Bulldogs coach Cameron Ciraldo has explained the reasoning behind the “tough decision” to drop Reed Mahoney in favour for the more versatile Toby Sexton for Friday night’s finals blockbuster against Melbourne.

Mahoney’s axing is the latest of several huge selection calls Ciraldo has made around his spine since Lachlan Galvin joined the club mid-season.

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Mahoney started the majority of the season at hooker before dropping to the bench a month ago in favour for Bailey Hayward.

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The Dogs haven’t been travelling all that sweetly in recent weeks and following a 26-6 loss to Cronulla last weekend, Ciraldo decided another change had to be made, recalling the previously axed Sexton, who is set to start the Storm clash on the bench.

The Bulldogs coach said the conversation with Mahoney was a difficult one and that the club is supporting the dummy-half, who could have played his final game for the club given he’s North Queensland bound next season.

“It’s definitely a tough decision but one we think is best for the team to help us this weekend,” Ciraldo said.

“There are a lot of moving parts in that but at the forefront of our mind is that how hard that would be for Reed so it’s important to reinforce how much we love him and we’re here to support him but they are the tough decisions you have to make in this job.

“It was hard but we’ve had a number of those conversations over the last few months. As I said we love him and support him but he understands it is what’s best for the team.”

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Sexton hasn’t played first grade since he was dropped to reserve grade back in Round 20.

Like Mahoney, Sexton has been forced out of the Bulldogs at season’s end as well. He’ll join Super League club Catalans from 2026.

Ciraldo explained that while Sexton has been toiling away in reserve grade, he’s added a string to his bow which can really help the Bulldogs during their finals campaign.

“The other part of the equation is celebrating Toby coming back into the team. He’s a guy that lost his spot at one stage and what he’s done is go away and work hard on his game. He never dropped his lid and always put the team first,” Ciraldo said.

“He’s also worked on playing hooker as well which he did in NSW Cup.

“As sad as it is for Reed, we’re really excited around Toby earning his inclusion.

“He’s always brought great energy, he’s a great communicator. What he will do is cover the halves and hooker and allow Matt Burton to cover the outside backs.”

In last week’s loss to Cronulla, the Bulldogs were up against it early after losing centre Bronson Xerri for the game due to a head knock.

That threw the line up into disarray, with five-eighth Burton having to move to centre, Hayward into the halves and Mahoney onto the field much earlier than anticipated to play hooker.

Ciraldo said the prospect of that happening again was the reason behind the call to bring Sexton back.

“We’ve been thinking about making this call for a while. Toby’s put the pressure on through his performances in NSW Cup and in training as well and then last week Bailey moved out to the halves and we felt like we lost his communication and connection through the middle so we didn’t want to lose that this week,” the Bulldogs coach said.

“We all really value Bailey’s communication here. The players have said he’s the best communicator in our team and he makes such a difference when he’s there.

“As I said last week, when he went into the halves we sort of missed him in the middle so that was part of the reason (for the change).”