Yet there is still a genuine concern Ciraldo’s stubbornness over the controversial shakeup of his all-important spine this year could come back to bite the Bulldogs in the finals.

And there is no point anyone at the Bulldogs burying their heads in the sand and pretending it’s not an issue, because it clearly is.

While there seems no chance Lachlan Galvin is going to get shifted to make way for Toby Sexton’s return after all the drama that has already created, you just wonder if Ciraldo will take on board what Smith and Johnathan Thurston said about the Mahoney v Bailey Hayward debate.

JT kicked it off when he said on Channel Nine: “They say there’s a lot of improvement in them but I tell you what, they’re starting to run out (of time) to get it right.

“They’ve got one more round and then it’s showtime … I just don’t know where I see that improvement. (I am) questioning whether Reed Mahoney can create that spark that they need.

“They are just one dimensional and they don’t have a plan B or plan C.”

Smith went a step further: “I agree with JT. I really think Reed Mahoney should be back in that nine jersey.

“I think they are a better side (with Mahoney in it). I think they play more direct when Reed is there.

“And I think he creates more of a threat from that ruck area, which is vitally important coming into these big games.”

READ MORE

TALKING POINTS: Legend’s stunning Walsh call; Ricky’s shock reaction to taking top spot

FIXTURES: Week 1 of NRL finals as it stands… including daunting reality for Warriors after costly loss

Smith also pinpointed Mahoney’s kicking game, and how “one big 40/20 kick or one long kick early at the right time in these finals games” can “really shift the momentum back in your favour”.

“Obviously Cameron Ciraldo has got different ideas with the changes that he has made to his line up over the past month or six weeks.

“But I like the style of footballer that Reed Mahoney is.”

In fairness to Ciraldo, it was hard to get a good gauge on this performance given it was basically nothing more than a glorified training run.

But even so, no one knows the art of playing dummy half better than the Storm’s future Immortal.

And you’d think these comments would have Ciraldo second-guessing himself ahead of the final round clash against the Sharks this Saturday.

It would be a huge call for Ciraldo to backflip this late in the season.

Especially after all that has been had done to try and convince everyone outside the club that these changes were made to make the Dogs a more dangerous team in the big end of season games.

We all know that Hayward is a very good young player who is only going to get better the more time he spends in the dummy half role next season when Mahoney departs.

But the question Ciraldo needs to answer right now is who gives the Bulldogs their best chance of winning the comp this year.

I don’t think there would be many out there, even among the Bulldogs’ faithful, who wouldn’t agree with Smith and Thurston on this one.

ROCKS AND DIAMONDS WALSH FACES HIS MOMENT OF TRUTH

We are about to find out if Reece Walsh’s rocks and diamonds style of footy is enough to make the Broncos a genuine premiership threat.

Walsh was breathtaking for the most part in the Broncos’ 38-30 win over the Cowboys.

He finished with a try, two try assists, six line break assists and 10 tackle busts.

But he still came up with six errors for good measure, and some of them were just so avoidable.

The thing is, if Walsh doesn’t play his natural game and goes into his shell it could be the Broncos’ undoing.

But at the same time he just has to play with a bit more maturity or he could end up bringing the team undone.

Let’s not forget the Broncos were also gifted a crucial try with 20 minutes to play when the match officials inexplicably missed a blatant forward pass from Gehamat Shibasaki to Billy Walters.

That could have made a massive difference to how this match played out.

Still, the win gives the Broncos a chance of locking up fourth spot if they can now take down the Storm.

No doubt the Storm will be out to test Walsh every chance they get, and he can be a bit dodgy under the high ball.

But if he can stand up in this one, it will go a long way to convincing everyone the Broncos can go all the way.

I do think if the Broncos finish fourth their style will be extremely dangerous against the Raiders.

FORWARD PASS HOWLERS LEAVE NRL LIVING IN THE STONE AGE

On that forward pass.

It’s inexcusable that the NRL doesn’t allow the bunker to rule on blatant forward passes in try scoring situations.

Yet the bunker is allowed to rule on knock-ons.

It makes no sense at all.

Either they can rule that the ball travels forward, or they can’t.

It is especially frustrating that everyone watching in the stands or on TV can see exactly what has happened.

But the bunker can’t fix up the mess because the NRL football department wants to live in the stone age.

It still stuns me how Ashley Klein and his touchies missed this one.

Just imagine if that call ended up deciding a grand final or any one of the big games in the coming weeks?

