Ciraldo backs Galvin-Burton pairing to leave rivals at sixes and sevens

“Hopefully predictable to us, but unpredictable to them.”

That’s how Canterbury coach Cameron Ciraldo sees his new-look halves combination functioning after his much-scrutinised decision to drop Toby Sexton and hand teenage tyro Lachlan Galvin the No.7 jersey for their clash with St George Illawarra at Accor Stadium on Saturday.

Galvin, the 19-year-old mid-season signing from Wests Tigers, will start at halfback for the first time in his 35-game NRL career. Partnering him will be the vastly more experienced Matt Burton, who is better known as a five-eighth but has also been deployed as a half in 10 top-grade games.

The easy option for Ciraldo might have been simply to move Burton to first receiver, allowing Galvin to continue playing the pivotal role he has filled since making his debut for the Tigers last year, but instead the coach has gone with his gut instinct, albeit after pondering “one of the hardest decisions” of his coaching career.

Ciraldo suggested Galvin’s skill set will allow him to gamble on a bespoke approach that the Bulldogs have eight games to get down pat before the finals kick off.

“There’s differences between the six and the seven, depending on who’s playing that role,” Ciraldo explained.

“We think we’ve built a system over the last little period where it doesn’t quite matter if you are wearing the six or seven, there’s equal responsibility there.

Lachlan Galvin will play his first NRL game at halfback for the Bulldogs against St George Illawarra. Credit: Getty Images

“We’ve got some guys in our squad that are natural halfbacks in their own right, and if they were to come into our team, then we’d be able to play that more traditional six and seven role.

“But with Burto and Lachie, Lachie’s got the seven on his back and he’s going to have to plug into that system and play his role in that.

“But we’ve also got Burto, who’s played over a hundred games, played for NSW, played for Australia and won the seven jersey in the past. He knows what the responsibility of that looks and feels like.”

Ciraldo replied “you’ll have to wait till tomorrow to see” when asked if Galvin will be the primary ballplayer, or if his two halves will be stationed on either side of the ruck.

Matt Burton on the fly.Credit: Getty Images

But he added, “Lachie’s got a skill set that he plays on the ball, and he asks a lot of questions”, which might be a hint.

“I just want Lachie to play his natural game,” Ciraldo said. “Lachie doesn’t like to just stay on one side of the field and neither does Burto these days, they both like to drift around and work with each other.

“And while those two guys haven’t played a lot of footy together, they’ve got some really good work in at training this week, where they move around the field together, and on the same page, and that’s pretty exciting.”

Galvin has played four games since joining the Bulldogs last month, two off the bench and two at five-eighth, and Ciraldo said he is ready for his next challenge.

“I’m blown away by how quickly he’s learnt over the six weeks he’s been here and continues to learn that quickly, and that’s going to be really exciting,” he said.

Meanwhile, Crialdo confirmed he will reinstate back-rower Sitili Tupouniua, who has not played since round eight due to suspension.

“Sitili’s just got a presence about him,” Ciraldo said. “He’s obviously a big man, and when he gets on the training field everyone knows he’s there.

“If you’ve got the ball you’re worried about where Sitili is, and when he’s got the ball you’ve got to stop him.”

Dragons injury woes continue with Holmes out for rest of season

The Dragons hope of playing finals have been dealt another blow, with centre Valentine Holmes ruled out for the remainder of the 2025 season.

Holmes has become the latest St George player to join an already-stacked casualty ward, after he suffered a rotator cuff tear in his left shoulder during the Dragons’ loss to the Roosters on Saturday.

Valentine Holmes will miss the remainder of the 2025 season.Credit: Getty Images

The 29-year-old centre, who played a crucial role in Queensland’s shock Origin victory last week, will require surgery to repair his rotator cuff.

Dragons coach Shane Flanagan was already managing an injury-riddled side, with Christian Tuipulotu, Hame Sele, Nathan Lawson, Toby Couchman, Ryan Couchman and Dylan Egan all on the sidelines, but the injury to Holmes is a hammer-blow for a side fighting to stay in finals contention.

The Dragons will likely need seven wins from their final eight matches if they want to play finals football – a feat made even more difficult by the absence of one of their best players and goal kicker.

If all goes to plan, Holmes should be fit for the Dragons Las Vegas opener against the Bulldogs next season.

Fears Latrell’s season over after training ground injury

South Sydney star Latrell Mitchell has suffered a torn quadriceps that threatens to end his season early, compounding a horror Rabbitohs injury toll that is pushing toward 200 combined matches missed by their first-grade squad.

