Selecting star recruit Stephen Crichton to be the team’s new captain is one of the biggest decisions Canterbury-Bankstown coach Cameron Ciraldo has made in his coaching tenure.
The Bulldogs playing group will be informed of the news on Thursday morning by Ciraldo, who will be replacing Reed Mahoney and Matt Burton with the 23-year-old Crichton, the three-time premiership winner.
After returning to training early before Christmas, Crichton, a young St Clair Comets player from the Penrith Panthers system, made such an impression that he was given the responsibility of guiding Canterbury-Bankstown back to playing footy in the playoffs.
Since 2016, when Des Hasler was the team’s coach, the Bulldogs have failed to appear in September. With Crichton and Ciraldo serving as the team’s front men, they are attempting to snap a seven-year finals drought.
Ciraldo made a special effort to commend hooker Mahoney and five-eighth Burton for leading the Bulldogs in their last campaign.
In a club statement, Crichton stated, “I just want to lead with my actions.”
I’ve learned a lot from the older boys I was with at a successful Club, and I’ve seen what effective leaders look like. I’ve also picked up some tips from each of them that I can use in my life both on and off the field.”As soon as I arrived at the camp, I could see the guys were anxious, but I also knew that through my leadership and communication, I could pique their interest and make them feel less anxious.
“I realized that this team needed a leader to guide them through the camp as I was considering the end of the camp, where it would end, and what this team could do next.” I therefore assumed that role out of the blue.
“I wasn’t trying to put that pressure just on myself; I leaned on the other senior boys just as much as they were leaning on me. We have a lot of leaders that talked through camp just as much as me.”
