Michael Ennis and Shaun Johnson have praised Toby Sexton’s influence on the Bulldogs in the side’s 26-18 loss to the Melbourne Storm on Friday night with footage at the end of the game raising concerns over Lachlan Galvin’s position a No.7. The Bulldogs pushed the Storm all the way in their preliminary final at AAMI Park on Friday but lost Stephen Crichton early in the game, before Enari Tuala limped off the field.
Their captain tried bravely to play through pain after hurting himself early on, but lasted only a few minutes before departing the field. This prompted Sexton to enter the game in the halves, which saw Matt Burton move to the centres.
Footage at the end of the loss to the Storm of Toby Sexton and Matt Burton taking control, instead of Lachlan Galvin (pictured left), has raised concerns for Bulldogs fans heading into an elimination game.
Although from this moment onwards it appeared Sexton would remain the main man having played the more dominant halfback role. Galvin appeared to take a backseat and was more of a five-eighth at times throughout the contest. And this has raised more concerns among fans over Galvin’s role in 2025 under coach Cameron Ciraldo.
One such moment came when the team were down two points with 10 minutes to go. The Bulldogs were working it off their own 20 metre line, but the ball never went to Galvin across the five tackles.
Instead, the ball went to Sexton on the last who put the kick in for the final play. Other than two passes from dummy-half the next set, Galvin had little impact with Burton putting up the kick on the fifth.
And it raised questions over whether Sexton is better suited at wearing the No.7 jersey full-time. Sexton entered the field and scored within seconds. While he had one shocking moment, kicking the ball out on the full, Sexton showed plenty of attacking intent throughout the gruelling contest. Former Bulldogs player Ennis claimed the form of Sexton could see Galvin move to five-eighth. And Warriors legend Johnson suggested Sexton straightened the side up against the Storm.
Fans have already been calling for him to be reinstated to the No.7 jersey with the halfback at the helm when the Bulldogs were leading the competition earlier in the season. The Bulldogs now face an elimination game against either the Warriors or Panthers next week.
Toby Sexton (pictured) impressed having been recalled to the side for the Bulldogs’ loss to the Storm in the NRL qualifying final game.
One could argue Sexton should start in the halves for the clash, which could push Burton to centre with Crichton set to miss the remainder of finals footy. Galvin played well and showed glimpses of his talent with many feeling he is better suited wearing the No.6 jersey.
But even on the deciding play, when Will Warbrick took the intercept off Viliame Kikau, Galvin was not involved in the huge shift to the right. Phil Gould and Ciraldo have faced plenty of criticism from fans over bringing in Galvin to the side and catapulting him into the No.7 jersey. Calls are growing for Sexton to start against their next opponents.
Stephen Crichton injury a major concern
Crichton appeared on the sideline with his foot in a moonboot and on crutches after the injury in the first few moments. And it appears his final footy season is over with the NSW star unlikely to be able to return even if the Bulldogs win their next two games to make the NRL grand final.
“It’s hard to know now without getting scans, but when you can’t finish a game, it’s not looking great,” Bulldogs coach Ciraldo said. “We’ve got a lot of depth in our squad, and some guys are going to get opportunities, and that’s going to be great for them.”
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But it appears Kikau isn’t a concern with the second-rower returning after passing his HIA. “He had a knock on the eye from last week, and then hit him in the same spot and sort of floored him there,” Ciraldo said of Kikau. “But he’s good. He did really well coming back on.”
Jonah Pezet shines for Melbourne Storm
While Ciraldo has a decision to make next week about his halves pairing, Storm coach Craig Bellamy would have been excited to see Jonah Pezet stand up and deliver a huge performance starting in the No.7 jersey. Pezet was arguably the most impressive playmaker on the field having stood up in the first-half alongside Cameron Munster.
Pezet appears to be the favoured player to wear the No.7 jersey with Jahrome Hughes out. While Hughes could make a return if the Storm make the NRL grand final, Bellamy will be confident Pezet can do the job after a matured display against the Bulldogs.
Lachlan Galvin (pictured) showed flashes of his talent against the Storm, but appeared hesitant in the backend of the game.