Mitchell went down while warming up in Thursday’s captain’s run ahead of Friday’s round 20 clash with Penrith, and is slated to miss at least a month.

Latrell Mitchell may have played his last match for 2025.Credit: Getty Images

Further assessment on the NSW star is still to take place, and given the Rabbitohs are all but out of finals contention, Mitchell may have played his last game of 2025.

He joins skipper Cameron Murray, five-eighth Cody Walker and centre Campbell Graham on the sidelines, continuing a brutal run of star absentees for the club that far outstrips all NRL rivals.

Coach Wayne Bennett is yet to make a call on who replaces Mitchell at fullback against the Panthers.

Meanwhile, some of his rival coaches are entitled to be suffering from insomnia, but Bennett is sleeping soundly.

“I’ve spent 40 years under pressure,” Bennett said with a wry smile on Thursday. “I don’t feel it. It doesn’t worry me.”

It’s hard to imagine Adam O’Brien (Newcastle) and Des Hasler (Gold Coast) are as relaxed about their coaching futures, while Todd Payten (North Queensland) and Benji Marshall (Wests Tigers) could also find themselves added to the endangered-species list before the end of the season.

At Souths, however, Bennett is still seen as the solution, not the problem, which is the gravitas he commands after an unprecedented 953-game top-grade coaching career that has delivered a record seven premierships.

Twice during his initial tenure at Brisbane Broncos, in 2003 and 2005-06, they slumped to eight consecutive defeats. At Newcastle in 2014, he lost seven on the spin.

Rabbitohs coach Wayne Bennett.Credit: Getty Images

Yet 2025 is shaping up as potentially the worst campaign he has overseen, in terms of results, unless he can engineer a belated revival.

Since Bennett’s return this year, Souths have won six of 17 games. They need three victories, from their remaining seven fixtures to match his nine wins with new franchise the Dolphins in 2023, which has been his leanest return from any season.

The Rabbitohs probably require six more wins to have any hope of sneaking into the finals. If they miss out, it will be the first time that 75-year-old Bennett has been a play-off spectator for three consecutive seasons.

None of which appears to faze him.

“I know we’re doing the right things and I know we’re on the right track, but we’re not where the top teams are,” he said.

“Regardless of what our results are, that’s what we’re driving pretty hard here as coaches, is to fix up some areas that we need to be better at, regardless of who’s playing and how well we’re playing because what we’re dishing up at the moment isn’t going to put us in that place in 12 months’ time or two years’ time.

“So it’s a process, and we’ve got to stay true to it. I know how it works, and I’ve done it long enough, so we’ll get there.”

As Souths prepare for a make-or-break showdown with four-time premiers Penrith at CommBank Stadium on Friday, Bennett said he was focused on performances over competition points.

Injuries have undoubtedly cruelled Bennett’s plans for this season. Cameron Murray, Cody Walker, Campbell Graham, Brandon Smith, Euan Aitken, Davvy Moale, Liam Le Blanc and Jayden Sullivan are all unavailable for Friday’s clash with the Panthers, continuing a unwanted trend.

Souths have won only six games this season.Credit: Getty Images

Walker, who had been close to returning from a calf injury, has aggravated it and is now unlikely to play again this season.

Bennett said his players have been “pretty brave” this season in dealing with the adversity caused by injuries and disappointing results.

“We’ve got pretty good morale in the place still,” he said. “We haven’t blown that up, and we’ve had no crisis meetings, which I’m very pleased about.”

As for the clash with Penrith, who are coming off five straight wins, the game’s most experienced coach seemed unconcerned by the odds stacked against his team.

“We know if we turn up tomorrow and put an effort in, we’ll certainly give ourselves a chance, and that’s what we’ve got to do,” he said.

Bennett, meanwhile, sidestepped questions about the vacant Kangaroos coaching position.

“I’m trying to stay out of all that right now,” he said. “I’ve got enough on my hands here.”

Turbo’s centre switch still a week-to-week proposition

Tom Trbojevic’s future at fullback remains a week-to-week decision for Manly as they bid to remain in finals contention.

Manly coach Anthony Seibold was happy to reassess Trbojevic’s position following their game against South Sydney two weeks ago. However, Trbojevic trained at right centre again on Wednesday, signalling Seibold’s intention to keep youngster Lehi Hopoate in the No. 1 jersey for their game against Melbourne on Saturday.

