The Bulldogs boarded a bus for Canberra on Wednesday ahead of their clash on Thursday night, wearing T-shirts that read “we before me” on the front.
It comes after talk of Bronson Xerri’s discontent has been aired throughout the week.
The 25-year-old has been banished to reserve grade, with coach Cameron Ciraldo breaking his silence on the drama on Wednesday, stating the decision was due to “a number of other factors around training and preparation and things like that”.
“There’s plenty of people in the NRL who have reactions that they regret and probably feel like they could have reacted better,” Ciraldo said.
“That happens nearly every day in an NRL club, and Bronson might have had one of those moments.
“Unfortunately for him though, his reaction was leaked to the media. That’s where I feel quite sorry for him in that regard because there’ve been plenty of players who have gone home and had a little bit of a whinge and then come back the next morning and got on with it. His sort of got put on the front page straight away.
“I feel for him in that regard, but in terms of what we do here, we’re a club with a very deep history, 90 years of history, and there’s a clear sign written on the wall well before I got here about ‘club first, team second and individual third’.
“That sign will be here a long time after we’re all gone. It’s our duty in the meantime to make sure we uphold those values and the DNA of our club.”
You can watch Cameron Ciraldo’s full comments in the player above.
That pointed message was also on full display, with the “we before me” shirts the players wore as they walked past media to board the bus to Canberra.
Ciraldo also pointed to Toby Sexton’s handling of being dropped last season as a perfect example of what to do.
Sexton lost the Bulldogs’ No. 7 jersey to mid-season recruit Lachlan Galvin last year, playing in NSW Cup before returning to the fold at the end of last year, before ultimately leaving to join the Catalans Dragons.
And Ciraldo was confident that the Bulldogs players had learnt from last year’s Lachlan Galvin fiasco, and how to deal with external noise around their roster make-up.
“He’s contracted until the end of next year, and it’s NRL, a lot of things can happen,” Ciraldo continued.
“We didn’t like his reaction to start with, but we’re here to support him. And that’s coaching.
“Until the day he leaves this club, whether that’s 10 days, 10 weeks or 10 years, we’ll be here to challenge him and support him.”
The Cronulla junior has not yet demanded a release from his contract, but there are reports that the 25-year-old has been told he won’t be extended beyond the end of his current deal, which ends in 2027.
The Tigers are believed to be monitoring his situation, given that both Taylan May and Starford To’a are injured.
“Benji’s agent is Bronson Xerri’s agent, so there’s a direct link there and I know certainly at the football club, there are people within the team and coaching staff that would love Bronson at the Tigers,” Code Sports’ Dave Riccio said on NRL360 on Tuesday night.
“I’m not saying a deal has been done, but the Tigers are looking at it and the Bulldogs have picked up on the scent as well and are aware that the Tigers are monitoring the situation.”