Bulldogs Coach Supports Social Media Comment Closure
Bulldogs coach Cameron Ciraldo has publicly supported the club’s decision to disable social media comments on a recent post following a loss to Newcastle. The move came after some fans crossed the line with their criticism, leading to players receiving death threats and other offensive messages.
The Instagram post from Tuesday prompted the social media team to turn off the comment section. Some supporters felt they were being silenced by the club, given that they pay for memberships, merchandise, and other services. However, Bulldogs supremo Phil Gould made it clear that such behavior was not acceptable when asked about the death threats in the comments.
“They are not fans,” he simply replied in a tweet on Thursday morning.
Gould received strong support from his coach later in the day. Ciraldo emphasized the importance of protecting players while still valuing fan passion.
“We love our fans and we love their passion, but if it crosses the line, we have a duty of care to protect our players,” Ciraldo said.
“I’m really proud of our club that we decided to do something about that and just shut it down. Everyone’s got their right to an opinion, but on our channels, you don’t step over the line. So really proud of our club for making that move forward.”
Ciraldo also highlighted that the issue is not unique to the Bulldogs but reflects broader societal challenges.
“I think Gus’s tweet there, he couldn’t have summed it up any better, so I’ll leave that with him.”
“At some stage, someone somewhere higher up needs to figure out what we want to stand for, and I’m glad someone in our club has.”
While the comments have been blocked, disgruntled fans still have the power to message individual players. Ciraldo explained that it is up to the players whether they want to engage with these channels.
“We just try and educate them as much as we can around what’s good for them and what’s not. And then just create an environment where they understand that it’s all right to make mistakes and it’s all right to have a bad game.”
“There are leanings in everything. Hopefully that’s the environment we’ve created here.”
On-Field Performance and Strategy
Much of the fans’ frustration has stemmed from Canterbury’s lack of points through the opening few rounds, with the Bulldogs averaging 15 points per game this season. While their defense has been a strength, it wasn’t enough to secure a win against Newcastle last week.
Ciraldo made a significant switch during the match, moving Matt Burton to left center and having Stephen Crichton play five-eighth. This change sparked something in the second half, but Burton has since returned to five-eighth, partnering with Lachlan Galvin, with experienced playmaker Sean O’Sullivan on the bench.
“There’s a bit in our attack that I really like where we’ve won the possession every week, we’ve made the most meters every week, we’ve also made the most line breaks in each game every week. So they’re all really good signs,” Ciraldo said.
“We haven’t been able to execute every opportunity and we played against some teams that have scrambled really well. So we’re just trying to take leanings out of that.”
“We’re trying to show our guys what we’re doing well and where we can improve. And that process doesn’t change whether we win, lose, (based on) reactions or anything.”
“We’re just trying to get better every week. It’s our third game on the weekend, we’re coming into our fourth game and we just want to see an improvement.”
“We’ve won two games, we’ve lost one, so I don’t think there’s any need for panic stations.”
“I think a lot got made of Critta (Crichton) moving in a little bit last week. Burto took a bump, needed a little rest out wide. Critta came in and got involved with the ball in his hands and we scored two tries pretty quickly after that.”
“So I’m not sure of all the hysteria around that, but there are a lot of things we’re doing well.”
Upcoming Match and Team Changes
The Bulldogs will face the Rabbitohs on Good Friday, but will be without Harry Hayes after the workhorse forward was ruled out for the second week in a row. Interestingly, Hayes was the player used in Tuesday’s Instagram post, with Logan Spinks set to replace him on the bench.
“Unfortunately, Harry won’t be playing tomorrow,” Ciraldo said.
“He hasn’t pulled up as well as we would have hoped from training earlier in the week, so that gives an opportunity for other guys. Harry’s very important, but they’re all very important in our squad.”
