’s one of the best runners of the football I have seen. I’d have Matty at one centre and Crichton on the other.”
That opens the door for Toby Sexton to come in at five-eighth alongside Drew Hutchison at halfback. Moving Burton to centre not only relieves pressure off the 23-year old but also off Sexton and Hutchison to be the sole creators in attack.
“I’d have a crack at Drew Hutchison and Toby Sexton in the halves. Whoever is on the left side, I’d tell them ‘you have Viliame Kikau and Burton, just get them the ball and they will create for you’,” Johns said.
“On the other side you have Crichton. So they don’t have to be ultra clever, take the ball to the line and attack but give Crichton and Burton plenty of possession and they will create for us.”
Ciraldo has the opportunity to pull the trigger on Burton this weekend with flyer Josh Addo-Carr likely to miss the Cronulla clash with a shoulder injury.
If the coach replaces Addo-Carr with Jacob Kiraz, it opens up a spot at centre with Burton’s name on it.
It does mean Bronson Xerri misses out again, but the plan all along had been for the exiled star to earn a spot through NSW Cup.
The Burton move can improve the Bulldogs’ attack without completely throwing out the game plan.
It’s a move that also buys Blake Taaffe time at fullback to prove he is the right man for the no. 1 role. And if that experiment fails, Ciraldo can always turn to Connor Tracey at the back before having to switch Crichton into the spine.
Jaeman Salmon won the race to the no. 13 jumper, ahead of Josh Curran and Kurt Mann, but wasn’t able to put his best foot forward with the glut of possession going to Parramatta on the weekend.
“I’m surprised the Warriors let Josh Curran go, I’m a fan. But Salmon does a bit of everything. But only time will tell if that’s the right call. You need to see Salmon in a side that has 50/50 possession, especially with a light weight pack. Otherwise, whoever is there is going to be under the pump,” Johns said.
“They have the makings of a good side, it’s about getting the formula right”
ADDO-CARR NEWS A BOOST FOR DOGS
Canterbury and Parramatta have each received a boost ahead of Round 2 after scans cleared both Josh Addo-Carr and Mitchell Moses of serious injuries.
X-rays cleared Bulldogs flyer Addo-Carr of a shoulder injury after the Origin winger left Commbank Stadium in a sling with fears he could be sidelined for six to eight weeks.
Instead, Bulldogs medical staff are hopeful he could return by Round 3 after suffering the injury in Canterbury’s 26-8 loss to Parramatta.
The Bulldogs released a statement on Sunday saying Addo-Carr had been cleared of a fracture but did have an AC joint injury that normally means a two-to-four week recovery period but the club would have a clearer idea on by the end of the week.
However, Addo-Carr’s camp is confident the star flyer could line up against Cronulla on Friday night if he gets through training this week.
Addo-Carr will have to manage the injury and could need pain killing injections to play.
If he is ruled out it is likely to trigger a reshuffle that opens the door for Bronson Xerri to make his NRL comeback.
Coach Cameron Ciraldo has the option of moving Jacob Kiraz onto the left wing, opening up a spot at right centre for Xerri to take the field against the Sharks, his former side, on Friday night.
Connor Tracey was 18th man in round one and another contender to replace Addo-Carr in the line-up.
Addo-Carr was in severe discomfort from the early stages of the loss to Parra, with the try-scoring machine staying down for a couple of minutes just before halftime when he was bundled into touch.
Eels coach Brad Arthur said after the game he was confident Moses would be OK but still would have breathed a sigh of relief after scans cleared his star halfback of a groin injury which has paved the way for him to take the field against western Sydney rivals Penrith on Friday night.
Moses suffered the ‘tweak’ in the Eels’ season opener as he kicked for touch during the game.
The star No. 7 was bothered by the groin injury but finished Saturday’s game, even resuming some of the kicking duties in general play.
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