‘Childish and unfair’: Bulldogs boss Phil Gould lashes out at Lachlan Galvin critics
Bulldogs boss Phil Gould has hit out at Lachlan Galvin critics, labelling most of it childish and unfair, while also hinting that his future might not remain as the club’s long-term No.7.
Bulldogs head of football Phil Gould has defended the mid-season signing of Lachlan Galvin and lashed the club’s critics after their straight sets elimination from the finals race.
Gould, who recently signed a long-term extension to stay at the ‘Dogs until the end of 2031, also revealed that teenage halfback Mitchell Woods would get a chance next year as he reiterated that Galvin was bought from the Wests Tigers with one eye on the future.
“We’re delighted to have him on our books,” Gould said.
“We took the opportunity when it arose. It came out of the blue.
“We didn’t know it was going to happen at the time but we made a decision that we wanted him in our club and that’s what we did.
“Now it’s led to this media barrage, and a lot of it has been childish and extremely unfair. But as I say to the boys, welcome to the Bulldogs.
“We get that stuff all the time. That’s a part of being in our jersey.
“This boy was outstanding yesterday in a badly beaten side. I thought he really showed his class and he’s a real player of the future.
“And that’s what we bought him for - the player he is going to be, not the player he is at the moment. I thought he did outstandingly well coming in when he did to play as many games as he did for us under the pressure that he had, and he’s never played halfback before.
“He’s never played halfback in any junior football whatsoever. So it was a big ask from him and I think he’s done an outstanding job.”
Galvin came into a Bulldogs side that was riding high at the top of the ladder and his arrival prompted coach Cameron Ciraldo into a reshuffle that eventually led to Toby Sexton being dropped to NSW Cup.
The Bulldogs results dipped after that and critics of the club suggested the tinkering played a part in their demise - their season came to an end when they were thrashed by Penrith at the weekend.
That result gave the club’s critics more ammunition.
Asked about the decision to make sweeping changes with the club in a lofty position - hooker Reed Mahoney was also shunted out of the starting side - Gould hinted that the club’s ladder position was deceiving given the quality of their opposition.
“We don’t need to discuss that publicly,” Gould said.
“But if you go back and look at our draw …. after 15 rounds we led the competition.
“We had three byes - I think we played the Titans twice, Parramatta twice, St George twice, South Sydney twice. We had the big games to come towards the back end of the season.”
At that point of the season they had indeed played the Gold Coast, Eels and Rabbitohs on two occasions.
However, they had only played the Dragons once and their third bye came in round 16.
“We also had a bigger representation in Origin this year that we didn’t expect - Maxy King and Kurt Mann and those fellas played Origin,” Gould said.
“Plus other fellows were taken into camp as 18th man.
“So it was a disruptive period that we haven’t experienced for a number of years.
“The decision to bring Galvin into the club was extremely important for our future, so we decided to do that.
“I don’t want to talk about Toby and Reed because they’ve been wonderful for our club. They’ve been great kids.
“Every decision that was made in there was made by people who deal with these players every day, who coach them every day, and know the players extremely well.
“One thing I know about coaches - they like to win. They like to win.
“And that’s why they pick the teams the way that they do.
“I trust the people that deal with them all day, every day. Not the people that take potshots from the media.
“They don’t have any influence over what we do. I come out of it very, very pleased with the season that we’ve had and looking forward to the future.
“You know it’s a long race, rugby league. A long, long race. You’ve got to be in it.”
Gould indicated that Woods was set to feature next season - the NSW under-19s halfback is regarded as the most prodigiously talented player in his age group.
“You know we got young Mitch Woods on contract for three years,” Gould said.
“We’re really timing our run with him. I think he’ll debut next year. We’ve been cautious with him coming through and he’s had a good season in the lower grades.
“At the start of next year he will get a chance.”
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Originally published as ‘Childish and unfair’: Bulldogs boss Phil Gould lashes out at Lachlan Galvin critics
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