{"id":162562,"date":"2025-09-23T04:07:26","date_gmt":"2025-09-23T04:07:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/162562\/"},"modified":"2025-09-23T04:07:26","modified_gmt":"2025-09-23T04:07:26","slug":"nrl-news-2025-the-moles-end-of-season-review-for-canterbury-bulldogs-what-went-wrong-after-lachlan-galvin-signing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/162562\/","title":{"rendered":"NRL news 2025 | The Mole’s end of season review for Canterbury Bulldogs, what went wrong after Lachlan Galvin signing"},"content":{"rendered":"

The old saying of “If it ain’t broken, don’t fix it” will haunt the Bulldogs throughout the summer.<\/p>\n

In a bizarre campaign, the Bulldogs<\/a> led the ladder for 11 weeks mid-season – but then decided to tinker with their squad.<\/p>\n

In one of the biggest stories of the year, the Bulldogs signed Lachlan Galvin<\/a> from the Tigers, sending a clear message to Toby Sexton, the halfback who got them to the top of the ladder, that they didn’t think he was the answer.<\/p>\n

READ MORE: ‘Outrageous’ Brownlow shock as Suns star wins<\/a><\/p>\n

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READ MORE: Storm star on track to return for blockbuster prelim final<\/a><\/p>\n

Galvin took over the number seven jumper, took time to adapt to the pressure and new systems, and the Bulldogs began to slide down the ladder.<\/p>\n

To add to their woes, hooker Reed Mahoney<\/a>, one of the highest paid players on their roster, lost his spot to youngster Bailey Hayward – and clearly wasn’t happy.<\/p>\n

The Dogs limped into the finals, losing five of their last six games – their sole win coming over a Panthers team resting a dozen top liners.<\/p>\n

\"Lachlan<\/p>\n

Lachlan Galvin and his Bulldogs teammates react to their semi final loss to the Panthers.\u00a0Getty<\/p>\n

A season that promised so much ended in bitter disappointment<\/a>, with a now full strength Panthers side thumping the Dogs 46-26<\/a> on Sunday before a massive crowd at Accor Stadium.<\/p>\n

Would the Dogs have fared better had Sexton and Mahoney kept their spots?<\/p>\n

We will never know – but the Galvin\/Hayward introduction to their spine mid-season clearly didn’t work.<\/p>\n

Many believe Galvin is a better five-eighth than halfback, and he finally got a go there in the last game – and played his best match for the Dogs.<\/p>\n

There’s no doubt he will add to the side next season, especially with an off season under his belt alongside his new teammates.<\/p>\n

But despite the unhappy ending, there were plenty of positives to come out of the year.<\/p>\n

Watch the 2025 NRL premiership live and free on Nine and 9Now<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Bulldogs’ defensive system was the best in the league, 45 points better than any other team, conceding an average of just 17 points per game.<\/p>\n

Canterbury’s attack, particularly in the outside backs, looked crisp and sharp and the tries flowed.<\/p>\n

Fullback Connor Tracey, classy skipper Stephen Crichton, Matt Burton, Jacob Kiraz, Bronson Xerri and newcomers Marcelo Montoya, Enari Tuala and rookie Jethro Rinakama all enjoyed successful campaigns.<\/p>\n

Max King was the headline act in the forwards, going from a ‘no frills’ first grader to an Origin player and he led the pack with authority.<\/p>\n

Once he overcame injury, Sitili Tupouniua was a great gain from the Roosters, adding strike power with his running game.<\/p>\n

The powerhouse Viliame Kikau, Hayward, Kurt Mann, Harry Hayes, Sam Hughes and Jaeman Salmon all had their moments, while back-rower Jacob Preston was outstanding, topping the club’s tryscoring list with 12.<\/p>\n

The club will have time plenty of time to reflect on their fall from grace over the summer – and smart men in Ciraldo and Gus Gould at the helm to ensure it doesn’t happen again.<\/p>\n

Best player: Preston was as good as any back-rower in the NRL and if the NSW selectors decide to pick their team on form next season, he should be among the first selected.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Jacob Preston had an outstanding season for the Bulldogs. \u00a0Getty<\/p>\n

Biggest disappointment: In his second season with the Dogs, utility Jake Turpin started just one game and is likely to be moved on for 2026.<\/p>\n

Key signing: Leo Thompson from Newcastle is a real weapon and he will add a lot of muscle to an already formidable pack.<\/p>\n

2026 gains: Leo Thompson (Knights), Kade Dykes (Sharks)<\/p>\n

2026 losses: Toby Sexton (Catalans), Reed Mahoney (Cowboys)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The old saying of “If it ain’t broken, don’t fix it” will haunt the Bulldogs throughout the summer.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":162563,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[568],"tags":[64,63,761,762,158,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-162562","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nrl","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-national-rugby-league","11":"tag-nationalrugbyleague","12":"tag-nrl","13":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/162562","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=162562"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/162562\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/162563"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=162562"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=162562"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=162562"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}