‘I'm filthy': Cameron Ciraldo says the Bulldogs haven't reached their attacking potential as Lachlan Galvin fails to fire in the halves
The Bulldogs led 18-0 in the second half but conceded the final four tries as a new-look backline failed to fire the premiership fancies with the game on the line.
All eyes were on mid-season recruit Lachlan Galvin who was initially named on the bench but started at five-eighth alongside Toby Sexton, with Matt Burton switching to centre given they had Stephen Crichton and Jacob Kiraz away on Origin duty.
Galvin set up a try with his right boot but made two errors and didn't gel well with his teammates on the left edge in what was his second start since leaving the Wests Tigers.
Canterbury's attack is an easy focus given they were leading the league before Galvin arrived, with the next two months set to determine what their spine looks like heading into the finals.
'I don't think our attack has reached its potential all year, so we're searching for that, as most clubs are,' Ciraldo said.
'We're searching for what works. We've had a lot of turnover with different back-rowers and things like that so we're still searching.
'We've got nine or 10 weeks to go to figure that out, but you've got to learn your lessons quickly. We didn't learn ours from last week and take those into tonight.'
While the halves conundrum will dominate the headlines for the rest of the season, Ciraldo doesn't have to worry about being asked questions about Sexton's future after the halfback signed a deal to play for Catalans.
Sexton joined the club midway through the 2023 season and has done a fine job in the halves, but his role became a major talking point once Galvin signed.
'He came and saw me last night (Thursday) and told me about it,' Ciraldo said.
'It's really good for him and his family and I'm stoked for him because he's worked really hard.
'He was playing for Tweed Heads a couple of years ago and came down to the Bulldogs to get an opportunity.
'He had to bide his time at the start and then got his opportunity, and he's done really well.
'It's a great opportunity for him over there, but he was really clear that he's not thinking about that right now. He's thinking about how we get better at the back end of the season, and that's what we're all thinking.'
Ciraldo has a week to decide who he should pick in the halves for their next game, with the coach disappointed in his side's second-half performance after failing to learn lessons from last week's loss to Penrith.
'I haven't thought too far past that game. We've got to go back and review that,' he said.
'There was a lot to like about what we did in the first half, but there are some lessons there. I'm filthy that we didn't learn our lessons from last week.
'We had to stand up and be better this week than what we were last week in those areas that we practised all week, but we weren't.
'I thought we were trying to force it too much.
'I thought the Broncos were defending really well at the start of the second half and we earned some possession, but we had to keep asking questions and play the field position game.
'We didn't, we tried to force it and it probably played into their hands.'
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