Bulldogs skipper Stephen Crichton is adamant Lachlan Galvin remains the club’s best option at halfback despite calls from legendary playmaker Andrew Johns that he should shift to five-eighth.

Watch every game of every round of the Premiership Season LIVE with no ad-breaks during play on FOX LEAGUE, available on Kayo Sports | New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1.

The eighth Immortal called for the Bulldogs to move Galvin into the six jersey and to bring rookie Mitchell Woods in at halfback to provide more creativity following the loss to the undermanned Broncos last week.

Bulldogs coach Cameron Ciraldo staunchly defended his young playmaker after Friday’s match, and his skipper has backed him up by referencing the stunning round 6 performance where Galvin had his best game in the NRL to lead Canterbury to a shock win over Penrith.

Lachlan Galvin was sensational against the Panthers a few weeks ago, but Andrew Johns believes he should be moved to five-eighth. Picture: Cameron Spencer/Getty ImagesSource: Getty Images

Galvin has formed a wonderful combination with edge forward Jacob Preston since he moved to Belmore, but there are still parts of his game that he needs to develop.

“The way he played against the Panthers, everyone was probably on his side saying he’s the best halfback that week. Now two weeks later, he probably hasn’t performed the way he wanted to,” Crichton said.

“That’s a reflection on the boys around him probably not helping him do his job as well.

“We definitely know that he is our halfback. The way he played against the Panthers is the way halfbacks should be playing.

“I feel like we’re not helping him enough as players around him. We’ve just reviewed the way he played against the Panthers and he is capable of doing it.

“He’s been playing what he’s been learning at training. He’s been getting criticised a lot lately for the way that our team’s been performing.

“Ever since he’s come to the club, I’ve always said that if you’re not getting criticised, you’re not doing your job right. I feel like he’ll be learning off this and in a couple of years’ time, or even now, he’s learning these lessons.

Galvin isn’t the only Canterbury player who struggled against the Broncos. Picture: Cameron Spencer/Getty ImagesSource: Getty Images

“As a young 20-year-old, he’s going to become a player – one of the greats – sooner or later. I feel like all the lessons that he’s taking right now are pretty harsh, but it’s going to build him up to be the player that he wants to be.”

Galvin isn’t the only one facing criticism at the club as it struggles to bridge the gap between its best and its worst.

The Bulldogs have won three of their seven matches this season to sit outside the top eight, while they were outright first 12 months ago with just one loss through the opening eight rounds.

“I haven’t felt this much criticism since I got to the club,” Crichton said ahead of Friday’s game against the Cowboys.

“But we’re at a big club with a big fan base. There are always going to be people with their opinion.

“I feel like we’ve been really clear with our boys where our answers lie, and that’s inside our four walls.

The Bulldogs are outside the top eight after they were genuine premiership contenders this time a year ago. Picture: Bradley Kanaris/Getty ImagesSource: Getty Images

“Regardless of media attention and regardless of social media posts and things like that, as long as you have the opinion of your players and the coaching staff, that’s the only opinions that you can listen to.

“There are always going to be people’s opinions out there regardless if it is good or bad. Taking the lessons out of the weekend and learning from it is the biggest thing for us.

“We know what our best is, and our worst is a long way away from that as well. We’ve just got to try and bridge that gap between our mindset and our preparation to the game.

“There are probably lapses in concentration there and the effort areas where we need our effort wasn’t there on the weekend too.

“We’ve had that spoken about in video and I think the biggest thing now is learning from those lessons and not letting it happen again.”