NRL Conclusions: Brilliant Bulldogs, dismal Broncos and the Lachlan Galvin saga

It was a veritable fiesta of footy over Easter, with five straight days of action from Brookvale on Thursday to Parramatta on Monday.

There were other games not held in Sydney suburbs of course, but this is rugby league in Australia – where else matters?

There was to be no happy Easter for the Bunnies, who were flogged by the Bulldogs in front of a record attendance for a regular season fixture, as 65,000 people chose to risk Homebush on a public holiday to see Canterbury extend their unbeaten run.

Those who got back in time for the evening kick off were even happier to see Melbourne then lose, leaving the Doggies sitting high and mighty at the top of the ladder, and happier yet to see the next-best hope, the Broncos, lose in Auckland.

The best was saved until last as the Tigers and Parra played out one of the games of the season to end the Easter round, seesawing back and forth in style before the Eels grabbed an emotional win.

There were storylines everywhere, but Canterbury is the only place to start. Let’s get into it.

A good week for…

The Bulldogs, who are the NRL’s number one hype train at the moment. Their defensive record is the calling card, with a ludicrous 58 conceded so far, fewer than ten per game.

The traditional Good Friday clash with Souths ended 32-0, and you know the nil is the most important part for Cameron Ciraldo. His side fought all the way to the end to maintain it, with several last ditch efforts even when the game was done.

It’s the second nil against in a row – Newcastle also failed to trouble the scorers in Round 6 – and, in total, the Dogs have conceded just three tries in the last four games.

That’s championship level defence, and builds yet further on what we have seen in 2024. They’re now second favourites, behind Melbourne, and that might well change in the next few weeks as the fixtures hot up.

The knocks on Canterbury thus far are their top level attack – their main drawback last year – and their strength of schedule. 

Their spine is still below elite – 1, 7 and 13 in particular – but if you don’t concede anything, it’s less important that you aren’t creating as well as you could be. 

The draw has been kind, but next week is a trip to Brisbane. Win that and things will be taken very seriously indeed.

A bad week for…

The Broncos, who lost badly to the Warriors and lost a key player in the process.

It should have been game over at 18-6 with a quarter hour still to play, and while Michael Maguire can take heart from his side’s comeback to force Golden Point, it would have been a lot worse if the Wahs had brought a goalkicker.

Ironically it was Luke Metcalf who potted the penalty goal from halfway to win it – Reece Walsh sent the extra time kickoff out on the full – but prior to that, he was one from five off the tee and two from zero in field goals. 

It was revealed afterwards that Walsh had played almost the whole game with injured knee ligaments, meaning he’ll miss the next month at least. 

Madge is increasingly throwing jelly at the wall and hoping it sticks. He shifted Ben Hunt to hooker and played Billy Walters in the halves, while carrying two nines, Cory Paix and Tyson Smoothy on the bench. 

Now, they face Canterbury with a reshuffled backline to go with their four hookers. That Dogs run might continue yet.

Standout…

Isaiya Katoa.

The halfback has been the next big thing for so long that people have forgotten how young he is. 

Now 21 and with over 50 games to his name already, the Tongan international produced the best performance of his first grade career to unpick the Melbourne Storm in spectacular fashion on Friday night.

His side were 16-2 down and flailing, only for Katoa to come up with a massive five try assists, mostly off his boot, to turn the game around.

Two in particular were as perfect as they come, first dropping the ball on top of a winger and inviting Jack Bostock to win the aerial contest, then delaying a pass to Connolly Lemuelu with beautiful sleight of hand.

At times, Katoa has looked a little robotic, playing too much to a plan rather than what was in front of him, but Friday night reminded everyone of how good he can be at both. 

There was control and controlled chaos – and at the heart of it was the halfback.

Washout…

Newcastle coach Adam O’Brien.

As good as the Bulldogs have been at stopping tries, they did get the luxury of playing Newcastle, who are the worst attack going and by a distance. 

