Latest news with #CanterburyBulldogs
Daily Mail
16 hours ago
- Sport
- Daily Mail
Footy fans slam great of the game over the most cringeworthy sideline TV interview you'll ever see
NRL premiership winner and New Zealand international Daryl Halligan has combined with a Kiwi young gun to deliver one of the most confusing interviews the code has ever seen. Halligan was on-hand to interview players in the wake of the Warriors' 40-10 demolition of Cronulla on Saturday, and his line of questioning has been ridiculed by footy fans. Halligan, a New Zealand-born winger, transitioned from rugby union to rugby league in 1991, joining the North Sydney Bears before moving to the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs in 1994. Renowned for his exceptional goal-kicking skills, he amassed a then-record 2034 points in the NRL, including 855 goals at a 79.31 per cent success rate, and played a pivotal role in the Bulldogs' 1995 premiership victory. But his footy ability hasn't translated to a stellar media career, highlighted by the puzzling interview he did for Sky Sports on the weekend with Warriors young gun Leka Halasima. It started innocuously enough, with Halligan praising Halasima for his efforts in the forwards in the Warriors' win over Cronulla. 'Leka great effort tonight, yourself and Jacob [Laban] in the back row, 80 minutes for you, brilliant,' he said. But it quickly skidded downhill as the questions became longer and more confusing. "Try scoring freak continues. You're on a little bit of a string. I mean, leg speed, take the line on?" Halligan said to confusion of fans and Halasima alike. 'What the f***, Darryl?' one fan asked about that particular question. All the young Warrior could do was laugh and reply, 'Pardon?' 'The try streak's five now, hopefully more to come,' he added as his teammates teased him and slapped him on the head. 'Shark Park here, you don't often put 40 points on Cronulla,' Halligan followed it up with. By then Halasima's concentration had been well and truly broken and he started to deliver replies that have been likened to former NRL star Darius Boyd's infamous one-word-answers interview. In that instance, Boyd's terse, one-word responses during a 2009 press conference became emblematic of his strained relationship with the media. 'You're going so well my friend, starting on the bench, now playing the full 80 minutes, in the back row, its a credit to you,' Halligan said to close out the interview. Fans have since taken to social media to ridicule the awkward exchange. 'Halligan's 'stream of consciousness' interviewing technique takes some getting used to,' one fan posted. 'Fucking great that Leka follows that gibberish with 'Pardon?',' another fan commented. 'Daryl has been getting stuck into the beers or something,' joked another. Others questioned whether Halasima was ready for on-the-spot media interviews, especially with curve ball questions like Halligan was throwing his way. 'Poor bloke was so nervous and clearly not really listening to the questions,' one viewer posted. 'As someone with years of media experience and a former player, he should be helping out these young kids that haven't had a lot of media training,' added another. 'Adding to the shyness, the lad was born in Tonga, so his first language isn't even English, making Halligan's word salad even more bewildering than it would otherwise be,' yet another pointed out.
ABC News
a day ago
- Sport
- ABC News
Why Lachlan Galvin's Canterbury debut is the first gaGalvin's Bulldogs debut is the first game of the rest of his NRL lifeme of the rest of his NRL life
Lachlan Galvin has never, in his life, played in a game like Monday and from the looks of things there will be many more of them to come. It wasn't just the monster crowd of 59,878 that came to see Canterbury take on Parramatta — plenty of players go their whole careers without an audience like that outside of State of Origin or a grand final. The cold and the wet were never going to keep the blue and white army away, not when their team entered the round top of the league and are now into the second half of a season that has premiership aspirations. The Eels fought hard and made the Bulldogs work for it after a strong first half. But Canterbury turned the screws expertly in the final quarter of the match to grind out another win, as expected — and that's the difference between this game and all the others Galvin has played at the top level. In signing with Canterbury, Galvin has linked with one of the best teams in the competition and the expectations are radically different to anything he experienced in his 18 months with Wests Tigers. At the joint venture, Galvin was in a relatively low-pressure environment. The wins and the losses still mattered, because in first grade they all matter, but the stakes were nowhere near as high, and in choosing Canterbury and moving there mid-season, Galvin has upped the ante on himself. Given the way they've started the season, every match the Bulldogs play from here on out will likely prove crucial in the premiership race. They are heavyweights and the intensity and attention paid to them reflect that status. Going from a rebuilding club to a true premiership contender halfway through a season is an enormous jump in responsibility for any player, let alone a 20-year-old with exactly a season and a half under his belt. But confidence has rarely been an issue for Galvin. It never felt likely he would be overawed, even accounting for the media circus surrounding his move and his first showing for the Bulldogs was a good one. He came on at halfback