Canterbury coach Cameron Ciraldo has challenged his forwards to follow the lead of Tevita Pangai Jr, arguing the NSW State of Origin prop can’t take down Parramatta’s pack on his own.
Pangai has led the charge for the Bulldogs over the past month and was rewarded with a maiden call-up for NSW.
Ciraldo is encouraged by Pangai’s form but says he needs help from his fellow forwards when the Bulldogs face an Eels side with a fit-again Reagan Campbell-Gillard on Monday.
“I think what Tevita has done really well this year is put the team before himself,” Ciraldo said.
“He’s probably getting recognised for that more in the past few weeks and especially getting named in Origin.
“I feel that when he came back from Origin he came back with more belief in himself.
“But Tevita has a very simple game, we just want him to run hard and work hard.
“The other thing is you need some help around him, we need other guys to stand up because it can’t just be Tevita.”
Ciraldo is likely to have Reed Mahoney available with the hooker set to undergo a late concussion test after a head knock in last week’s loss to the Sydney Roosters.
It’s been a theme throughout the Canterbury coach’s first year in charge with injuries and suspensions hurting the Bulldogs badly.
The Dogs have a 5-8 record through the first half of the season but Ciraldo is convinced they haven’t scratched the surface of their ability.
“There are probably two or three games where we've been in the contest and just let the last 10 minutes slip and last week was a perfect example,” Ciraldo said.
“If we if win those games we're right in the heart of it being in the eight.
“I think there's lessons to be learned but we haven't reached anywhere near our potential yet.
“We're still learning, we're still a very young team but we're getting better every week and you see improvement, I’d just like to see it happening quicker than it is right now.”