As far as the team are aware, nothing will change so long as they’re winning games.

“He’s playing in the centres this week, so if we can keep winning, I guess we will keep it that way,” said playmaker Luke Brooks.

“Hoppa [Hopoate] is doing a great job out the back. But for the past two games, Turbo has looked good in the centres. We have seen what he can do at Origin and international level in the centres. So I think for now we will keep it.”

Coming off the bye, the Sea Eagles are about to enter their most crucial period of the season, and will likely need five wins from their final eight matches to play finals football.

Tom Trbojevic will play in the centres again for Manly this weekend.Credit: Getty Images

On 22 competition points, the Sea Eagles are scrapping for a spot in the top eight with the Dolphins, Sharks, Roosters and Panthers.

The game against the Storm in Melbourne marks the start of a tough month for Manly, who go on to play the Bulldogs, Roosters and Raiders.

Enforcer Ethan Bullemor said it was crunch time for the Northern Beaches club.

“With eight games to go, they are all crucial. And some of those teams you just rattled off [Storm, Bulldogs, Roosters], they are all sitting there or there about come finals time,” Bullemor said.

“They are some strong teams, they have been playing well this year. Undoubtedly, they are all important, we want to come out of the next month having won as many of those games as we can – same goes for the rest of the season through to finals. We need to keep improving our position on the ladder and keep winning games.”

Manly haven’t beaten the Storm in Melbourne since 2019, but a win on Saturday would go a long way to helping them crack the eight, said Ben Trbojevic.

“We have a big few games. It’s a great test for us, we want to be in that top eight and top four,” Trbojevic said.

“It’s a massive test, and we have to head down to Melbourne who have been one of the best teams all year. It’s a great test for us as a side, so we will head down there and put our best foot forward.”

Galvin named at No.7 for Bulldogs as Tigers hand Taylan May club debut

Taylan May will play his first NRL game since joining Wests Tigers, and Lachlan Galvin has been recalled to Canterbury’s starting side at halfback in two of the most notable selection developments of round 20.

The Tigers have named May, the former Penrith outside back, to play against Gold Coast on Sunday after he bagged a hat-trick in NSW Cup last week.

Taylan May has been sidelined for a year.Credit: Getty Images

May hasn’t played since May 10 last year after he was sidelined under the NRL’s no-fault stand-down policy following allegations of domestic violence.

Charges have since been withdrawn, opening the door for May to make his comeback at the Tigers after agreeing to a settlement with the Panthers last year.

The 23-year-old, who joined the Tigers on a train-and-trial deal last month, scored a hat-trick in nine minutes playing for the Magpies in NSW Cup last week and has impressed the coaching staff in a short period at the club.

He will play with his brother Terrell for the first time.

Lachlan Galvin was a spectator in Townsville as the Bulldogs beat the Cowboys.Credit: Getty Images

Galvin, meanwhile, has been recalled as Canterbury’s starting halfback for Saturday’s clash with St George Illawarra at Accor Stadium, just a week after he was a surprise omission from the squad that beat North Queensland in Townsville.

Galvin’s return means that regular No.7 Toby Sexton, who is joining Super League club Catalans Dragons at season’s end, was dropped from the 17 and named on an extended bench.

Galvin was initially named on the bench for the clash with the Cowboys, only to be omitted at the 11th hour when coach Cameron Ciraldo opted for four forwards on the bench.

While the Bulldogs scored a hard-fought 12-8 win, Ciraldo described their attack as “a bit clunky at times”, adding that his team performed better in back-to-back losses against Penrith and Brisbane, when Galvin played.

Ciraldo will be hoping the reinstatement of Galvin, and the return of Origin stars Stephen Crichton and Kurt Mann, improve his team’s potency with the ball.

The 19-year-old former Wests Tigers playmaker will be making his first appearance as Canterbury’s halfback, having played twice off the bench and twice as five-eighth.

There have also been significant changes to the halves of several other teams.

Veteran Chad Townsend has been recalled, after Hugo Savala suffered an injury, for his first game since round five when the Sydney Roosters meet Cronulla at Shark Park on Friday.

Meanwhile, Penrith coach Ivan Cleary has opted to rest both his son Nathan and Isaah Yeo for Friday’s clash with South Sydney at Commbank Stadium, while Liam Martin is unavailable because of the wrist injury he sustained in last week’s State of Origin decider.

