Canterbury Bulldogs coach Cameron Ciraldo has knocked back claims Mitchell Woods should be parachuted into his side once fit, with the club preparing for more on-field switches in Round 5 as they tackle the South Sydney Rabbitohs.
Woods has missed the start of the season with injury, putting a dent in his ongoing development.
The 19-year-old is one of the halfback options at the Bulldogs in 2026, and while the blue and white won their first two games, it came without great fluency in attack.
That then let them down on the weekend as they slumped to their first loss of the campaign against the Newcastle Knights.
The Bulldogs could well move towards a change in the halves more permanently though after a second half switch saw Stephen Crichton play at five-eighth, and Matt Burton in the centres.
There are also ongoing discussions about the future and role of Galvin, who made the switch to Belmore from the Wests Tigers in the middle of 2025 on a reported $750,000 per year.
Ciraldo speaking on Channel 9s 100% Footy said Woods will be a first-grader, but not yet.
"Mitch is a great young kid, I love coaching him, he's just footy obsessed but he's 19, he's still got a little bit of an apprenticeship to go," he said.
"He's been injured this pre-season. We know he's going to be a first grader, we love that he's at the Bulldogs but we're not going to rush him ever.
"There's no point worrying about those decisions yet.
"What I love is we have competition for spots, and we've got a reserve grade full of NRL players down there that are pushing for spots.
"While ever you've got that it helps build a strong club."
Woods, who picked the NRL ahead of the AFL when he joined Canterbury full-time, will be just one question for the Bulldogs.
Canterbury are not expected to change anything for their Round 5 clash against the Rabbitohs at the start, but there could be adjustments, including the use once again of Sean O'Sullivan,if the attack doesn't flow.
The Bulldogs looked more fluent with Crichton at five-eighth, and lock forward Kurt Mann revealed the club had trained that way often during the pre-season.
"We prepare for all sorts of circumstances," Mann said per NRL.com.
"Critta's done a fair bit of five-eighth during the pre-season so it's pretty smooth when he goes in there. He's a great player and he can play multiple positions.
"It's definitely an advantage [to have players who can play multiple positions]. It's not my job to pick the team but we've got boys that can play multiple positions and they're comfortable doing it. They spend time in those positions at training, which you don't really see in the games.
"Ciro likes to move a few of the boys around in pre-season to give them the chance so if something does happen in a game, they're quite comfortable going into those roles."
Burton, who scored a try after moving to the centres, has been one player constantly linked with an exit from the Bulldogs in recent times.
While director of football Phil Gould has suggested it won't be happening, it's understood the Perth Bears among other clubs are still keeping tabs on the situation of the five-eighth and former Dally M centre of the year who won't be able to negotiate with rival clubs until at least November 1 without Canterbury's approval given he is contracted until the end of 2027.
