Incoming Bulldogs coach Cameron Ciraldo has done more than his fair share of homework on Reed Mahoney this year and says the Belmore-bound hooker and Viliame Kikau can set the tone for the club next season.
Ciraldo fronted the media for the first time in Bulldogs colours on Wednesday and declared it just “felt right” to take the next step in his coaching career and lead the Bulldogs from 2023.
The 37-year-old signed a five-year deal with the club in August after playing a pivotal role in helping the Panthers achieve back-to-back premierships as their defensive coach.
His main comments centred around the focus on hard work, something he believes grand final pair Mahoney and Kikau will bring in spades in blue and white.
Although Ciraldo was never involved in the conversations to get Mahoney and Kikau to Canterbury, he believes they’ll have an immediate impact on the group when they join for pre-season training.
“They both build their game on work ethic,” Ciraldo told NRL.com.
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“A lot of people have talked about Viliame Kikau’s talent for the past few years but for the past two he’s probably been the best defensive back-rower in the comp and it’s all about work ethic.
“Reed’s exactly the same, he’s a guy who’s built his game and career on his work ethic. He’s in the sweet spot of his career now where there’s a lot of improvement left in him as well.
“Those two guys I just love the character they’re going to bring to the team. In terms of any successful team, it comes down to the ones who work the hardest.
“I’ve seen how hard those players have worked at Penrith over the last few years and I’m hoping we can build a similar work ethic here. If we do work hard then good things will come.”
Ciraldo won’t officially start pre-season training with players until next month but will keep a watchful eye on the likes of Kikau, Matt Burton and Josh Addo-Carr, who are in England for the World Cup.
When it does finally come time to getting the full squad together, Ciraldo wants to give the Bulldogs its own identity while looking to replicate the success he achieved at the Panthers.
“I asked a lot of questions [before signing] and sat on the decision for a long time, I could see the potential in the joint and there’s a lot of good people here with a proud history,” he said.
“It’s a club I’ve admired for a long time. I’ve spent a lot of time growing up in the area and it just felt right.
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“Penrith’s a different club to the Bulldogs. I’m not going to cut and paste everything at Penrith and try to bring that to the Bulldogs. I’ve got my own philosophies with how I want some things to look.
“There are a lot of things we did at Penrith that works at a lot of places and that’s around hard work.
“We’ll make sure we work hard here and find our own identity as we go on.”