Canterbury Bulldogs head coach Cameron Ciraldo has revealed a risk of fatigue and cramping in 'hot and humid' conditions in Townsville was behind the decision to axe Lachlan Galvin an hour out from kick-off on Saturday night.
Galvin joined the Bulldogs just over a month ago, and while the club's form has been on the downward trend since then, a hard-fought win over the Cowboys on the road will give the side some confidence.
The big talking point, though, was the axing of Lachlan Galvin an hour out from kick-off, with Ciraldo instead deciding to play four forwards off the bench.
He said that was down to what he had seen the week before in a game between the Cowboys and Storm at the same venue, and while he admitted he was worried it was the wrong call when Matt Burton had to leave the field in the final minutes of the game, he was proud of the way his forward pack played to nullify the Cowboys.
It was even more impressive given that the Bulldogs fell behind early in the contest.
"Yeah it was a hard one because it would have been nice to have Lachie on there when Burto came off and I reckon if he was on there, to bring him on with fresh legs at the back end of the game I thought he could have really asked some more questions of the Cowboys defence," Ciraldo said during his post-match press conference.
"But I thought we needed four forwards on the bench. Max King backing up from Origin, Jaeman Salmon's first game back.
"We looked at the Cowboys vs Storm game last week, and a lot of guys were cramping up in that last 20 minutes, so I thought it was really important to carry an extra forward tonight.
"When Burton went off, I was thinking maybe that wasn't the right decision, but it was the right decision because our forwards all worked their arses off, and it was tough out there. It was hot and humid."
Galvin's role moving forward now appears uncertain, and Ciraldo himself admitted he 'isn't too sure' what it will look like for the rest of the season.
The coach also confirmed Sitili Tupouniua, Kurt Mann and Stephen Crichton would all return next weekend when the Bulldogs are due to host the St George Illawarra Dragons on Saturday afternoon.