with 25 minutes to go, with Canterbury up by two and both sides ripping in and showed a cool head by getting involved without chasing after the game madly. Galvin had some nice moments and they all came within the rhythm of the Bulldogs process. He did not overplay his hand, but straightened the attack nicely for Viliame Kikau's key try and got one of his own to finish things off by pushing up in support on the back of an offload. His teammates swamped him and the crowd erupted as though he'd been a Bulldog his whole life. It was a fine debut, one which tantalised with its possibility. The challenge now for Galvin is doing it again and again and again as the games get bigger and the stakes get higher. At the Tigers, if he went off the boil for a few weeks like all young players and especially young halves can from time to time, it was easier to excuse. They were in a process of regeneration and he was barely getting started in his career. He was still finding his way and ups and downs are all part of that process. Making mistakes and learning from them or hitting flat spots and fighting through them are part of growing up, as a footballer and a person. But things are different now. Galvin is still young but this move has accelerated his own timeline. These days of coming off the bench will not last long and the time draws near when he will start at halfback for Canterbury and the weight of the challenge of greatness will be upon his broad shoulders because that's exactly what this team was aspiring to even before he arrived. He won't have to carry it alone. The Bulldogs are a team who find strength in their numbers and every week a new player seems to step up when needed to make the difference. Against Parramatta, it was young prop Harry Hayes who backed up Kurt Mann to score a key try and ran for 218 metres off the bench. It's that depth across the park that makes Canterbury so dangerous and why great things feel possible for them in 2025. Their win over Parramatta had all the hallmarks of some of their best wins this year — there was the utter devotion to their process, ball control that starved the opposition of any opportunity and an ability to invariably come home stronger. As a team, the Bulldogs are good at these things because they've done them before. The success it has delivered them over the past 18 months was likely a big factor in attracting Galvin in the first place, but now he must do the same in order to justify his presence there. Through this whole saga, Galvin has shown an ability to leave the drama behind when he hits the field. Blessed with the certainty of youth, the pressure of his situation has not gotten to him yet despite the constant talk and a spotlight that grows harsher all the time. Now it will be a different kind of pressure, less hyperbolic but certainly more concentrated. He is no longer the best thing about one of the worst teams in the league, he is a finishing touch, the final piece of a puzzle that was already looking close to completed. If he plays like he did in the 25 minutes on Monday, Galvin can take the Bulldogs even higher — but that's not what the blue and white faithful will hope for, it's what they will expect. He is no longer a player of the future on a team dreaming of the days when success may come, but a player of the present on a team who feel close to glory. Canterbury can aspire to be the best, so the best is what will be expected. Such is his talent, Galvin was always going to cross this bridge eventually but now he has done there's no way back to how it was before. He's moved into a new world and must learn to master it and at the top end of the ladder patience is hard to come by.
News.com.au
a day ago
- Sport
- News.com.au
Bulldogs playmaker thought Galvin was ‘joking' when told he was being punted
Bulldogs halfback Toby Sexton has revealed he thought new recruit Lachlan Galvin was joking when he came on for his debut on Sunday and told the No. 7 to go play hooker. Nobody knew just how Galvin would be used off the bench in his first game for Canterbury, including the players themselves. The 19-year-old warmed the bench for 57 minutes thinking he was likely coming on at lock or centre, but when the moment arrived it was in the halves - his preferred position. 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? Get your first month for just $1. Limited-time offer > Galvin came on and Sexton, who admits he has 'no idea' the long-term plan for positions, was told to move into dummyhalf with Reed Mahoney going off. 'He came on and said play hooker and I thought he was joking for a second and he goes 'Nah you're actually playing hooker' and I thought oh righto this will be good,' Sexton said on Fox League. 'Whatever is my role in the team, the coach is going to decide that and I just have to play to the best of my ability. We've got lots of strike in the team and they're good headaches for the coach to have. Galvin said he still has 'no clue' what position he'll be playing moving forward under coach Cameron Ciraldo. 'I thought I was coming on at lock or centre, I didn't know and then Ciro told me go into the halves so whatever Ciro wants and the boys need, I'll do it,' Galvin said on Fox League. 'If we keep winning like that I'll do anything.' Ciraldo said he had a number of possible plans to get Galvin into the game, but halfback wasn't the number one idea. He also revealed that his original intention last week was to have Galvin play in NSW Cup, rather than the King's Birthday blockbuster. 'We had a couple of plans, but no, that wasn't the plan (to play halfback). We had a couple of different plans there,' Ciraldo said. 