‘Hasn’t been a great fortnight’: What Billy Slater would do with Bulldogs halves

Another week has passed and another debate is swirling around the Canterbury Bulldogs halves and specifically the ongoing role of No.7 Lachlan Galvin.

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Following the 32-12 loss to the Broncos, legendary halfback Andrew Johns called for Galvin to be moved to five-eighth for the crucial Round 9 clash with the Cowboys on Friday night.

But Queensland coach Billy Slater isn’t so sure it’s right—or even necessary.

“I really don’t know if they need to move Lachy Galvin,” Slater said on his weekly podcast for Channel 9.

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“It was only a fortnight ago against Penrith Panthers he was the best player on the field, he had a great combination with (Jacob) Preston on the right hand side and they put the Panthers under a lot of pressure,” he added.

Elaborating on his thinking, Slater also made a brutal selection observation.

“I don’t know if they have better option,” he said.

“I know there’s a young halfback, Mitchell Woods, he has a lot of raps on him, but I’ve never seen him play.”

Rather than making major changes to their spine, Slater suggested the key to turning around the fortunes of the Bulldogs rests in adjusting some of the finer points of their game.

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“I still think they have quality footy team, they just have to simplify their game and work on some of the details,” Slater said.

“Sometimes we look for fixes in change (of players), but you can just change a few of your actions and some detail of your play and get a lot more effective.

“It hasn’t been a great fortnight for the Bulldogs, but they don’t have to look too far back to find their best footy and I’m sure that’s what Cameron Ciraldo will be doing.

“He’ll be looking to do it from within their footy team, instead of looking externally.”

The Bulldogs face the Cowboys in the opening match of NRL Round 9 on Friday night at Accor Stadium. Kick-off at 6pm.

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