They’re actually not that bad in hand but have horrendous set ends and zero kick threat, resulting in an average of just two tries scored per game.

O’Brien has chopped and changed his halves for literally years at this point, but the plan of ‘give it to Kalyn’ remains, and everyone has worked it out. 

Tyson Gamble got the 7 jumper this week, following on from Phoenix Crossland and Jack Cogger before that. 

This isn’t to put up the bat signal for Jackson Hastings, who remains rugby league’s best paid reserve grader, but rather to question why O’Brien so continually chops and changes without seeing any effect.

A cynic might suggest that the picker might be the problem, not those getting picked. Certainly, whoever gets the gig seems to keep hoisting midfield bombs then failing to contest them. 

Newcastle got flogged by Cronulla at the weekend, barely firing a shot in attack until the game was long gone. 

That’s four defeats on the spin for the Knights, and with tough trips to Auckland then Souths at Magic, things could get mutinous before long. 

Everyone is talking about…

Lachlan Galvin, who has knocked Daly Cherry-Evans and Dylan Brown into the proverbial cocked hat as far as transfer sagas go.

The teenage half was revealed to be leaving the Wests Tigers at the end of his contract, sparking a claim and counterclaim about who is leaving who, why and when.

That news dropped on Monday, then was doubled by teammates posting social media content that showed their derision for his decision, then tripled by a call to drop Galvin to NSW Cup ahead of the big Easter Monday clash with Parramatta.

No club bleeds like the Tigers as far as leaks go, so you can take your pick on who you believe as far as blame goes. 

On one hand, Galvin doesn’t like coach Benji Marshall and wants to leave to improve himself, turning down a huge pile of cash in the process. 

On the other, his scheming manager Isaac Moses has levered his man out of a club on the brink of success using any excuse possible to get a bigger contract elsewhere.

Either way, it exposed the huge influence agents have and the ludicrousness of contract rules that have made a player transfer that isn’t scheduled until 2027 as front page news.

Galvin was missed badly in the Tigers’ loss to the Eels, where his side could have done with a half to counter the returning Mitchell Moses.

In the end, he was left at the dilapidated Lidcombe Oval, losing in second grade. 

But nobody mentions…

Lewis Dodd, who got the quietest of NRL debuts on Friday. The halfback was named on the bench for Souths and eventually came on for Cody Walker in garbage time with the game long gone.

For what it’s worth, there were a few nice touches, but little to write home about for the former Saint.

Dodd has been pretty unlucky thus far, with an injury, then two suspensions removing his chances of taking to the field earlier. 

Now, he might have a crack as Souths coach Wayne Bennett looks around for a better option than Cody Walker at 7 and Latrell Mitchell at 6, as the arrangement failed to muster as much as a linebreak against the Doggies and lacked threat with the boot.

Then again, with a trip to a scolded Storm in Melbourne in the offing, Dodd might prefer another week in NSW Cup to avoid the now traditional flogging: Souths have won once in 19 trips to Victoria. 

Forward pass

This is a belting period for the NRL, with Easter running straight into ANZAC Round, followed by Magic Round.

Anzac Eve will see the aforementioned Broncos-Bulldogs stoush in Queensland, before the traditional afternoon match at 4pm on Friday, with full pomp and ceremony at Allianz Stadium for the Roosters v Dragons.

The most intriguing match off all might be on Saturday night in Parramatta, where Penrith, on the back of thrashing Easts and returning to something approximating form, face a Manly side that have forgotten what form looks like.

All eyes will be on Manly this Team List Tuesday and if Trbojevic, Tom appears. With him, that bad run might end for the Sea Eagles.

MONDAY’S READS ON LRL

👉🏻 The Super League players facing bans including Hull FC, St Helens stars

👉🏻 Super League attendance watch as records tumble and clubs post huge numbers

👉🏻 Craig Murdock’s Team of the Week: JWH among FIVE Hull KR stars included