Brent Read backs Lachlan Galvin at halfback after Bulldogs lose six of seven
brent read backed Lachlan Galvin to stay at halfback after the Bulldogs dropped six of their past seven games, keeping the positional debate alive on NRL360. The argument has sharpened because the club’s recent form has put every decision around its attack under pressure.
Read Defends Galvin
Read was blunt when Dean Ritchie pressed him on why he would not shift Galvin away from the No. 7 role. “I’m not saying he’s a seven only but right now they’ve made that decision. He could be a really good seven but he’s not the issue with that footy club.”
Ritchie pushed back just as hard. “It seems that everyone around the league thinks he’s the perfect six except you. Why are you so stubborn in saying that he’s a seven only?” he asked, then added, “He’s the playmaker and they’re not winning so he’s got to be part of the issue.”
Bulldogs and the No. 7
Galvin arrived at the Bulldogs midway through last season, and the club has used him at halfback in all but five of his 24 games. That usage lines up with the club’s belief that he is its No. 7 of the future, even as many around the league think he fits better in the No. 6 jersey.
Read did not move off that view after the exchange. He said Galvin is “a better six” at this point of his career, but the target is to make him “a good halfback” and that Cameron Ciraldo believes he can become “a great halfback.”
Ciraldo, Cleary, and the debate
That split is what has driven the debate since last season. Read argued the position alone will not solve a struggling team’s problems, comparing Galvin’s situation to Nathan Cleary and saying, “Nathan Cleary wouldn’t win games on his own. Stick him in the Dragons and see how they go. They wouldn’t win many games.”
The numbers behind Galvin’s role are mixed. The Bulldogs are 8/19 when he starts at halfback, a record that has given critics fresh ammunition while the team’s results continue to slide.
For now, the club is still living with the same choice it made when Galvin arrived: keep building around him at halfback or shift him to five-eighth. After six losses in seven games, that decision is no longer theoretical, and the attack will keep being judged by whether it can turn that call into wins.
