![\"Bulldogs](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/357df78320e5554de9f985b8bcce8987486b8dc2.jpeg\")
<\/p>\nIn that scenario, Xerri had one option: suck it up. He didn\u2019t, and that\u2019s how we found ourselves here.<\/p>\n
Whether it was his sulking or his form, or a combination of both, Xerri was told on Saturday he would be left out of the side to play the Raiders in Canberra on Thursday night, with Enari Tuala playing right centre. By that afternoon, a story was published stating Xerri had asked for an immediate release and had most likely played his last game for the club.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Bulldogs coach Cameron Ciraldo and general manager Phil Gould both met with Bronson Xerri on Sunday.Credit: Canterbury Bulldogs<\/p>\n
That escalated quickly.<\/p>\n
The truth is, while he may have been telling people he wanted out, no formal request had been made. That aside, things were blowing up on what was supposed to be a quiet bye weekend for the Bulldogs.<\/p>\n
By the end of the day, Bulldogs general manager Phil Gould had arranged a breakfast meeting with Xerri on Sunday morning. We found all that out on Gus\u2019 social media.<\/p>\n
The breakfast happened, as did a meeting with Ciraldo in a side room at Belmore before Sunday morning training, which Xerri took part in alongside his new NSW Cup teammates.<\/p>\n
![\"Bulldogs](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/297d52bb541644b92195004329a836fa4ab1cd19.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n
Bulldogs skipper Stephen Crichton playing at left centre against the Dragons in round one in Las VegasCredit: Getty Images<\/p>\n
Further meetings occurred between Xerri and his management. That\u2019s a lot of meetings for a bloke who just got dropped, like thousands before him in the NRL.<\/p>\n
Many Bulldogs players, former club captain Raymond Faitala-Mariner and hooker Reed Mahoney among them, have been sent down the highway by Ciraldo.<\/p>\n
Just last November, Xerri signed an upgraded contract for 2026 with a one-year extension to the end of 2027 worth well north of half a million dollars a year. That\u2019s a vote of confidence in a player who lost four years of his career for \u201cknowingly and intentionally\u201d taking anabolic steroids<\/a>. The Bulldogs gave him a career lifeline<\/a>, and then upgraded and extended it.<\/p>\n He has a lot to thank them for, and still does. His sulking could have sent him down the road to nowhere, but Ciraldo spared him and sent him to the back roads instead \u2013 namely NSW Cup.<\/p>\n Bronson Xerri has two options: keep sulking or make it back through the NSW Cup.Credit: Getty Images<\/p>\n As Xerri\u2019s manager, George Christodoulou, said on Sunday, \u201cyou can\u2019t kick stones\u201d. Christodoulou and other cool heads made sure Xerri trained on Sunday and told him to suck it up and play his way back into first grade.<\/p>\n No matter what, it\u2019s not likely to be the end of the matter. Once a player exhibits non-conforming behaviour like that in a team environment, it\u2019s a long way back. An endless winding road back.<\/p>\n The fact Crichton had to front the media on Sunday, where he admitted he was blindsided by the whole thing, is not a situation that plays out well for Xerri.<\/p>\n Then again, Xerri might well just be a victim of the current NRL environment, where players who kick stones often get the outcome they desire.<\/p>\n One of his own teammates did just that. Lachie Galvin kicked and screamed until Wests Tigers let him go to join the Bulldogs, alongside Xerri.<\/p>\n Loading<\/p>\n It\u2019s little wonder players such as Xerri try the same thing when things don\u2019t go their way. It\u2019s a learnt behaviour.<\/p>\n He\u2019s a good player, Xerri, but he\u2019s not as good as his skipper, Crichton. He\u2019s also a guy who has ended up being very highly paid, despite the fact he was a blatant cheat and got busted.<\/p>\n He should think long and hard while he\u2019s on the back roads. A lot of good people gave him a second chance. Now he\u2019s getting a third.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In that scenario, Xerri had one option: suck it up. He didn\u2019t, and that\u2019s how we found ourselves…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":544722,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[568],"tags":[64,63,761,762,158,85],"class_list":["post-544721","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nrl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-national-rugby-league","tag-nationalrugbyleague","tag-nrl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/544721","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=544721"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/544721\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/544722"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=544721"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=544721"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=544721"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Bronson](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/dd23c9abe2855c766a2cc42ffef630abfcce51d1.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n