NRL world says same thing about Lachlan Galvin as halfback produces mixed performance

News.com.au

4 days ago

Question marks over the Bulldogs' decision to replace Toby Sexton with Lachlan Galvin have only intensified after the No. 7 produced a rocks and diamonds display as Canterbury edged past the Dragons 20-18.
The Bulldogs named Galvin at halfback for their clash on Saturday evening, with Sexton relegated to reserve grade.
FOX LEAGUE, available on Kayo Sports, is the only place to watch every game of every round in the 2025 NRL Telstra Premiership, LIVE with no ad-breaks during play. New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1.
It came after the Bulldogs only managed to score two tries in their 12-8 victory over the Cowboys last week.
And as a result, Cameron Ciraldo pulled the trigger, parachuting Galvin into the starting side.
But once again, his performance was split between pieces of brilliance and being completely ineffectual.
The youngster crossed for a try early in the first half, backing up on the inside of Stephen Crichton after the representative centre broke the line.
And he finished his performance by throwing a cutout pass to winger Jethro Rinakama, who scored in the corner to secure the two-point victory.
But in between the pieces of quality, Galvin struggled to get a foothold in the match.
The 20-year-old made several poor defensive reads and overplayed his hand in attack as the Bulldogs continue to struggle to recapture their early-season form.
After going into the break 10 points up against the Dragons, some questionable efforts from the halfback helped the Red V back into the game.
And it was his defensive effort that saw the Dragons take the lead 18-16 in the second half that drew groans from Canterbury supporters.
As St George shifted the ball from right to left, Galvin charged out of the line to put pressure on Dragons half Kyle Flanagan, who effortlessly passed to Clint Gutherson, creating an overlap.
The 20-year-old then made no effort to chase back, jogging to the line as the Red V drew and passed before Sione Finau scored in the corner.
You can watch the moment in the player at the top of the page.
And it had Dogs fans all left saying the same thing.
'Galvin has single-handedly ruined the Bulldogs' season,' one fan wrote on X.
'Is Galvin the worst defensive half in the comp?' another asked.
'Can we give him back. What is Galvin doing?' a third added.
However, his moment of quality at the end showed what he can do. But fans still aren't convinced.
'Rough second half, Galvin nervous, needs to breathe and just play. Ended the game with a fantastic pass though, has promise, just needs to play his best,' one fan said.
'Galvin literally did two good things in the whole damn game, and played crap for the rest of it, but bring on the ignoring the crap part,' another said.
'Oh, finally a win ffs lmao good on ya doggies. Galvin actually showed what he CAN do,' a third Dogs fan said.
'What a rubbish 78 minutes and then that. Galvin is a rollercoaster,' a fourth wrote.
Cameron Ciraldo's call to drop Toby Sexton season-defining
The Dogs built their formidable form off effort areas, somewhere Galvin has come up short to date.
Since Galvin joined the club, the Bulldogs in Round 14, the former league leaders have not beaten a current top 8 team.
And the decision to pick the youngster is likely to be a season-defining one, one way or another.
Over the last two seasons, Sexton has played 32 games, with the Bulldogs winning 23 of those and losing just 9, for a win percentage of 71.9.
In the same period, Sexton has missed 9 games, with the Bulldogs winning just 3 and losing 6 of those.
Now that Ciraldo has opted to go with Galvin over Sexton, he will surely stick with it.
Galvin has shown that he is a star of the future, but time will tell if he's ready to lead a team to premiership glory right now.