\u2018We\u2019d gang up on him\u2019: Former Tiger\u2019s stunning Galvin claim as new Bulldog has \u2018a target on him<\/a><\/p>\nLachlan Galvin celebrates his match-winning pass against the Dragons, as superstar teammate Matt Burton shows his delight.Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n
But what is worth discussing is how Galvin has fitted in at his new club, who just might be on the cusp of a premiership run. Could anyone confidently say the Raiders, Storm or Panthers are much better chances than Canterbury a month out from the finals?<\/p>\n
Bulldogs insiders feared Galvin wasn\u2019t even coming to Belmore in the first place.<\/p>\n
Once given permission by the Tigers to be released early from his deal which was due to expire in 2026, Canterbury officials put their hat in the ring for the teenager Gould said \u201ccould make more money out of rugby league than any player in the history of the game\u201d.<\/p>\n
But they suspected it would be the Eels who would be lining Galvin\u2019s pockets. His family had grown up supporting the club, he had ties as a young junior there, and it seemed there was a ready-made No.6 jersey for him to walk into with Dylan Brown headed to Newcastle.<\/p>\n
It all changed when Galvin sat down with Ciraldo and Bulldogs assistant coach Luke Vella, who coached the prodigy at Westfields Sports High School.<\/p>\n
Luai not concerned with ‘Galvin Cup’ | 01:31<\/p>\n
Not only did Ciraldo and Vella ask questions of Galvin, the then 19-year-old also asked plenty of questions of them. It immediately struck the Bulldogs how mature he was for someone thrust into the spotlight so young.<\/p>\n
Galvin\u2019s introduction to the Bulldogs has been eased by the presence of Vella, who had a favourite saying when coaching his Westfields team: \u201cIt\u2019s not for everyone\u201d. Galvin has the initials INFE tattooed on his arm.<\/p>\n
Ciraldo\u2019s right-hand man has been a regular presence with the rising star and his family in the sheds after games, and his work ethic has impressed a club built on blue collar roots.<\/p>\n
Even the Bulldogs coaching staff have been surprised at how much video work and weekend games Galvin watches. In an era where players increasingly want to get away from the game when they\u2019re not at training or playing, Ciraldo wants his players to be students of rugby league. There\u2019s no harm in increasing your footy IQ by watching trends from others players and teams.<\/p>\n
Lachlan Galvin celebrates with Matt Burton and Jacob Preston after downing the Dragons.Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n
Galvin\u2019s awkward integration into the NRL side \u2013 from his spectacular debut off the bench against the Eels to forcing other key players such as Reed Mahoney, Toby Sexton and Matt Burton to either shift positions or lose game time \u2013 was probably to be expected. He\u2019s started two games on the bench, two at five-eighth and two at halfback.<\/p>\n
In Sexton\u2019s case, he\u2019s now lost his spot altogether as Galvin wears the No.7 alongside Burton in the halves.<\/p>\n
Viliame Kikau has taken Galvin under his wing of sorts since he arrived at Belmore, and the Bulldogs were most impressed with his attitude to being dropped altogether for the gutsy win over the Cowboys in Townsville, when Ciraldo preferred four forwards on the bench in the sapping humidity of the tropics. Galvin\u2019s response was telling: \u201cNo worries.\u201d<\/p>\n
Galvin guides Dogs to comeback win | 01:58<\/p>\n
It\u2019s short odds Galvin will end up the club\u2019s long-term halfback, a position he will have to hone his craft at, rather than being an instinctive young Cameron Munster clone, but it hasn\u2019t stopped the Bulldogs discussing using him anywhere from lock to five-eighth and even fullback at a pinch.<\/p>\n
What is certain is how they want to taper his strength and conditioning program to make him one of the most robust halves in the NRL.<\/p>\n
But that\u2019s the future, and the Bulldogs fans think they can win it all now.<\/p>\n
Which is why as good as that pass was against the Dragons, he might need to find one or two more come finals time. And if he can, a player bought for the club\u2019s future might deliver them the present they\u2019ve long been waiting for.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Inside the bowels of Accor Stadium after the Bulldogs\u2019 heart-stopping win over the Dragons, Canterbury coach Cameron Ciraldo…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":36723,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[33224,63,689,9421,7618,4567,7622,19061,33226,33211,33229,33217,12099,2105,33228,43,33227,4555,4592,31727,4617,33215,33220,33222,33210,673,10668,44,677,33230,33221,28362,159,33218,33219,33216,33225,26891,670,19998,4440,41,39,42,40,33212,33213,4515,33223,21380,33214],"class_list":["post-36722","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-adam-pengilly","tag-australia","tag-australia-and-new-zealand","tag-benji-marshall","tag-cameron-ciraldo","tag-cameron-munster","tag-canterbury-bulldogs","tag-coaching-staff","tag-collar-roots","tag-come-finals-time","tag-conditioning-program","tag-dressing-room","tag-game-time","tag-getty-images-inc","tag-hasty-press-release","tag-headlines","tag-inside-moment","tag-jacob-kiraz","tag-jacob-preston","tag-key-players","tag-lachlan-galvin","tag-lord-gould-of-brookwood","tag-luke-vella","tag-match-sealing-pass","tag-match-winning-pass","tag-new-south-wales","tag-newcastle","tag-news","tag-oceania","tag-premiership-run","tag-regular-presence","tag-rising-star","tag-rugby-league","tag-sapping-humidity","tag-setting-fire","tag-social-media-missives","tag-spectacular-debut","tag-superstar-teammate","tag-sydney","tag-team-mates","tag-toby-sexton","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories","tag-weekend-games","tag-westfields-sports-high-school","tag-wests-tigers","tag-winning-play","tag-work-ethic","tag-young-junior"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36722","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=36722"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36722\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/36723"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36722"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36722"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36722"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}