'It's been a really hard week to get his head around everything. 'On Tuesday, when I named the team, he wasn't in the team. I thought he would play NSW Cup and he'll just come through there and learn our systems but every training session he did, he got better. He understood our systems better and by the end of the week, it was clear that we needed to have him in the team and he could help us win the game. 'Credit to him and how he went about his training during the week and I thought he did great when he got on there. Ciraldo was assured that the 19-year-old's best position was in the halves. 'He plays in the halves. That's his preferred position,' Ciraldo said. 'When we looked at bringing him in immediately we probably thought he can fill a number of positions, and he might be able to do that, but he's predominantly a half and he did a great job tonight. 'The learning is not over. He's been here for a week. He's still got a lot to learn, but today it was a great start for him.' Sexton is still without a contract for next season and admitted the uncertainty around his future, which was only amplified with the arrival of Galvin, has played on his mind at times this season. 'Yeah it obviously has its moments but I have a great playing group and staff here and coming to training every day is so enjoyable and it's pretty cliche but I'm just trying to control what I can control,' Sexton said. 'Hopefully that (contract) will get sorted sooner rather than later but it was another good win tonight. 'It's obviously been a few weird weeks with Lachie coming to the club but I thought the moment he came in, all the pressure went away and I could just focus on footy. 'At the end of the day he's a great kid and from day dot he just wants to learn and get better and he's very young. He's fit in really well and I don't feel the pressure, I just need to play footy and if I do that well the rest is out of my control.' Galvin said he had moved on from the drama surrounding his departure from the Tigers and paid tribute to his new teammates and fans. 'I just want to play footy. I shut that out. That's all over now and that's all in the past,' he said. 'That's all in the past now. I just want to play footy and I was smiling and enjoying it out there today. That's all I really want to do and with these bunch of boys, it's quite amazing and the fans got right behind us tonight. It was really cool. 'As you can see when I scored, they all jumped over me. They've been so supportive, they've got behind me. 'Just to get the win with all these boys that have been so good to me, I love every minute of it. The club is building into something really special here and I love being a part of it.' Bulldogs No. 6 Matt Burton played in the halves alongside both Sexton and Galvin on Sunday and said the dynamic worked with all three of them on the field. 'I thought it was good, (Galvin) came on and added a lot of energy there through the middle and took them on,' Burton said. 'He'll only get better as he gets older and I thought he was great on debut tonight and jagged a try but I thought Sexton was really good in the middle as well. 'We didn't train too much (Galvin) to be honest, he sort of filled in a few spots during the week but we didn't know where he was going to come on. 'I thought he did a great job to handle that and has obviously been through a bit, he's done well tonight. There's been a lot of noise around him so it's good for him to come out here, have some fun and play footy. '(But) Sexton) has been outstanding for us all year and the way he goes about his business is second to none and I thought he played really well in the first half, got us in a good position and set us up for the second half.' Canterbury captain Stephen Crichton added: 'There's a long way to go with him, tonight was just a little snippet of how good he can be, I'm very proud he's in the Bulldogs colours now, he's going to be a massive asset to our team.'
News.com.au
2 days ago
- Sport
- News.com.au
NRL SuperCoach live scores and analysis: Lachlan Galvin debuts for Bulldogs against Parramatta Eels
Hey, Lachlan Galvin, here's the recipe for success to be an elite Canterbury half, from a premiership-winning one. 'When you're a Bulldog, it's a team first mentality … care about each other and prioritise the guy next to you more so than yourself. You'd do anything for the guy next to you.' That's the advice from Braith Anasta, who played five-eighth in Canterbury's last premiership-winning team in 2004, to former Tiger-turned-Bulldog Galvin. It was the mantra an 18-year-old Anasta adopted when he arrived in Belmore in 2000, which led him to a drought breaking grand final in the halves for the Dogs four years later. Now the fresh faced 19-year-old Galvin has the chance to do the same. 'For Lachie, if he buys into the culture and buys into the systematic way in which they're playing, doesn't try and overcomplicate things and really believes in the process and the coach, who's doing incredible things, then he won't have a problem,' he said. 'He'll fit in like a glove.' Anasta is glad Ciraldo has chosen to 'rip the band-aid off' and name Galvin straight for the King's Birthday clash on Fox League and Kayo against the Eels, the side the youngster ironically almost signed for. Parramatta will be out to show Galvin what he missed out on, the chance to play with one of the game's best playmakers in Mitchell Moses. But at Canterbury Anasta says Galvin will have the opportunity to make the No.7 jersey his own. 