THE Bulldogs coup in signing the most in-demand assistant coach in the game in Cameron Ciraldo was two months in the making.
There’s no doubt it’s a huge result for Canterbury-Bankstown but there’s also an element of risk given he’s a rookie NRL coach and the Bulldogs have come to the party with a five-year contract.
If the raps on Ciraldo are right – and the Bulldogs have taken two months doing their due diligence – then the Panthers assistant coach should kick on to become the NRL’s next long-term career coach.
Think Trent Robinson, Craig Bellamy, Ivan Cleary – that’s the Bulldogs vision for Ciraldo’s career trajectory.
But it’s one thing to formulate the plan and the frame work and another thing altogether executing it.
With Reed Mahoney and Viliame Kikau arriving at Belmore next season the expectation will be the Bulldogs need to at the very least make the finals.
And it’s been six long seasons since Canterbury-Bankstown last featured in September.
This is where the five-year contract contains a fair element of risk. Roosters coach Robinson, Storm coach Bellamy and Panthers coach Cleary never started their careers with five-year deals.
But given the Wests Tigers also offered five years and master negotiator George Mimis had the steering wheel for Ciraldo it’s easy to see how the Bulldogs were pushed into the long-term deal.
In all likelihood there’ll be a termination clause with a set payout but provided Ciraldo lives up to the hype then it shouldn’t come to that.
It’s also a huge coup for the Laundy family – Canterbury-Bankstown’s major sponsors – who played a pivotal role in getting the ball rolling with Ciraldo and then getting the deal done.
It began with a meeting at the Red Lion Hotel in Rozelle a couple of months back where the Laundy family patriarch Arthur sat down with sons Craig and Stuart and the Bulldogs head coach-in-waiting.
The meeting was only scheduled to run for an hour but went long past that and ended with Ciraldo offering to drive Arthur Laundy home.
Arthur had recently had knee surgery so Ciraldo drove the pub baron worth $500 million from the Red Lion to his inner-west home.
It’s fair to say Ciraldo hit it off with the Laundys and the result was the Bulldogs were well on their way towards landing their man.
While the Laundy’s worked on forming a strong rapport with Ciraldo, Bulldogs general manager of football Phil Gould was tasked with the football side of the negotiations.
Selling the Canterbury-Bankstown vision to the incoming coach around the club’s roster, salary cap position and how Ciraldo could help transform the Bulldogs back into the powerhouse club of the 1980s, 90s and the early 2000s.
Ciraldo’s first assignment will be convincing gun five-eighth Matt Burton to recommit to the club long-term.
Given all the hype around the Panthers assistant we’re tipping he can get it done and end Canterbury-Bankstown’s six-year finals drought.
There’s no doubt it’s a huge result for Canterbury-Bankstown but there’s also an element of risk given he’s a rookie NRL coach and the Bulldogs have come to the party with a five-year contract.
If the raps on Ciraldo are right – and the Bulldogs have taken two months doing their due diligence – then the Panthers assistant coach should kick on to become the NRL’s next long-term career coach.
Think Trent Robinson, Craig Bellamy, Ivan Cleary – that’s the Bulldogs vision for Ciraldo’s career trajectory.
But it’s one thing to formulate the plan and the frame work and another thing altogether executing it.
With Reed Mahoney and Viliame Kikau arriving at Belmore next season the expectation will be the Bulldogs need to at the very least make the finals.
And it’s been six long seasons since Canterbury-Bankstown last featured in September.
This is where the five-year contract contains a fair element of risk. Roosters coach Robinson, Storm coach Bellamy and Panthers coach Cleary never started their careers with five-year deals.
But given the Wests Tigers also offered five years and master negotiator George Mimis had the steering wheel for Ciraldo it’s easy to see how the Bulldogs were pushed into the long-term deal.
In all likelihood there’ll be a termination clause with a set payout but provided Ciraldo lives up to the hype then it shouldn’t come to that.
It’s also a huge coup for the Laundy family – Canterbury-Bankstown’s major sponsors – who played a pivotal role in getting the ball rolling with Ciraldo and then getting the deal done.
It began with a meeting at the Red Lion Hotel in Rozelle a couple of months back where the Laundy family patriarch Arthur sat down with sons Craig and Stuart and the Bulldogs head coach-in-waiting.
The meeting was only scheduled to run for an hour but went long past that and ended with Ciraldo offering to drive Arthur Laundy home.
Arthur had recently had knee surgery so Ciraldo drove the pub baron worth $500 million from the Red Lion to his inner-west home.
It’s fair to say Ciraldo hit it off with the Laundys and the result was the Bulldogs were well on their way towards landing their man.
While the Laundy’s worked on forming a strong rapport with Ciraldo, Bulldogs general manager of football Phil Gould was tasked with the football side of the negotiations.
Selling the Canterbury-Bankstown vision to the incoming coach around the club’s roster, salary cap position and how Ciraldo could help transform the Bulldogs back into the powerhouse club of the 1980s, 90s and the early 2000s.
Ciraldo’s first assignment will be convincing gun five-eighth Matt Burton to recommit to the club long-term.
Given all the hype around the Panthers assistant we’re tipping he can get it done and end Canterbury-Bankstown’s six-year finals drought.
