‘They are the right people to lead this club’: Why Bulldogs boss is backing Gus and Ciraldo

May 24, 2026 — 5:00am

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Bulldogs chairman Adam Driussi insists the club “won’t panic” amid criticism of the team’s roster and form as they cling desperately to their 2026 finals dream.

Any suggestion of a divide between general manager Phil Gould and head coach Cameron Ciraldo has been laughed off by the club. Anyone with access to either man knows exactly how complimentary the coach has been of Gould as the Bulldogs battle through a tough period.

“Gus has never been better or more supportive,” Ciraldo told this column.

Gould sees Ciraldo as a 20-year coach at the Dogs, and he is not backing away from that belief. Not many club GMs go on TV or podcasts to face the kind of grilling Gould had this week, and he deserves praise for that approach.

Gould was a guest on James Graham’s The Bye Round podcast and was asked whether Bulldogs youngster Lachlan Galvin was suited to playing halfback.

“People say, ‘Is he a halfback or not?’ Well, I don’t know any 20-year-old who is a first-grade halfback,” Gould told Graham, a former Bulldogs prop and now a club ambassador.

“I don’t think he’s a long-term halfback. I don’t think we ever had the intention of him being a long-term halfback. He’s the best halfback we’ve got this week and for this game and he has been since he walked in the joint.”

When asked about Gould’s comments hours later, Ciraldo said: “[Galvin’s] the best halfback we’ve got right now.”

Gould was being honest about Galvin, and it’s certainly not a scoop nor scandal to say he may end up as a lock or a five-eighth.

“Of course we’re disappointed with where we are at this stage of the season. But I have complete faith in Phil Gould and Cameron Ciraldo. They are the right people to lead this club, full stop,” Driussi said.

“The easiest thing in football is to panic when results don’t go your way. We’re not going to do that – we’re going to come through this together.”

The Bulldogs ignored the noise and showed resolve to snap a five-match losing streak in Friday night’s 30-22 comeback win over the Storm.

Gould, Ciraldo and skipper Stephen Crichton last year had their contracts extended until 2031 – a clear sign of the faith the board has in them as leaders and also an acknowledgement that there is still work to be done.

“It’s easy to forget where this club was,” Driussi said. “What Gus and Cameron have built here is real – the culture, the pathways, the structures. A bad run of results doesn’t unwind three years of genuine progress. I’m very confident in the long-term direction.”

Rookie back-rowers AJ Jones, Jack Underhill and Jed Reardon are evidence that the pathways program – Gould’s speciality area – is starting to bear........

© The Age