Cooper Cronk calls out Lachie Galvin move that backfired on Bulldogs in NRL loss to Panthers

Cooper Cronk has highlighted how Lachie Galvin's presence on the field contributed to Nathan Cleary's match-winning try for the Panthers against the Bulldogs in Thursday night's NRL thriller. Galvin started on the bench but replaced Reed Mahoney with 28 minutes remaining.

Dogs coach Cameron Ciraldo shuffled Galvin into the halves and moved Toby Sexton to hooker - a move that proved contentious and also backfired. The Bulldogs were leading 6-2 with Galvin on the bench, but the tide turned in the Panthers' favour when he was injected into the game.

Cooper Cronk highlighted how Lachie Galvin's injection made it easier for Nathan Cleary to produce his match-winning play. Image: Fox League/Getty

He let Cleary run straight past him just seconds after getting on the field - a line-break that seemed to swing the momentum towards the Panthers after the Bulldogs held the upper hand all night. In the very next set, Cleary produced a stunning play to charge down a Matt Burton kick before regathering and scoring what turned out to be the match-winning try.

Speaking in commentary for Fox League, legendary halfback Cronk pointed out that Galvin being on the field made it easier for Cleary to produce his match-winning play. Because Galvin doesn't have as good a long-kicking game as Sexton, Cleary and the Panthers knew Burton would be kicking on the last.

Rather than having to guess which side of the ruck the kick would come from, Cleary was 100 per cent it was going to Burton. "He is one of the smartest players in our game Nathan Cleary," Cronk said. "He realised Matt Burton is the No.1 kicker. Normally he does it with a pass or a kick, but this time he did it with his footy IQ.

"The reason why he was able to isolate Matt Burton is when Galvin came onto the field, Burton becomes the main kicker out of their own end. It meant Cleary could get a head-start (on Burton) and pressure him."

Nathan Cleary ran straight past Lachie Galvin in a match-turning moment. Image: Fox League

Lachie Galvin looks on during the Bulldogs' loss to the Panthers. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)

Speaking after the Panthers held on for an 8-6 win, Matty Johns also questioned why Ciraldo changed his spine in the middle of the game. "It's hard when you change a winning spine," he said. "They'll have to figure out what to do with Galvin moving forward."

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Despite the loss, Ciraldo was adamant it was the right call to inject Galvin. The 19-year-old looked likely whenever he touched the ball, but the Dogs weren't as polished as when Sexton was pulling the strings.

"I thought it worked pretty well tonight," Ciraldo said in his press conference. "I like how it is working at the moment. Reed rips in, gets his work done, works himself to a standstill.

"Toby going in there and shoring up the ruck and providing good service. And then Lachy comes on and can ask really good questions, which he did. I'm very happy with how it's going at the moment, don't see any reason to change it."

But fans and pundits were quick to highlight how the game changed when Galvin came on. Daily Telegraph columnist 'The Oracle' wrote on social media: "Mahoney was playing well at dummy half and Sexton controlling things beautifully at 7. Galvin will undoubtedly be an asset in the future, but you can’t tell me this isn’t an unwanted disruption to a side coming first. They look clunky."

This article originally appeared on Yahoo Sport Australia at https://au.news.yahoo.com/cooper-cronk-calls-out-lachie-galvin-move-that-backfired-on-bulldogs-in-nrl-loss-to-panthers-205443070.html

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