‘EMBARRASSED’ BELLAMY WILL HAVE BRONCOS NERVOUS

If there is one positive to come out of the Storm’s pathetic second half collapse against the Roosters, it’s the guarantee Craig Bellamy will have them revved up to take on the Broncos in Thursday night’s blockbuster.

It was sad watching Bellamy talk about how “embarrassing” it was to have to get up and be acknowledged for his 600th coaching milestone in the wake of the 40-10 flogging.

In fairness to the Storm, they were missing plenty of their big guns including Harry Grant, Jahrome Hughes, Eli Katoa, Xavier Coates and Jack Howarth.

It’s probably no coincidence Mark Nawaqanitawase score his four tries down the Storm’s left edge where Coates usually defends.

You’d imagine the Storm players would have been just as disappointed as Bellamy that they let their coach down on what should have been such a special day for him and the club.

But it just might be the wake-up call they need heading into the finals.

Bellamy said Hughes is expected to play the Broncos, although Grant still has a game of his two-match shoulder charge ban to serve.

I still think the Storm will be a different team when they get back to full strength, and hopefully Bellamy doesn’t go overboard resting players for this one.

MARKY MARK V RABBITOHS’ RECORD BREAKER

How good will it be watching the Roosters’ man-of-the-moment Mark Nawaqanitawase go head-to-head with the Rabbitohs’ soon-to-be record breaker Alex Johnston on Friday night?

Even allowing for the Storm’s shocking left edge defence, Nawaqanitawase’s performance was just phenomenal.

He’s already as good to watch as any of the great wingers in today’s game, and remember this is his first full season since switching codes.

Meanwhile, Johnston need three more tries to overtake Ken Irvine’s all-time record.

This has the potential to be another Roosters-Rabbitohs final round classic if the Bunnies also get back Cam Murray and Latrell Mitchell from injury, along with Jack Wighton who returns from suspension.

ARE WE UNDERESTIMATING THE SHARKS?

I haven’t heard one expert say in recent times that Craig Fitzgibbon’s top four contenders are a legitimate premiership threat.

Yet the Sharks have now won six of their last seven games and go into Saturday’s clash against the Dogs on a high.

After a slow start against the Knights, Cronulla turned on a clinic to race away with a 40-16 win.

The Sharks now need to beat the Dogs and hope the Broncos go down to the Storm so they can claim fourth spot.

The Sharks will be sweating on Braydon Trindall playing after he suffered a foot injury that forced him out of Sunday’s game.

RAIDERS YOUNG GUN EMERGES AS DALLY M BOLTER

Why isn’t anyone talking about Ethan Strange as a bolter in the race for this year’s Dally M Medal?

While everyone has James Tedesco as good as home for the game’s most prestigious individual award, it’s worth pointing out that Strange hasn’t missed a game for the Raiders all season — and he’s been the standout for the minor premiers in the second half of the season.

A week after his miracle play to lay on the winning try for Kaeo Weekes in Mudgee to sink the Panthers in golden point, Strange came up with another classic moment in the Raiders’ history-making win over the Tigers.

You can only marvel at his toughness after watching Strange get up smiling after ricochetting off the deck when he copped that huge shot from Jeral Skelton that forced the Tigers’ winger from the field.

Then Strange capped off another blinder by scoring the match clincher.

Ricky Stuart would also have to be super proud of his young bloke Jed who has really proved himself at the NRL level.

While he might not appear as athletically gifted as some of the modern day wingers, you can see how well Stuart communicates in defence to help hold together the Raiders’ right edge.

And that try he scored just again showed how he never gives up on the play.

It was the same last week when Jed reacted to Nathan Cleary’s field goal rebounding off the posts before he threaded the hole for Strange.

EELS ON TARGET TO BE 2026’S BIG IMPROVERS

Parramatta fans must be thrilled with how the Eels are finishing off the season after back-to-back wins over the Roosters and Warriors.

It just shows why the Eels are on target to be 2026’s big improvers.

Mitchell Moses was once again tremendous, but it wasn’t just in attack.

His try-saving tackle on Chanel Harris-Tavita was a massive play.

And Isaiah Iongi has shown enough this year to say he’s going to be a great player for years to come, while Josh Addo-Carr has turned back the clock under Jason Ryles, and Jack Williams is another great buy.

It is so refreshing to see a team with no hope of playing finals save their best football to finish the season.

It just reinforces the influence Ryles is having on the club.