{"id":590096,"date":"2026-04-06T23:37:12","date_gmt":"2026-04-06T23:37:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/590096\/"},"modified":"2026-04-06T23:37:12","modified_gmt":"2026-04-06T23:37:12","slug":"daily-phil-gould-blames-doctor-error-for-cameron-ciraldo-snubbing-bronson-xerri-stephen-crichton-injury-bulldogs-round-6","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/590096\/","title":{"rendered":"Daily, Phil Gould blames doctor error for Cameron Ciraldo snubbing Bronson Xerri, Stephen Crichton injury, Bulldogs, Round 6"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Phil Gould has defended Cameron Ciraldo\u2019s decision to overlook Bronson Xerri to replace injured skipper Stephen Crichton during the Bulldogs\u2019 loss to the Rabbitohs in Roundb 5. <\/p>\n<p>Crichton came off with a serious shoulder injury that will see him sidelined for a period of time, with Ciraldo choosing to put Sean O\u2019Sullivan on at halfback and shift Matt Burton to the centres, despite having Xerri ready to go on the bench. <\/p>\n<p>Watch every game of every round of the Premiership Season LIVE with no ad-breaks during play on FOX LEAGUE, available on Kayo Sports | <a href=\"https:\/\/kayosports.com.au\/en-AU\/welcome\/nrl?pg=default&amp;extcamp=fsaeditoriallinkleague-edt-fsp-lnk-awr-grc-nrl-kyo&amp;channel=fsa&amp;campaign=fsacontra&amp;voucher=\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><img class=\"i-amphtml-fill-content i-amphtml-replaced-content\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/poster-fallback.png\"\/><\/p>\n<p>WHAT&#8217;S GAMBLING REALLY COSTING YOU? Set a deposit limit. For Free and confidential support call 1800 858 858 or visit gamblinghelponline.org.au.<\/p>\n<p>Ciraldo was criticised amid the uncertain future around Xerri, after he was axed earlier in the season and requested a release at the time. <\/p>\n<p>However, Gould revealed on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nine.com.au\/sport\/nrl\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">Channel 9\u2019s 100% Footy<\/a> that Ciraldo was given an indication from the club doctor that Crichton would go back on and didn\u2019t want to offend him. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cCrichton goes down,\u201d Gould said on 100% Footy.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe medical team goes on to assess the injury, it came back that Crichton would be back in five minutes.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey thought he was coming back. Cameron has used three bodies &#8211; he has used (Lipoi) Hopoi, they had used (Sitili) Tupouniua and they had used (Kurt) Mann.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSean is there to cover halves and hooker. If he puts Bronson on, he can\u2019t go and use Sean if one of those guys go down.<\/p>\n<p>MORE NRL NEWS<\/p>\n<p>TEAM TIPS: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxsports.com.au\/nrl\/nrl-premiership\/nrl-2026-team-tips-round-6-ins-and-outs-changes-injuries-suspensions-selections-bulldogs-set-to-recall-bronson-xerri-broncos-newlook-spine-news-videos\/news-story\/cad6d47252c932dc47271706b39f0bf5\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">Big Flanno call has recruit under \u2018significant pressure\u2019; Broncos\u2019 crisis<\/a><\/p>\n<p>TALKING POINTS: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxsports.com.au\/nrl\/nrl-premiership\/nrl-2026-shane-flanagan-under-pressure-to-save-job-at-dragons-cameron-ciraldo-leaves-out-bronson-xerri-talking-points\/news-story\/09089809e1caee46e6538a5341296213\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">Rare Flanno sight says it all; Seibold theory rubbished<\/a><\/p>\n<p>WHISPERS: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxsports.com.au\/nrl\/nrl-premiership\/nrl-2026-dragons-take-bold-contract-stance-after-05-start-to-season-penrith-panthers-players-weigh-up-png-move-transfer-whispers\/news-story\/15974a3fe138bb3851fc35fb3433dae6\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">Dragons\u2019 bold contract move that has Flanno sweating<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Cameron Ciraldo and Bronson Xerri.Source: FOX SPORTS<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe was told Crichton would be back in five minutes. He didn\u2019t want to offend the doctor. I said you\u2019re not offending the doctor &#8211; he doesn\u2019t have x-ray vision, it is in the heat of the battle, you can\u2019t help that.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe coach was feeling more for the doctor. He didn\u2019t want the doctor to feel he was angry about it. You have about a minute to make these decisions.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>However, Xerri looks set to get his chance for a recall this Thursday against Penrith. <\/p>\n<p>Gould confirmed Crichton will be sidelined with an ugly grade 5 AC joint injury, but in some good news he could be able to return once the swelling goes down and he can manage the pain. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen you see grade five it is pretty ugly, it is not good at all,\u201d Gould said.<\/p>\n<p>Get all the latest NRL news, highlights and analysis delivered straight to your inbox with Fox Sports Sportmail. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxsports.com.au\/newsletter-sign-up?utm_source=NRLArticle&amp;utm_medium=TextLink&amp;utm_campaign=signup\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">Sign up now!!!<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Panel divided over Dragons woes | 04:45<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI actually had a serious one myself 40-odd years ago, a serious one, and it is still sitting up. I can\u2019t get it to go down.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey are very, very painful injuries but they are the sort of thing that can heal quickly &#8211; it is a pain tolerance thing.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOnce he regains strength and gets some swelling out that, pain killers are very, very effective, In fact when he left the field the other night, when he went down injured, the fist thought was that maybe he had dislocated his shoulder.<\/p>\n<p>Golden point settles wild Easter clash | 07:22<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen they got out there and realise dit was an AC joint, the message came back that we will get him off and needle him.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt wasn\u2019t until they got in the dressing room and started to see how limited he was that they realise dit was a lot more serious.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHis collar bone was sitting up on his shoulder.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Madden ices it in golden point | 00:38<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Phil Gould has defended Cameron Ciraldo\u2019s decision to overlook Bronson Xerri to replace injured skipper Stephen Crichton during&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":590097,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[568],"tags":[64,63,9421,288020,7618,288206,288208,288207,763,37304,37293,288205,21384,1136,33215,761,762,158,288209,3495,4439,85,4546,11737,4515],"class_list":{"0":"post-590096","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-benji-marshall","11":"tag-bold-contract-move","12":"tag-cameron-ciraldo","13":"tag-club-doctor","14":"tag-collar-bone","15":"tag-doctor-error","16":"tag-fox-league","17":"tag-golden-point","18":"tag-golden-point-period","19":"tag-injured-skipper","20":"tag-jock-madden","21":"tag-looks-set","22":"tag-lord-gould-of-brookwood","23":"tag-national-rugby-league","24":"tag-nationalrugbyleague","25":"tag-nrl","26":"tag-pain-tolerance-thing","27":"tag-shoulder-injury","28":"tag-south-sydney-rabbitohs","29":"tag-sports","30":"tag-stephen-crichton","31":"tag-team-tips","32":"tag-wests-tigers"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/590096","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=590096"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/590096\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/590097"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=590096"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=590096"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=590096"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}