Canterbury’s player recruitment and coaching decisions have come under scrutiny following the side’s fourth loss of the season, as questions linger over who is calling the shots.

The Bulldogs have failed to emulate their impressive Round 5 win over Penrith in recent weeks, with successive losses to Parramatta and an undermanned Broncos pushing the side to 10th on the NRL ladder.

It has prompted the question: who is running the Bulldogs side — general manager Phil Gould, or coach Cameron Ciraldo?

“Gus casts a long shadow over Belmore, do we think Gus is involving himself in team selections, or do you think Cameron is strong enough to say ‘no, it’s on me’? I’m just asking the question,” Daily Telegraph journalist Dean Ritchie posed on NRL 360 on Monday night.

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While the NRL 360 panel agreed Ciraldo had the gumption to make his own selection calls, they questioned Gould’s influence, as well as some of the roster changes and re-signings happening at the Bulldogs under his tenure.

Those include the decision to let go of Reed Mahoney last year, as well as re-sign Connor Tracey and Jaeman Salmon to new deals.

“I’m concerned because they let Reed Mahoney go (last year) to let Bailey Hayward play at hooker. I thought it was the right decision, but now I’m starting to think Bailey Hayward is a better 13 than he is a 9,” the Daily Telegraph’s Brent Read said.

“I’m not sure re-signing Connor Tracey was the best decision. They just gave him two more years at $500,000-plus.

“Phil Gould is making the decisions, Cam’s coaching the team. They’re the blokes wearing the responsibility right, that’s how footy works.

“I think Cameron’s making the changes but I think some of the personnel decisions are being made by Phil Gould. Jaeman Salmon’s a great example, from what I’ve heard that was a Phil Gould decision – he re-signed him for two years on good money. I’d rather Bailey Hayward play lock than Jaeman Salmon, or Kurt Mann.”

NRL 360 host Braith Anasta agreed, saying: “You can understand why the fans are a little bit pissed. You go ‘we’re coming first last year, everything’s rosy, you’ve got a winning formula and winning team’.

“But because they’ve made such big moves and critical calls, backed their decision making and tinkered with the team – all that – and here we are and they’re nowhere near where they were a year ago.”

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Reed Mahoney joined the Cowboys from the Bulldogs.Source: News Corp Australia

The Bulldogs’ halves combination has been in the spotlight ever since Lachlan Galvin was signed from the Tigers mid-way through 2025 and he replaced Toby Sexton in the first grade team.

While Galvin has cemented his spot in the starting roster in recent weeks, including a standout performance in the win over the Panthers, the 360 panel agreed the Bulldogs side is continually being exposed to disruptions because of Ciraldo’s pre-game tinkering.

For Ritchie, the Bulldogs have five key issues to address ahead of their Round 9 clash with the Cowboys on Thursday.

“They look unsettled, a lack of energy, a lack of speed, a lack of discipline, and they look disjointed,” he said.

“It’s the same conversation: Ciraldo is playing around with his spine again before the game. It happened again, Hayward goes out, Turpin comes in. It disrupts the spine. It seems like Cameron is still trying to find that combination for sustained success but he can’t seem to find it.”

Bulldogs captain Stephen Crichton conceded last week that the side’s attack has taken a backward step if you’re focusing purely on results (the Bulldogs were top of the ladder at the same point in 2025). However, he is adamant Canterbury knows “inside our four walls what we can produce”.

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Former Canterbury premiership winner Anasta said the Bulldogs have the potential to be at the pointy end of the NRL this season – but they need to show consistency.

“There’s one thing I will say: I think they can definitely turn it around,” Anasta told the panel. “When you watch that game two weeks ago against Penrith, you can’t erase it from your memory and it’s there. It’s just been so inconsistent since mid-last year when they were winning the comp.

“Their attack is down, they’re lacking creativity. That game [against Penrith], their defence was enormous too. They won it with their speed of the line, their aggression, they were dominant with the ball and without the ball, and their energy – it was a totally different team.

“That is actually a concern. It’s great to say ‘we can beat Penrith, we can beat anyone’, but if you’re only doing it one week and then not close the next two weeks – that speaks to attitude, energy and effort. That’s what it speaks to. That’s a worry.”