Cameron Ciraldo has proven himself to be an outstanding young coach. He might also be the most ruthless we’ve seen in at least the last 40 years of rugby league.

Throw in all the coaches who have had longevity and success during this period — from Jack Gibson to Warren Ryan, Wayne Bennett, Tim Sheens, Bob Fulton, Des Hasler, Craig Bellamy, Ricky Stuart, Ivan Cleary and Trent Robinson.

I’ve chewed the fat with a few other dinosaurs around the game this week and we certainly can’t remember any of those great coaches ever punting a halfback and a hooker in the same season, let alone this late in the year.

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Yet what makes cutting Toby Sexton and Reed Mahoney to bring in Lachlan Galvin and Bailey Hayward even more ruthless is the fact the Bulldogs were sitting on top (or at least up near the top of the ladder) when Ciraldo made the calls.

Add to that the fact that since Ciraldo signed with the Dogs three years ago, the Bulldogs have chewed up and spat out a total of 22 other players, according to the Fox Sports Lab.

In fairness, many of those early decisions would have been heavily influenced by Phil Gould, and there’s no question the roster was in desperate need of a major clean out.

But in more recent times Ciraldo has well and truly grabbed the steering wheel back from Gus, and he’s made no apologies for some of the most brutal calls we’ve seen from a coach in decades, if not ever.

In no way is this a criticism of Ciraldo because up until this point almost every call has paid dividends for his club.

But the fact is how the Bulldogs finish the season will be judged more harshly than their meteoric rise has been labelled an outstanding success, purely because of the controversial decisions to axe Sexton and Mahoney.

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Up until now Ciraldo has also only ever received tremendous support from not only his playing group but also former Bulldogs players who line up to sing his praise for having the balls to make the big calls.

But you’d be surprised how many former players you talk to over the years think differently about past coaches who made similar tough calls against them.

And as time rolls on and the bodies mount at the Bulldogs’ graveyard, rightly or wrongly, you can bet there will be former players who end up feeling the same about Ciraldo.

Not that surviving in the cutthroat world of NRL coaching is about winning the popularity contest.

There is no question to be a great coach and have longevity in the job requires making tough calls, where coaches must put emotion aside and go with what they think is best for the team.

Thinking back to some of the biggest bombshells in recent decades, the Roosters’ decision to bring in Cooper Cronk over the top of Mitchell Pearce ranks up with the most ruthless. Although that happened after the season, and it was ultimately Pearce’s call to leave the club and sign with Newcastle.

Then you go back to the early days at the Broncos and Bennett’s decision to sack the legendary Wally Lewis was another that caused huge public backlash.

As did Paul Vautin’s exit from Manly to the Roosters in the late 1980s when Fatty was told he’d have cop a massive pay cut to stay.

Probably the closest I can remember to what Ciraldo has done now was when the late Graham Murray dumped then NSW Tri Series hero Noel Goldthorpe during the 1997 Super League season to make way for a rookie named Brett Kimmorley at the Hunter Mariners.

Or in more recent times one that gets overlooked was Bellamy’s decision to axe Brodie Croft when the Storm were leading the comp in 2019.

That was to make way for a speedy young fullback named Jahrome Hughes to move into the halves for the charge into the finals.

Six years down the track and Bellamy’s decision has aged like a fine wine.

Ciraldo has similarly put huge trust in both Galvin and Hayward that they are not only the future of the club, but the future is now.

Despite all the controversy that greeted Galvin’s arrival, the Bulldogs have so far been able to shut down every question about how shunting Sexton could potentially destabilise the team through their form on the field.

In Hayward’s case, he’s now 24 and always had a quality about him that suggested he would eventually end up in the starting team, the only question was at what position.

But after watching Hayward’s super impressive showing in last round’s top four shootout against the Warriors, you get the feeling he’ll own the No 9 jumper at the Bulldogs for some time to come.

Both have another huge test this Friday night when the Bulldogs tackle the inform Roosters.

And as the finals edge closer the pressure is only going to mount not only on Galvin and Hayward, but also Ciraldo, as rival coaches set out to try and expose and exploit any weaknesses that always exist in relatively inexperienced NRL players, especially when they play in the all-important spine.

It’s up to Galvin and Hayward to prove they can repay Ciraldo’s faith, because the coach has certainly showed how ruthless he is prepared to be if things don’t meet his expectations.

FIVE MILLION REASONS WHY DOLPHINS DESERVE MORE SYMPATHY THAN BRONCOS

The Broncos have no excuses when they take on the Dolphins in Saturday night’s Brisbane blockbuster at Suncorp Stadium.

While the Broncos are reeling from the triple blow of losing Adam Reynolds, Ezra Mam and Selwyn Cobbo, you haven’t heard too much complaining from the Dolphins despite the fact they are without the best part of $5 million of their salary cap.

In comparison, I reckon the Broncos would be at least $1 million better off when it comes to their casualty ward.

Just go through the names Kristian Woolf is missing at the Dolphins starting with Herbie Farnworth, Tom Gilbert, Thomas Flegler, Felise Kaufusi, Max Plath, Jack Bostock, Daniel Saifiti and Francis Molo.

That’s almost half of their best 17 right there.

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The Broncos’ injury list includes Brendan Piakura, Jock Madden, Benjamin Te Kura, Hayze Perham, Xavier Wilison along with Reynolds, Mam and Cobbo.

It’s clear cut who should have the sympathy vote here.

The fact the Dolphins have somehow managed to keep their spot in the top eight highlights what a remarkable coaching effort this has been by Woolf in his first season after taking over from Wayne Bennett.

CLEARY V MUNSTER TO DECIDE PREMIERSHIP FAVOURITISM

The finals come early at CommBank Stadium on Thursday night.

We are about to find out who should be rated the competition favourites when the Panthers host the Storm _ and Nathan Cleary lines up directly opposite Cameron Munster.

The only question mark hanging over the Panthers in recent weeks has been if they could win the premiership from outside the top four. Now they are in the top four and chasing their 10th straight win.

While the Panthers are without their inspirational co-captain Isaah Yeo, I still think the absence of Jahrome Hughes and Ryan Papenhuyzen leaves the Storm more vulnerable.

The battle between Cleary and Munster will go a long way to deciding this one.

While Munster walked away with the bragging rights in Origin, Cleary was struggling with a groin injury at the point and was not even close to his best.

You’d imagine that might give Cleary even more motivation to prove a point here.