Josh Curran's partner has taken aim at the Canterbury Bulldogs after the forward was left on the bench for the entirety of Friday night's narrow loss to the Sydney Roosters, despite being heavily featured in the club's Indigenous Round promotion.
The Bulldogs suffered a 20-18 defeat at the hands of the Roosters, with Curran unable to make an impact from the sidelines after being named among the club's six interchange players.
Curran's lack of game time sparked plenty of discussion among Bulldogs supporters on social media, with one fan commenting on the club's Instagram post following the loss.
"It's crazy using Curran for clout for Indigenous around & not giving him 1 minute on the field when he's been one of our best the last month. Make that make sense, family club…"
Curran's partner subsequently shared a screenshot of this comment to her Instagram story, appearing to endorse the sentiment, before also commenting "PREACH Aunty!" under another post criticising the decision.
"As a Blackfulla, it's so disappointing to see your ONLY Indigenous player listed get no time on the field during the one round where we're meant to be celebrating our Indigenous players. Do better, Bulldogs, for Josh and for your Indigenous supporters who went into that game excited to see someone they look up to representing their culture spend 80 minutes on the bench"
His partner's post on her Instagram Story has since been deleted whilst the comment remains under the club's post.
There were numerous other comments under the Bulldogs' Instagram post questioning why Curran was not given an opportunity, particularly given his prominent role in the club's Indigenous Round campaign.
A proud Darug man, Curran led the Bulldogs onto the field on Friday night while draped in the Aboriginal flag, but ultimately remained on the interchange bench for the entire contest.
View this post on Instagram.
The 26-year-old had also featured prominently in the Bulldogs' Indigenous Round promotion, appearing in four Instagram posts across the four days leading into the match.
Curran has made 14 appearances for the Bulldogs this season and had featured in each of their previous eight matches, either starting at lock or in the second row, or being used from the interchange bench.
The Bulldogs won six of those eight matches, with Curran also crossing for five tries during that run.
It is understood Bulldogs coach Cameron Ciraldo had always intended to use the following three players from his four-man bench against the Roosters, with Kurt Mann, Harry Hayes and Samuela Faalogo Tupou (Tupouniua).
Tupouniua was forced from the field with an injury after just five minutes, while Jake Turpin was ultimately brought on for the final eight minutes after Bailey Hayward suffered a head knock.
That left Curran, along with Bronson Xerri, as the only players on the Bulldogs' bench not to see the field.
Curran will depart the Bulldogs at the end of the season, having agreed to join the Perth Bears for their inaugural NRL campaign in 2027.
The Bulldogs are yet to comment publicly on the backlash surrounding Curran's omission or his partner's social media post.
