{"id":606170,"date":"2026-04-14T11:55:10","date_gmt":"2026-04-14T11:55:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/606170\/"},"modified":"2026-04-14T11:55:10","modified_gmt":"2026-04-14T11:55:10","slug":"stephen-crichton-urged-to-change-positions-connor-tracey-re-signs-jahream-bula-canterbury-bulldogs-vs-parramatta-eels-round-7","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/606170\/","title":{"rendered":"Stephen Crichton urged to change positions, Connor Tracey re-signs, Jahream Bula, Canterbury Bulldogs vs Parramatta Eels, Round 7"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The Bulldogs have been urged to bring Stephen Crichton back into the team at right centre after they delivered their best performance under Cameron Ciraldo in an upset 32-16 win over the Panthers. <\/p>\n<p>The Panthers came into the clash unbeaten with many questioning if they would lose a game this season, but the Bulldogs gave them a taste of their own medicine. <\/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>Crichton has been listed to return via the reserves against the Eels in Round 7, as he nears a miracle comeback from a serious shoulder injury. <\/p>\n<p>However, Bronson Xerri now fills his spot at left centre, with Enari Tuala on the right. <\/p>\n<p>Xerri has only just returned to the team having been moved to right centre earlier in the season and then dropped for Tuala, with Crichton starting the year on the left. <\/p>\n<p>However, the Bulldogs struggled to get Crichton involved on the left, which is why Braith Anasta feels he must return on the right in place of Tuala. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat I found interesting and it\u2019s going to be a watch this space moment is Stephen Crichton whether he plays this weekend and comes back from injury, do they put him back on the right?\u201d Anasta said on NRL 360. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cDo they put him on the left? Do they leave Xerri there? What do they do with Tuala? I\u2019d put him back right. <\/p>\n<p>MORE NRL NEWS<\/p>\n<p>\u2018SIGNED OWN WARRANT\u2019: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxsports.com.au\/nrl\/nrl-premiership\/nrl-2026-st-george-illawarra-dragons-shane-flanagan-roster-admission-vs-south-sydney-rabbitohs-round-7\/news-story\/2ed83c10bff2a6160e3d6e214b8e24cf\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">Flanno under fire for \u2018telling\u2019 Dragons roster admission<\/a><\/p>\n<p>TEAMS RD7: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxsports.com.au\/nrl\/nrl-premiership\/nrl-2026-teams-round-7-ins-and-outs-changes-injuries-selections-adam-reynolds-broncos-stephen-crichton-bulldogs-sean-russell-eels\/news-story\/a6ce7cda22ac5561d4712e68c611ced0\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">Double boost in Dogs bombshell as big Broncos changes, Ricky swings axe<\/a><\/p>\n<p>EXIT FEARS: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxsports.com.au\/nrl\/nrl-premiership\/nrl-2026-rabbitohs-halfback-jamie-humphreys-opens-up-on-contract-future-perth-bears-roster\/news-story\/9bf59571fcd319840d20a19c36d59ac9\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">Souths star wants to stay put&#8230; but admits he\u2019s open to big career move<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Connor Tracey has re-signed, while Stephen Crichton could be set to change positions.Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey were so worried about Crichton not getting enough ball and having a voice and putting him at five-eighth to get more touches. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe didn\u2019t play on the weekend and they played their best game you could argue they\u2019ve ever played under Ciraldo, so what does that say? <\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat says, leave him on the right side, Kikau saw more quality ball, get the ball to Crichton, don\u2019t bring Crichton to the ball, you don\u2019t need to. That\u2019s not how you win premierships.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>Anasta clarified he is a massive fan of Crichton, but warned against trying to overcomplicate their game plan now that the Panthers win has shown them what works. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cCrichton is a gem, I love him to death, put Crichton on the right side, Xerri on the left,\u201d Anasta 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>Crawley slams Eels leaky defence | 06:30<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou could see the continuity, the balance and the way that they played with the structures they had on the weekend, it really just came down to Galvin playing more square, great kicking game, not over playing his hand, running at the right moments, Burton doing his job, getting Kikau early ball. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo they know the secret to success and the recipe now. They don\u2019t need to overthink it, don\u2019t over analyse it. They\u2019ve got the team, go straight through the front door.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>Paul Crawley noted it was also telling that the Bulldogs took Sean O\u2019Sullivan off the bench, which gave Burton and Galvin full confidence they were going to play the full game in the halves. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey also made a decision to leave Sean O\u2019Sullivan off the bench too, which while they won\u2019t admit it, we could see that that was causing a bit of confusion, especially with Burton,\u201d Crawley said. <\/p>\n<p>&#8216;club needs to make the change&#8217; Crawley | 03:19<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd on the weekend it was like they were all clear about what their job was.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, The Daily Telegraph\u2019s Dave Riccio revealed the Bulldogs have re-signed Connor Tracey on a two-year extension, ruling them out of the race to sign Tigers star Jahream Bula. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cConnor Tracey has agreed to new terms and been extended for a further two seasons,\u201d Riccio said. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe\u2019s been a consistent performer for the club. He was off-contract at the end of this year, I understand it will be formally announced on Wednesday.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut it is good news for the Bulldogs and just cements their spine going forward.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>Anasta interjected: \u201cDoes it mean they are out of the race for Bula?\u201d <\/p>\n<p>\u201cRule a line through it,\u201d Riccio said. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cGone. In Connor Tracey we trust.\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Bulldogs have been urged to bring Stephen Crichton back into the team at right centre after they&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":606171,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[568],"tags":[64,63,689,18194,7618,30195,7622,74183,17343,52527,18664,2105,4746,9261,761,762,673,158,677,11396,4598,49984,237554,294968,3495,294967,85,294969,4546,670],"class_list":{"0":"post-606170","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-australia-and-new-zealand","11":"tag-braith-anasta","12":"tag-cameron-ciraldo","13":"tag-cameron-spencer","14":"tag-canterbury-bulldogs","15":"tag-connor-tracey","16":"tag-daily-telegraph","17":"tag-dave-riccio","18":"tag-game-plan","19":"tag-getty-images-inc","20":"tag-mark-st-john","21":"tag-miracle-comeback","22":"tag-national-rugby-league","23":"tag-nationalrugbyleague","24":"tag-new-south-wales","25":"tag-nrl","26":"tag-oceania","27":"tag-paul-crawley","28":"tag-penrith-panthers","29":"tag-right-centre","30":"tag-right-side","31":"tag-roster-admission","32":"tag-shoulder-injury","33":"tag-space-moment","34":"tag-sports","35":"tag-star-inks-extension","36":"tag-stephen-crichton","37":"tag-sydney"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/606170","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=606170"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/606170\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/606171"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=606170"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=606170"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=606170"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}