Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs coach Cameron Ciraldo was all praise for young halfback Lachlan Galvin after his performance in Round 1.

The Bulldogs travelled to Las Vegas in their season opener and were tasked to take down the St George Illawarra Dragons in what was a thrilling golden point fixture. 

All eyes were on Galvin and how he was going to combine with his halves partner Matt Burton and his edge backrower, Jacob Preston.

The 20-year old halfback lived up to the task, looking comfortable out on the global stage in their opening round.

Ciraldo commended Galvin's performance, saying in his post-match press conference that he is tracking along nicely considering his young age.

“Very proud. I said all pre-season (that) his best ability at the moment is his ability to learn,” Ciraldo said of Galvin.

“He's a 20-year-old halfback, and he's learning really quickly. If you think about all the really good halfbacks and what they were like at 20, he's tracking in a great direction.

“He's learning really quickly. I thought what he's been able to learn over the pre-season and then some lessons he took at the Newcastle trial and took into tonight, I thought was good.

“He'll get better and better. He's committed to his craft, and he'll get better every game and every year.”

Pressure was mounting on the young playmaker after he was tasked with taking over the reins as halfback of the Bulldogs' side from Toby Sexton last year.

He has looked to silence his critics in his first outing for the year, finishing with 22 runs, 190 run metres, two line break assists, and one try assist. 

 

 

 

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