NSW stars Dylan Edwards and Brian To’o are back after sitting out Sunday’s win against Parramatta.

Souths coach Wayne Bennett has named English import Lewis Dodd on the bench, for what will be his fourth NRL game since arriving from St Helens, and his first appearance since round nine.

There was no place in Parramatta’s top 17 for Newcastle-bound playmaker Dylan Brown, who was assigned jersey No.18 for the clash with the Raiders in Canberra on Saturday, allowing rookie Joash Papalii to start his second consecutive match at five-eighth.

Brown’s future role at Eels in question

Dylan Brown may be heading to the bench or reserve grade for the rest of the season.

Less than 24 hours after Lachlan Galvin’s immediate future at Canterbury came under scrutiny when he was omitted from the squad that beat North Queensland in Townsville, Brown’s selection prospects at Parramatta look equally uncertain after coach Jason Ryles revealed rookie Joash Papalii would be given every opportunity to establish himself at five-eighth.

Brown, who is joining Newcastle next season on an unprecedented 10-year deal worth a reported $13 million, played hooker for the first time in his career in Parramatta’s loss to Penrith on Sunday.

But the return of Ryley Smith from suspension, and the signing of Tallyn Da Silva from Wests Tigers, means the 25-year-old won’t be needed at dummy-half when the Eels clash with Canberra on Saturday.

Ryles said Parramatta have opted for a policy of “our future is now” and Brown was “on board” with the change in direction.

“He’s been really good, right from when he made his decision to move on,” Ryles said.

“He’s been really receptive of anything that we’ve put to him.

“He’s a really good person and a really selfless person for our footy club. So whilst he’s still here, he’s happy to do whatever is best for the team so it’s a reflection of his character.”

Dylan Brown played hooker for the first time in his career on Sunday.Credit: NRL Photos

Ryles was non-committal when asked about Brown’s selection prospects.

“Ryley’s back next week, so come in on Tuesday or Wednesday and we’ll sit down and put the names up and see what it looks like … I’ll tell you next week,” he said.

Brown’s best chance of adding to his 138 NRL games for the Eels would appear to be a bit-part utility role off the bench, or as a stopgap injury replacement.

The Kiwi international playmaker could also potentially be dropped back to NSW Cup, if Ryles sticks to the plan of preferring young players who will be at the club next season and beyond.

The coach indicated 21-year-old Papalii, who debuted earlier in the season, would be given an extended run at five-eighth.

“Obviously our spine was young tonight, for periods there, but that’s where we’re going with the club,” he said. “We’ve decided to take that approach, and I’m really comfortable with it.

“I just need to get them on the field as often as possible for as long as they can, and get their lessons while they’re developing.”

Walsh magic sinks Titans as Broncos put more heat on Hasler

Joel Gould

Brisbane fullback Reece Walsh came up with the big plays to sink Gold Coast and heap further pressure on Titans coach Des Hasler.

Brisbane won their fifth game in a row - a 26-14 victory at Robina on Sunday night - to stay fifth in the NRL standings and keep alive their top-four hopes.

The last-placed Titans had chances to win, but failed to win the key moments.

It was a far from convincing display by the Broncos, who were error-riddled in the first half. Their opponents were no better.

Walsh scored a try and set one up when the match was on the line, while centre Kotoni Staggs was the best player on the field.

The scores were locked at 2-2 until the Broncos scored twice in the final four minutes of the first half to take a 14-2 lead.

Reece Walsh in action against the Titans.Credit: Getty Images

The Broncos finally went over in the 34th minute, and it was rookie 26-year-old prop Ben Talty who scored his first NRL try in his second match.

Staggs swooped on a loose pass minutes later when it appeared the Titans would score, and back-rower Jack Gosiewski scored at the other end after a Walsh pass.

Walsh started and finished a long-range try after the break and topped it off with a back-flip to boot to give his side a 20-2 lead.

Two tries to Titans centre Jojo Fifita in the space of nine minutes lit up a crowd of 24,553. An AJ Brimson grubber and a superb interchange between half Jayden Campbell and forward Chris Randall set up the four-pointers.

The Titans went close to levelling before Broncos hooker Billy Walters scored at the other end.

Earlier, Broncos second-rower Brendan Piakura knocked on early while attempting to score after an Adam Reynolds kick and was concussed in the process. He failed his HIA and did not return.

Hasler, who is contracted until the end of 2026, remains the centre of plenty of discussion regarding his future.

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