'They'd see him moving into the seven and Burton six, less disruption, and then kind of teaching Lachie the ways, the systems, the defensive patterns and getting his style more and getting it wrapped around his head,' Anasta said. But as much as the ex-Canterbury playmaker is thrilled by Galvin's arrival, the NRL 360 host can't help but put himself in the shoes of current halfback Toby Sexton who would feel been hard done by. 'He doesn't really deserve to be in this situation given how well he's played this year and where the dogs are coming. 'I feel sorry for him, but it's also a good opportunity and challenge for him at the same time.' Anasta, also a player agent to several halfbacks, says the highs for Galvin and lows of Sexton is just the reality of the rollercoaster that is rugby league. 'I've got Cameron Munster who's flying and playing Origin and playing great for Melbourne, and then I've got poor Lachie (Ilias) who's in a tough situation there with the Dragons trying to fight his way back in the first grade,' Anasta said. 'I know how emotionally tough it can be and the challenge that does present to these guys, so that's why I can really relate to Toby but at the same time I can relate to Lachie (Galvin) as well, a great opportunity, he's a young gun, he burst onto the scene, got all the clubs after him. He can go wherever he wants and he deserves that because he's put himself in that position.' Despite the Bulldogs and the Eels sitting at complete opposite ends of the ladder and Parramatta desperate for a win, Anasta says there's more riding on the game for the competition leaders. 'If the Dogs do come out now and lose one, two in a row, then the drums will start beating and we've all seen the external pressures of the media and fans and they don't want that,' he said. 'They want to come out, put a good performance in, get the win and they can move on from everything even quicker. It'd be probably a relief for them given the attention that this has received.'
Daily Mail
02-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Lachlan Galvin breaks his silence on dealing with backlash after bomshell Tigers exit and sets the record straight on his relationship with Jarome Luai and Benji Marshall in tell all interview
Footy star Lachlan Galvin has set the record straight on his relationship with former Wests Tigers team-mate Jarome Luai and former coach Benji Marshall in his first interview as a Canterbury Bulldogs player. The 19-year-old prodigy officially jumped ship to join the Bulldogs finally confirming one of the worst-kept secrets in the NRL that he was verging on an exit from the footy club. In what is a major coup for the Bulldogs, the five-eighth has penned a three-year deal with Cameron Ciraldo's side, immediately terminating his deal with the Tigers. While he has been pictured training with the Doggies in recent days, Galvin had not, until today, spoken out on the move and answered some of the burning questions, including, why he chose to leave? Were rumours of a fractured relationship between him and halves partner Luai correct? And why he didn't want to continue under the leadership of Marshall? Questions have been raised this season that he and Luai had not always been on the best of terms. The former Penrith half-back appeared to aim a dig at Galvin earlier this season with a cryptic social media post after the contract saga bubbled its way into the spotlight. While Luai also threw his support behind senior coach, Marshall, he had also stated that the team needed Galvin, but added: 'We don't have to all be best mates.' Galvin has snubbed any idea that there was any animosity between him and the four-time premiership winner had fallen out. 'Jarome [and I] got on fine. We probably weren't going over each other's houses, having sleepovers and that,' the five-eighth said in an interview with Channel Nine. 'People like to think that we never got on, but behind the scenes, we were always talking and never got to a point where we hated or never spoke to each other. 'I never walked into Concord once thinking "stuff him, he's come in here and taken the reins".' Equally, concerns had mounted over Galvin's relationship with Marshall, after reports from The Sydney Morning Herald claimed he didn't buy into his former coach's ethos. Again, the 19-year-old told his side of the story, thanking Marshall for believing in him and giving him the opportunity to play first-grade footy. 'Benji was great to me, I'm so grateful for Benji giving me my debut,' Galvin said. 'It wasn't coaching, it was more just developing, and that was all on me. I wanted a change, and I just felt a change would get me out of my comfort zone.' The footy star says he is now excited to work under the leadership of Ciraldo but says he understands why Tigers fans may be disappointed in his move The footy star says he is now excited to work under the leadership of Ciraldo, adding that part of his decision to move was because he wanted to push himself out of his comfort zone. And he gets why Tigers fans may be disappointed at his decision to leave the club, stating that he wasn't phased by criticism. 'I understand where [Tigers fans] are coming from. I think they can have their opinion, and they can have their hatred and that against me. I understand that,' he added. 'The main thing is I never wanted to disrespect the club, I never wanted to hurt the club. I was doing this for my best interests and I hope [for] success for the whole club. 'This whole thing was my decision. I had told Isaac what I wanted, and he says 'yes'. I've run this thing, I've backed myself, and I'm a pretty confident kid in that way.
