The brutal warning label attatched to Bulldogs' coaching job

·Contributor

17 May 2022 at 1:35 am·2-min read

Penrith assistant Cameron Ciraldo has been linked to the Canterbury Bulldogs coaching job after Trent Barrett resigned on Monday. Pictures: Getty Images

Cameron, don’t do it.

Surely, those close to Cameron Ciraldo are telling him the same message as his name continues to be thrust forward as the man most likely to be offered the poisoned chalice of coaching the Bulldogs in 2023.

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Ciraldo is an NRL coach-in-waiting but that doesn't mean he should catch the first bus that comes along.

The job should come with a warning label: Coaching this club may kill your career.

Ciraldo neatly dodged a bullet last year when there was heavy speculation he was being positioned to replace Michael Maguire at the Tigers, focusing on Penrith's grand final run while the drama played out and Madge was retained.

The Tigers now look a Fortune 500 job compared to the Canterbury gig.

Not only will the new bloke inherit the worst team in the NRL, he will also answer to one P. Gould.

It’s like getting married and moving straight in with the in-laws.

Your every move – from the first training session of the week to match day - will be monitored, assessed and discussed.

As for those suggesting this is Ciraldo's "Fitzgibbon moment", it's a bit disingenuous.

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Craig Fitzgibbon's segue from Roosters assistant to NRL head coaching job was strategically planned every step of the way.

He walked into the Cronulla job with almost total autonomy over coaching staff, training structure and player retention and recruitment.

There is no Gus Gould figure at the Sharks leaning over Fitzgibbon's shoulder and making him second guess himself at every turn.

There is no Gus Gould figure in the media – social or electronic – cataloguing every move the club makes.

Trent Barrett's departure as coach of Canterbury could have serious ramifications for the playing list in the coming months. (Photo by Jason McCawley/Getty Images) (Getty Images)

There is no Gus Gould figure demanding the whistle to run a training session.

Gould is like the bloke who wrests control of the tongs at a mate's barbie.

He can't help but get himself involved.

Ciraldo is only 37.

Time is on his side and he's shown himself to be a smart operator.

He could easily stay on as Ivan Cleary's assistant for the next few years, pick up another premiership or two with the hottest roster in the NRL, and then wait for a plum job to open up at a good club.

As a wise man once said: You know it makes sense.

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