NRL 2024: Bulldogs coach Cameron Ciraldo on Barcelona FC influence, Canterbury rebuild
The very first thing Canterbury coach Cameron Ciraldo did when he arrived at Belmore was the most significant. DEAN RITCHIE sits down with the mentor in a wide-ranging interview.
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It’s the motivational book that has become Cameron Ciraldo’s mantra – a publication that the Bulldogs coach regularly reads, absorbs, studies and then re-reads.
He has even admitted to “stealing a few ideas” from the pages of The Barcelona Way, an in-depth tome about the culture and rise of Europe’s famous Barcelona FC and its former manager, Pep Guardiola.
When under pressure at Belmore, when confronting a major decision, coach Ciraldo refers directly and often to the 2018 book, which was written by sports psychologist and professor Damian Hughes.
Ciraldo is fascinated by the career of Guardiola, the current Manchester City manager, who won two Champions Leagues at Barcelona and six subsequent English Premier League titles.
A tall, quiet, dry-humoured, deep-thinker who has tinges of grey hair emerging, Ciraldo has Canterbury on the verge of playing finals footy for the first time since 2016.
The Bulldogs have become rugby league’s story of the season.
EUROPEAN INSPIRATION
The book’s blurb states: “At the heart of (Barcelona FC’s) winning culture are a set of principles, epitomised by Pep Guardiola, Johan Cruyff, Lionel Messi and many other FCB legends, which govern how to nurture talent, prepare for change and provide the best environment to build a culture of sustained success.”
Ciraldo said: “I have studied a lot of teams over the years and read about different cultures and one of my favourite books is about Barcelona Football Club and the way they have changed over time.
“Success leaves clues and Barcelona have been one of the most successful teams over a long period of time. They are a development club built from the ground up who represent a community centred around strong values.
“That’s what I see the Bulldogs as. There are values that have stayed here throughout time.
“The book is called the Barcelona Way. I refer to it a lot actually. I read it and it opened my eyes to a lot of things. Anytime I have a decision to make I go back to the book at different times. It’s been awesome.
“Pep Guardiola talks about his cultural architects during that time and the role model behaviour he was looking for and I thought that’s what we needed to move forward.
“Guys that understand what your values are as a footy club and they ‘role model’ that so it’s not just the coaches talking about behaviour every day – those guys are living and breathing it. They were guys with the right character we wanted here and I think we have done a really good job with that.
“Barcelona stays true to their values. They were able to build something from the ground-up and have had sustained success. I saw a lot of similarities in the potential at the Bulldogs and stole a few ideas off them.
“Culture is your environment and the way you behave. I think we have a really good environment where we’re giving people the opportunity to become better people and players every day and they are behaving that way.
“We spend a lot of time talking about culture but it’s one thing to talk about it and another to live it. We have a pretty clear set of values that we believe in.”
Asked if he had ever visited Barcelona FC, a cheeky Ciraldo said: “No, but can you please tell the chairman to take me.”
INTERESTING QUESTION
When interviewing potential players, Ciraldo insists on several non-negotiables.
“We asked every player that we interviewed some questions about coming here – did they watch footy and do they love footy? It’s really important. If you’re trying to become a successful football team then you want guys to love what they do,” he said.
“And if they’re going to be their best at being a rugby league player, they need to be watching footy outside of the six or seven hours a day we are here (at Belmore). That was really important.
“We did a lot of homework on the character of who we were recruiting and what sort of teammates they were. The guys we brought in have great character, love their footy and have also been ‘connectors’ of people who’ve helped us build the team spirit we were after.
“I think you can see that in the way they play. They love their footy, they love preparing for footy and just love being around each other. It’s also important that our kids coming through our pathways system are students of the game and loving what they do.
“One thing our staff has done really well is create an environment to help those relationships flourish, but at the end of the day, the players have made that decision to come together as a group and have put in the time and energy.”
ON THE SAME LEVEL
When Ciraldo arrived at Belmore, the coaching offices were upstairs and the players’ gym downstairs. That changed quickly with the coaching staff moving down a floor.
“You put a staircase between footballers and coaches and it makes life harder,” he said. “I find it really important to be around the boys as much as possible.
“Our offices are right next to the gym now and the boys are floating in and out all day. There is really good interaction and conversations which you might not normally have had if you’re in another part of the building.
“Sometimes the music does my head in when the boys are in the gym, but I will cop that because it’s (about) those little conversations you get to have that you might not have had otherwise. That’s part of building relationships.
“A lot of time we talk about stuff that’s got nothing to do with footy, but I want to get to know these blokes better and hopefully they get to know me better. It’s really good when they pop into your office and tell you about what they did on the weekend, or how their lives are going. It’s part of creating that family culture.”
AMAZING REBUILD
Canterbury ran 15th last season. This year, the Bulldogs have won ten games and sit in fifth place with six rounds remaining before finals.
“We didn’t think of it as a rebuild straight away,” Ciraldo said. “Everyone had an opportunity to show they were going to be part of the future.
“After last year, we had to bring some new guys in and I can’t praise those new guys enough. They have changed the culture of the whole place and have done a remarkable job, on and off the field so far, but we still have a long way to go.
“Obviously Stephen Crichton was the big one. He and Jaeman Salmon came from Penrith, so I had previous relationships with them. They came to us saying they wanted to come here, rather than us chasing people all the time.
