Bulldogs supremo addresses Reed Mahoney and Toby Sexton exit rumours following Lachlan Galvin signing
Canterbury chairman Phil Gould has revealed that Lachlan Galvin’s long-term future at the club is unlikely to be a halfback, insisting it was “accidental” that Reed Mahoney and Toby Sexton left the club shortly after the playmaker’s arrival at Belmore.
Gould appeared in James Graham’s film Goodbye tour The podcast will be released on Thursday to discuss the situation of the club, which has lost its last five matches; It’s a losing streak that could result in the Bulldogs missing the finals. One of the topics discussed was the decision to sign Galvin from Wests Tigers midway through last year and the impact his arrival would have on results.
“This stuff with Mahoney and Sexton was in the pipeline for a few months before Galvin showed up,” Gould said.
“There was nothing about the Galvin incident that triggered the Mahoney and Sexton decisions, I can tell you that with certainty.”
The decision to replace Sexton with Galvin at half-time polarized Bulldogs fans; Some believe Galvin and Matt Burton are better suited to the No. 6 jersey. Gould argued that Galvin was currently the best halfback option at the club, but that this was unlikely to be his long-term position.
“People say, ‘Is he a halfback or not?’ he says. I don’t know anyone who is a first-year halfback at 20,” Gould said.
“I don’t think he’s a long-term halfback. We never thought about him being a long-term halfback…
“Lachlan Galvin, he’s a very special individual and a very special talent. But he’s a 20-year-old kid who plays a very, very important position. And you have to think about Lachlan Galvin’s fundamentals as he comes into this situation.
“Galvin, I don’t think I’ve seen this very often before, went from school football to the NRL with the West Tigers. He didn’t play any SG Ball.
“He didn’t play with Jersey Flegg. He didn’t play in the NSW Cup. He completed a school season.”
“And then he was playing NRL with the Tigers as a first grader. So he’s obviously talented. He’s never had to manage a football team as a seven-year-old.
“In the long term he’s probably not a seven-year-old but he’s gaining great experience at the moment. He’s learning the game really well. It’s great for him.”
Gould recently met with Warriors halfback Luke Metcalf, who later signed with the Dragons, and Titans hooker Sam Verrills. Asked if the club was in the market for spine players, Gould said: “Long term, yes, I definitely think so.
“We continue to evaluate this. First of all, I would like to develop them and have them come to the academy.”
