Pressure mounting on Bulldogs coach Cameron Ciraldo from familiar source

The spotlight has intensified on Bulldogs coach Cameron Ciraldo in recent weeks - and there’s a big reason why he should consider himself far from safe.

COMMENT

The Canterbury Bulldogs defence has sunk so low it makes the Dean Pay era look like multi-factor authentication.

And with a terrifying fixture looming against a full-strength Penrith on Sunday afternoon, pleas for “a couple of years” grace are looking like they’ll barely cover the legal proceedings.

Watch every game of every round of the 2023 NRL Telstra Premiership Season LIVE on Kayo Sports. New to Kayo? Start your free trial now >

Canterbury’s slump has poured immense pressure on Cameron Ciraldo, the rookie coach who arrived with plenty of promise only to find himself issuing weekly apologies for floggings and Tevita Pangai Jr.

The spotlight has gradually intensified in recent months to a crescendo after the catastrophic 66-0 defeat to Newcastle, a result which compelled club supremo Phil Gould to beg patience for the coach, which referred to the actual coach, not himself.

But while it’s one thing for Gould to convince fans and media to extend Ciraldo’s honeymoon, will it be enough to convince the two men who matter most?

That’s Gould himself, and his alter-ego with the bloodlust for feuds and payouts.

Gould’s bombshell news that the Dogs recovery is “years away” sent shockwaves through everyone except Canterbury fans, a hardy bunch who’ve conditioned themselves with controlled crying and an unironic yearning for Josh Jackson.

Why is this seat getting so warm?

To the untrained eye, his grave declaration appeared like he was furiously waving the pirates away from Ciraldo with a flame torch but to the rest of us, we knew what lay beneath.

Based on the general manager’s history of public backings, pirates are the last thing Ciraldo should be worried about, because there’s one adjacent to him across the hall.

That’s because whether via vendettas or peculiarities, Gould has fired coaches for much less than a few missed tackles.

He terminated Anthony Griffin from the top four, punted Ivan Cleary for looking “tired”, then assured Trent Barrett he would be at the Bulldogs “long after I’m gone” before frogmarching him in the same breath.

You could even argue he’s already engraving Ciraldo’s tombstone.

When Gould admitted he urged the coach to arrive in 2024 instead of 2023, some interpreted this as benevolent dictatorship or another one of his “I told you so” hindsight jobs.

But in actual fact, he was just fantasising about sacking him this year.

Yep, whether he’s the Archbishop of Canterbury after a win or a distant media figure after a loss, Gould can make things go away whatever persona he adopts.

Nah nah you’re safe ... for now. (Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)

If there’s a coach in rugby league who’s worked alongside Gould, he’s toe-tagged it on the telly and stuffed the corpse’s pockets with a lump sum.

In fact, there’s only one person he hasn’t sacked and that’s himself - purely because he’s too slippery to nail.

They say there’s no more elusive target in rugby league than Gould. There’s a reason he’s so slim, and that’s because he never eats his own words.

Take for example his well-ventilated plan to restore Canterbury.

Gould has trumpeted his intentions to heal the Dogs by developing local juniors, which he then sought to achieve by luring half of Penrith’s premiership side.

He then begged for three more years when this failed to bear fruit, by which time all will probably be playing elsewhere while still on the Dogs payroll, much like his famous ‘pathways’ that often lead to the Gold Coast.

If Ciraldo continues to oversee a Bulldogs side with the creamy middle of a dashboard Caramello Koala, he could be the latest piece of debris in Gould’s crowded wake.

It could also result in a salient lesson for rival clubs: hyped assistant coaches from Penrith may only be effective in Origin or New Zealand.

Dane Eldridge is a warped cynic yearning for the glory days of rugby league, a time when the sponges were magic and the Mondays were mad.

He’s never strapped on a boot in his life, and as such, should be taken with a grain of salt.