“Then we had Kurt Mann, Jake Turpin, Drew Hutchison, Josh Curran, Connor Tracey, all proven first graders who were lucky enough for us to be on the market and keen to be part of what we were building.
“There were other guys – Blake Taaffe, Bronson Xerri and Poasa (Faamausili) – who came here looking for an opportunity and have done really well. The club hasn’t moulded them together, the players have done that.”
DEFENSIVE DOGS
Canterbury leaked a whopping 32 points a game last year, that figure has been halved to just 16 this season.
“Same system, same training, same drills but all I can say is the guys that have come in, and the players that have been here for 12 months, have helped change the culture around our defence,” Ciraldo said.
“Defence is culture. It’s an insight into how you do things and how hard you’re willing to work. They really believe it and work hard for each other. They do it together.”
DOGS OF WAR
Canterbury players are aware of the club’s history – but won’t look backwards, only forward.
“We really respect our past – the Dogs of War (during the mid-1980s) and The Entertainers (1980) – and we talk about them and look at them a lot,” he said. “It’s important our guys know the history of this club.
“But we can’t be the Dogs of War and we can’t be The Entertainers. All we can do is go out and hustle as hard as we can. If we do that and we’re playing to our strengths then we will be doing it in our own style.”
BRILLIANT BELMORE
Canterbury plays Canberra this Sunday before an 18,000 sellout at the club’s spiritual home, Belmore Sports Ground.
“We can’t wait – we love playing here,” Ciraldo said. “You get the energy from the crowd, our fans and the whole area.
“It’s very special and something the boys truly cherish, even our younger guys are talking to the older guys about what it’s like to play at Belmore.
“We want to embrace the energy around here. It will be a memorable day but we have to make sure we turn up and do the things we’ve been doing all year and make sure we work hard and work together.”
UTILITY CONDEMNATION
Canterbury was questioned, even criticised, for buying too many utility players. Ciraldo didn’t care about the players’ positions, just their attitude.
“It was never about utility players and even less about what positions they played. It was more about good people who wanted to work hard to help change the culture,” he said.
“All those guys had played utility roles at previous clubs but we saw where they could benefit us in certain positions.
“We thought Jaeman Salmon could be a really good backrower, Kurt Mann would be a really good lock and Connor Tracey could be a really good fullback. Those guys have been able to come here and showcase that.”
IGNORE CRITICISM
In his full year as a coach last season, Ciraldo won just seven games, and the criticism started.
“I don’t see a lot of it because I’m not on social media and I don’t really watch it on TV,” he said. “I try to stay pretty neutral.
“I don’t want to sound arrogant or too confident but I was fairly confident if we got the right people here and changed the way we did things and then our football would change on the field.
“Last year was hard but I thought I’d had a really grounding about what works and what hasn’t worked over the last ten or 12 years. I’ve been in situations that haven’t worked and learned from those.
“And I was lucky to go through 2019 and 2020 with Penrith where I learned a lot of lessons about culture and bringing in people who can help your culture.”
NO MIDDLES
Asked if he feared his roster was a couple of middles short, Ciraldo said: “Umm, well, possibly. But we always had the money to get another middle. We signed Siua Taukeiaho. He was going to come and be a leader and help teach these young guys how to play but that didn’t work out.
“But the strength of our pack is working together. Five or six of them are under 20 or 30 games so for them to do what they’ve done so far has been awesome and I see so much improvement left in them.”
LISTEN HERE, KIDS
Ciraldo warned his five kids about possible criticism before becoming Bulldogs coach.
“It’s not normal to see your dad criticised on TV,” he said. “I explained to my kids before I started this job that some days they (the media) will be talking you up and some days they’ll be talking to you down but that doesn’t mean anything.
“The only thing that matters is that everyone understands who you are, what you’re trying to do and to be true to yourself. I remind myself of that from time to time. You’re never going as bad as what you think and you’re never going as good as what you think.
“We’re the ones who signed up to be in this job. You know what you’re signing up for, but your family is along for the ride. Sometimes they will laugh when I’m getting hammered on TV but that’s okay. They keep me grounded.”
GUS GOULD’S INFLUENCE
“Straight away, being a young coach, I don’t know it all, I’m going to get into situations I haven’t experienced before and I’m going to need help,” Ciraldo said.
“I’ve known ‘Gus’ for 12 years, he got me to Penrith and a lot of what I know about footy has come from Gus. He’s got so much experience and knowledge and that can only help me.”
CAPTAIN CRITTA
Crichton is on track to become one of Canterbury’s greatest players – and leaders.
“He is just a quality person. We talk about watching footy and trying to be the best player you can be every day and he has modelled that since he was 19 years old,” Ciraldo said.
“For me, it was a no-brainer when he came to me and told me he was looking to leave Penrith. I thought it would help him take his footy to another level by stepping into a leadership role and getting him out of comfort zone.
“I never thought he would be captain straight away but it was pretty evident from the first time he walked into our building that he was going to be one of our main leaders. Leadership is all about getting people to follow you and from day one everyone has followed him.”
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Originally published as NRL 2024: Bulldogs coach Cameron Ciraldo on Barcelona FC influence, Canterbury rebuild
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