Updated ,first published
Canterbury players didn’t see Cameron Ciraldo’s eyebrow-raising halves switch against Newcastle coming, and one didn’t even know it had happened.
But with an attack Ciraldo described as “clunky”, questions remaining over the scrumbase and arguably the most versatile roster in the NRL, the Bulldogs are preparing for more mid-game shake-ups to spark a spluttering offence.
Captain Stephen Crichton’s move to five-eighth with 20 minutes to go was the biggest talking point out of Saturday’s upset loss to Newcastle, with Matt Burton swapping to left centre after scoring two tries in what proved an unsuccessful comeback from 16-0 down.
The jury remains out on the compatibility of Burton and Lachlan Galvin as a halves combination, particularly given the latter came into the NRL as a running five-eighth.
Canterbury played 11 different spine combinations throughout 2025 and teammates admitted they were caught off-guard by Ciraldo’s surprise move against the Knights.
“I didn’t even know that happened on the weekend,” winger Marcelo Montoya told the Today Show on Monday morning. “I was on the right side and didn’t realise Critta [Crichton] had gone into five-eighth.”
Speaking later in the day after video review and a skills session, NSW Origin prop Max King said he “didn’t see it coming”, while veteran utility Kurt Mann insisted a pre-season where players trained in multiple positions could allow Canterbury’s attack to evolve throughout the year.
“I wouldn’t say it’s too different, we’ve trained like that,” Mann said of the Burton-Crichton swap. “We’ve prepared for all sorts of circumstances. We’ve done a fair bit of it like that during the pre-season. Everyone’s played a bit everywhere.
“I’ve played in the halves a bit at training. Burton’s played in the halves, Burton’s played centre, fullback. We try to prepare just in case things happen in games here.
“It’s definitely an advantage. As for seeing more of it, you probably have to ask Ciro, not me.
“It’s not my job to pick the team. But like I said, we’ve got boys that can play multiple positions, and they’re quite comfortable doing it.”
With the remit for more set-restarts this season fuelling a faster ruck, increasing fatigue and according to Mann, the potential for injuries, the Queensland Origin utility believes Canterbury’s especially versatile make-up will only help in the long run.
Scrutiny will remain around any scrumbase tinkering though while the Bulldogs attack struggles for points, with Canterbury yet to score more than 16 points in three games this season – albeit with a round-three win over Canberra played in heavy rain.
Mann acknowledged the Bulldogs attack will come under the microscope again in the traditional Good Friday clash against South Sydney, but said Ciraldo and new offence coach Adam O’Brien had not significantly altered their tactics with ball in hand.
“It’s just an evolution of how we attacked last year,” Mann said. “It’s always going to be a little bit clunky to start off with … we’re just adding bits and pieces to what we’ve established. I think last year [at] the start of the year we attacked well and then at the back end of the year we kind of fell off with our attack. We’ve started to add a little bit at the moment”.
Eels lose another star to hip drop surgery; Flanagan discharged from hospital
Parramatta’s Isaiah Iongi is the second Eels star to require surgery from a hip drop tackle in as many weeks after scans revealed he will be sidelined for the next two months by an ankle injury.
Iongi will undergo an operation this week and is facing at least eight weeks out after he was caught awkwardly in a tackle by Penrith hooker Mitch Kenny on Saturday.
Kenny was sin-binned and on Monday accepted a one-match ban to a grade 2 dangerous contact charge, albeit with coach Ivan Cleary contending his dummy-half did not replicate a standard hip-drop action.
Cleary said on Monday that he did not believe the club could mount a successful judiciary challenge, because “it’s just an eye for an eye I think.
“[Iongi] got injured, [Kenny] landed on the back of his leg… I stand by what I said, but there’s just no chance for us to fight it.”
Iongi joins key forward J’maine Hopgood in Parramatta’s casualty ward after the Queensland Origin representative suffered a season-ending ACL rupture in a hip drop tackle by Ryan Couchman. The St George Illawarra forward was referred directly to the NRL judiciary and suspended for four weeks.
Eels forward Matt Doorey will also require a knee reconstruction that ends his season, with scans confirming he suffered an ACL tear against the Panthers.
Rising fullback Joash Papalii looms as Iongi’s replacement at fullback for Easter Monday’s marquee clash against Wests Tigers.
Meanwhile, Dragons five-eighth Kyle Flanagan has been cleared of any facial fractures and discharged from hospital after a heavy head clash in St George Illawarra’s loss to the Gold Coast.
Flanagan was unconscious for up to five minutes according to his coach and father Shane when he collided with teammate Hayden Buchanan attempting to make a tackle.
He was taken to hospital in an ambulance early on Monday morning after scans cleared him of a significant facial injury. Flanagan faces an extended layoff though given the severity of his concussion.
“Kyle Flanagan has been cleared of any serious injury following scans at hospital overnight,” a Dragons statement read on Monday morning.
“Flanagan was taken to Gold Coast University Hospital as a precaution after sustaining a heavy concussion and potential neck injury. Thankfully, imaging has confirmed no structural damage.
“He will continue to be monitored by club medical staff under NRL concussion protocols regarding the return-to-play timeline and is travelling home with the team today.”
The Dragons sit bottom of the ladder after a winless first month of 2026 and next host the Cowboys on Saturday at Jubilee Stadium.
Twenty-year-old playmaker Lyhkan King-Togia replaced Flanagan late in the 22-14 loss to the Titans and shapes as his most likely replacement in the halves.
