The Bulldogs’ current rise bears striking similarities to the Panthers’ dominant era of four straight premierships, and the common thread between both is head coach Cameron Ciraldo, who deserves immense credit for crafting two of the NRL’s most formidable defensive units in recent memory.
It’s tempting to point to star signings like Stephen Crichton, Matt Burton, and Viliame Kikau—premiership winners from Penrith who brought their championship experience to Belmore. There’s also the influence of Phil Gould, who has rebuilt the Bulldogs’ development pathways to the point where replacements can step in seamlessly when key players like Burton or Kikau are sidelined, keeping the momentum going.
These are all key factors behind the Bulldogs’ impressive 5-0 start, which sees them leading the competition and enjoying a week off before a marquee Good Friday clash against the Rabbitohs.
But at the heart of their 2025 success is Ciraldo, widely praised as the mastermind behind the NRL’s top defensive structure—a system that’s gone from promising in 2024 to elite this season. He originally built this model at Penrith, where the Panthers became the league’s stingiest defence, and he’s gradually instilled the same system at the Bulldogs. It took a few pre-seasons, but the players have fully bought in.
Canterbury has conceded just 58 points across five rounds, including a stingy 14 in their last three matches. It’s their best defensive start to a season since 1993, when they also opened with a 5-0 record and gave up only 40 points in that span.
With a smaller, more mobile forward pack, the Bulldogs play a frantic, high-effort defensive style that looks chaotic but is actually highly structured and demanding. Every player must commit to it completely.
Crichton, when asked if the comparisons to the Panthers were fair, pointed to Ciraldo as the main reason.
“He’s the one who built that Penrith system, and they’ve continued it over there,” Crichton said. “But now he’s brought it to the Dogs, and it’s working. It’s one thing to teach a system, but another to have the players fully commit and love it. Without that buy-in, it doesn’t work on game day. We’ve put in a lot of work over pre-season, and now we’re seeing the results.”
Ciraldo’s impact didn’t happen overnight. In his first year at the helm, the Bulldogs allowed 95 points in the first five games; the next year, it was 97. They also led the league in missed tackles in 2023. Fast forward to this season, and they’re missing nine fewer tackles per game—with players like Bronson Xerri evolving into standout defenders in just their second year under Ciraldo.
“It was a massive shock when I first arrived,” Xerri admitted. “But the biggest thing is believing in the system. That’s the first step to becoming a Bulldog—then you start executing it, and everything falls into place. It’s all about effort and hard work, and it’s great to see it paying off.”
