Bulldogs halfback Lachlan Galvin reportedly spent two days in hospital before the club’s gritty 14-10 victory over the Raiders in Canberra on Thursday evening.

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As first reported by News Corp, the 20-year-old spent Saturday and Sunday night in hospital to overcome a painful boil infection, requiring an intravenous drip.

According to the report, he was released from hospital on Monday and only took part in one training session before Thursday’s game at GIO Stadium.

Galvin was later sanctioned for a hip drop on Raiders skipper Joe Tapine, handed a $1000 fine.

Despite the unideal preparation, was keen to take the line on, recording 73 running metres from nine runs but he was poor in defence, missing nine tackles.

PAYTEN’S DEFIANT FIVE-WORD RESPONSE TO SACK THREAT

Todd Payten is one of the most under pressure coaches in the NRL after two disappointing losses against the Knights and Tigers to start the season, but the Cowboys coach says the external noise is irrelevant to him.

Payten took over the top job at the Cowboys in 2021, taking the club on a dream run to a home preliminary final before going down to Parramatta just one game short of the grand final in 2022. Since then, they’ve made the finals only once and had finishes of 11th, 12th, and 16th in 2025.

Last year’s results in particular heaped pressure on Payten, given that a 16th placed finish was their worst to a season since winning the wooden spoon in 2000.

Payten faces arguably the most crucial month of his career as the Cowboys search for their first win of 2026, but he’s told Code Sports he’s better equipped to handle with age.

“I’m in a far better place at the moment. I struggled at times last year admittedly, but the support here at the moment is terrific,” Payten said.

“I don’t feel isolated, the pressure that I feel is internal, on my own shoulders around what we’re doing.

“Whatever’s said outside the building, I couldn’t give a rat’s.”

The Cowboys are finally back in Townsville this weekend, taking on another winless Queensland club in the Gold Coast Titans at 6:15pm AEDT on Sunday night.

Josh Hannay also desperate to get the monkey off the back for his new club, after a drubbing at the hands of Cronulla and blowing a 14-0 lead against the Dolphins.

Gutsy Dogs hold off Raiders in the wet | 03:34

‘THAT’S INCORRECT’: SHARKS COACH HITS BACK

Sharks coach Craig Fitzgibbon has hit back at the “incorrect” narrative surrounding his Sharks after another comprehensive loss at the hands of Penrith last week.

There has long been a narrative around Cronulla being unable to take it to the top teams, and the 26-6 loss to the Panthers in Bathurst did nothing to help Fitzgibbon’s case against it.

Cronulla have never missed a finals series under Fitzgibbon since he took over, making the last two preliminary finals after failing to win any of their four finals games in the 2022 and 2023 seasons.

The question around the team has been whether they have the ability to push beyond the grand final qualifier stage, and topple the likes of Penrith and Melbourne.

The Panthers remain the only team Fitzgibbon has been unable to beat as head coach and last Saturday’s loss was their sixth defeat in six games against the heavyweights under his watch. The Panthers have won nine of their last 10 against the Sharks with seven of those wins by a margin of 20 points or more.

However, the former Roosters, Steelers and Dragons forward was defiant in response to the idea when asked about it on Friday.

“Well there’s a long way to go (this season)… in the last few years, Penrith’s the only team we haven’t beaten, so to say that we can’t beat other teams, well that’s incorrect,” Fitzgibbon said in his weekly press conference.

“So I don’t know how that’s a narrative, but it’s understandable based on Penrith doing that to most teams.

“And if you want to play like that against Penrith, you get exactly what you deserve.

“So that was a good lesson for where we’re at.”

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‘Room to improve’ Cleary sends warning | 05:54

While their record against Penrith isn’t stacking up well, Fitzgibbon may have a point when it comes to competing against other big teams.

Since 2022, the Sharks have three wins and five losses against Craig Bellamy’s Melbourne Storm – suffering two losses to the 2025 grand finalists in their three clashes last year.

Cronulla came out of last season with a win and a loss against minor premiers Canberra, who the Sharks knocked out of the finals in Canberra. They boasted the same record against the Bulldogs, who finished in the top four.

Against the Brisbane Broncos in 2025, Cronulla narrowly went down in their only clash with the Queensland club, losing 34-28 in Round 16.

They face the Dolphins at home from 5:30pm AEDT this Saturday afternoon, with the visitors still looking for their first win of 2026.

Cronulla then face reigning minor premiers the Raiders in Canberra, before taking on a red-hot Warriors outfit at Shark Park, and then a new-look Roosters side in Perth.