Phil Gould Defends Coach’s Decision to Omit Bronson Xerri
Bulldogs supremo Phil Gould has come to the defense of coach Cameron Ciraldo after the decision to overlook centre Bronson Xerri in the Good Friday defeat to Souths. Xerri was named to start at centre in Round 6, marking a significant moment for the player who had been on the sidelines for some time.
The opportunity arose when skipper Stephen Crichton suffered a shoulder injury in the first half, prompting Ciraldo to bring on Xerri and end his ongoing NRL exile at the club. Xerri had started the season as Canterbury’s first-choice right centre but was dropped by Ciraldo due to concerns about training and attitude, particularly reports that he wanted to play on the left. Enari Tuala has since solidified his position on the Bulldogs’ right side with strong performances, leading to questions about Xerri’s future at the club, with several rivals reportedly interested in the 25-year-old.
The perception that Xerri is on the fringes at Canterbury grew when Ciraldo opted to bring on halfback Sean O’Sullivan to replace the injured Crichton. This decision led to a backline reshuffle, with five-eighth Matt Burton moving to centre and O’Sullivan taking over in the halves alongside Lachie Galvin. Fans were puzzled by the omission of Xerri, questioning why the coach would carry a centre on the bench without using him in this situation.
However, Gould explained that confusion around Crichton’s injury and initial medical advice that he might return quickly influenced Ciraldo’s decision. Speaking on Channel 9’s 100% Footy, Gould defended his coach in the face of backlash. “Crichton goes down. The medical team assesses the injury and says he’ll be back in five minutes,” Gould said on Nine’s 100% Footy.
“They thought he was coming back. Cameron has used three bodies – he has used (Lipoi) Hopoi, they had used (Sitili) Tupouniua and they had used (Kurt) Mann. Sean (O’Sullivan) is there to cover halves and hooker. If he puts Bronson (Xerri) on, he can’t go and use Sean if one of those guys go down.”
“He was told Crichton would be back in five minutes. He didn’t want to offend the doctor. I said you’re not offending the doctor – he doesn’t have X-ray vision, it is in the heat of the battle, you can’t help that.
“The coach was feeling more for the doctor. He didn’t want the doctor to feel he was angry about it. You have about a minute to make these decisions.” However, Xerri was named in Canterbury’s starting side on Tuesday afternoon to replace Crichton in the Round 6 showdown against undefeated Penrith. The Dogs skipper is expected to be sidelined between 3-8 weeks with a Grade 5 AC joint injury.
“They are very, very painful injuries but they are the sort of thing that can heal quickly – it is a pain tolerance thing,” Gould said about the captain. “Once he regains strength and gets some swelling out of that shoulder, pain killers are very, very effective.”
