Bulldogs coach Cameron Ciraldo believes the club’s horror injury crisis could have a silver lining as he provided an update on his overflowing casualty ward that now sits at 11 players.
The Bulldogs currently have a third of their first grade players on the sidelines, including stars Viliame Kikau, Josh Addo-Carr, Luke Thompson and Jacob Kiraz.
Joining those four in the casualty ward are Jake Averillo, Braidon Burns, Andrew Davey, Fa’amanu Brown, Chris Patolo, Franklin Pele and Bailey Biondi-Odo.
Watch every game of every round of the 2023 NRL Telstra Premiership Season LIVE on Kayo Sports. New to Kayo? Start your free trial now >
Canterbury Bulldogs Press Conference | 05:27
Ciraldo admitted the Bulldogs are in the midst of the worst injury crisis he has seen, but refused to use it as an excuse for his side, who currently sit 15th with three wins and four losses heading into Round 8.
“I said it was an injury crisis or agreed that it was, but it is just footy,” Ciraldo said on NRL 360.
“Every club goes through this at some stage. We are going through it right now.
“But the opportunity in that is that we are going to have some blokes come back at the end of the year that are going to be fresh.
“It also gives opportunities to guys that are in our NSW Cup team, who are going really well to come up and take their opportunity.”
MORE NRL NEWS
RESERVES WRAP: Rugby convert explodes as solution to Dogs’ injury crisis emerges
REBUILD: How Ciraldo-Gould partnership plans to return Bulldogs to title contenders
TEAM TIPS: Panthers star’s injury ‘mystery’; Cowboys’ nightmare worsens
BIG MONEY: Wighton’s shock rep footy call explained as part of plan to join Dolphins
Ciraldo believes if the Bulldogs can keep winning at least half of their games, they will be in a good position to make a run for the finals once they get some troops back on deck.
“We were three from six before the weekend and if we could have stayed at that rate until we get a few players back that was giving us some confidence,” Ciraldo said.
“We are in a tough period right now and this could be the making of us if we knuckle down and get our game right.
“We are still building. There is definite parts of our game we need to improve, but I feel like even though the score blew out the last couple of weeks there was still some real positive signs.
Get all the latest NRL news, highlights and analysis delivered straight to your inbox with Fox Sports Sportmail. Sign up now!!
“There are some things we have been working on that are just starting to come into our game, but at the end of the day we need to be a lot better than what we have been.”
Josh Addo-Carr revealed he is targeting a return from an ankle injury in a month and while Ciraldo believes that is optimistic, he wouldn’t bet against his players returning ahead of schedule.
“He’s an optimist,” Ciraldo joked.
“No, Foxx is doing everything possible and our medical team is really good and our high performance team is doing a great job with our injured guys giving them every single thing they need to get back as quick as they can.
“Whether Foxx makes it back in four weeks or five weeks I’m not quite sure right now, but he is ticking every box that he possibly can.
“Kikau had surgery today and it sounds like it all went well, so we are hoping 10-12 weeks for him.
“Kiraz was getting scans today and hopefully it is not as bad as we first thought.”
The Bulldogs can’t afford to lose any more players to injury or suspension, but Ciraldo is still a supporter of the NRL’s crackdown on player safety.
“Anything that protects the players it is not frustrating for me,” Ciraldo said.
“We want to protect the players and it is the NRL’s job to do that.
“My job is to make sure my team understands the rules and sticks to them as best we can.
“We have given away a few penalties lately and we need to address that and find out why that is happening, but anything that protects the players I am all in favour for.”
Cleary confident Edwards & Luai stay | 02:53
However, Ciraldo admitted there is an adjustment period for players to adhere to the new rule interpretations and has encouraged his players to watch more games of footy to make sure they are across the rules and what they can and can’t do on the field.
“There is a lot of different challenges,” Ciraldo said.
“I think the more the players watch footy the easier it gets because they are learning from every game, so that is something we are encouraging lately is to go and watch more footy and learn from other players making mistakes.”
