Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs coach Cameron Ciraldo has broken his silence on the controversial kick-off rule trial his side will have to implement in their game plan this Thursday against Brisbane.
The NRL first tested the rule in the non-finals-bearing Grand Final rematch between the Broncos and the Storm last week, and it was met with concern from both Harry Grant and Patrick Carrigan.
It will see sides who concede a try given a small window to inform the referees if they would like to kick-off or receive, even before the try-scoring team kicks their conversion.
The kick-off switch was implemented three times mid-game last week, with the NRL looking to gather more information in two more games in Round 27 before making an ultimate decision.
With a mixed bag of results in 2026, Ciraldo's tough defensive outfit was met with rule changes at the start of the year which favoured free-flowing attacking footy, making it hard to adjust accordingly, with plenty of six-again's being thrown around.
However, the Bulldogs adapted midway through the year, which led to finding some form, but will narrowly miss the eight after finding themselves in the top four this time last year before the rules to speed up the game were introduced.
Ciraldo told AAP he would like to see teams given plenty of time to adjust over the summer if the NRL chooses to bring in changes.
"If you look at our form at the start of the year, you can blame that, but I think there's a lot of factors that went into our results at the start of the year," Ciraldo told AAP on Wednesday.
"We'll look to address those over the next few weeks.
"As the rules came back to what they were last year, we sort of found our rhythm a little bit more, and were able to get back to our style of footy.
"I think it coincides with a number of other things as well.
"I think everyone would like to know what the rule changes are to start the pre-season and not find out about them during the trial period."
Ciraldo was notified about his side being tested during the week by email, limiting his preparation time.
"I don't check my emails that often, so someone had to tell me," Ciraldo said.
It will be the Bulldogs' last hitout of the year at Accor Stadium on Thursday night, wrapping up the 2026 season which started in Las Vegas in March.
The Dragons and Eels clash on Sunday will also trial the kick-off rule, with both teams well out of the finals race in 2026.
