Bulldogs coach Cameron Ciraldo called halfback Lachlan Galvin’s match winning try assist against the Dragons one of the bravest passes he has ever seen.

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In his first game as a No.7 in the NRL, Galvin had 63 run metres, a linebreak assist, a try and the match winning try assist for Jethro Rinakama’s 78th minute try in the 20-18 victory over the Dragons.

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Ciraldo was proud of Galvin for trusting his instincts and being brave and bold enough to throw the cut-out pass that sealed the result.

“Yeah, pretty happy with it, it was a good pass,” Ciraldo said.

“20 year-old to a 19 year-old, those two are special kids. They’ve got big futures ahead of them.

“But to come out tonight, I thought Lachy did some really good things. I thought he helped us get off to a really good start with the way he was moving the ball and activating guys on the outside.

“And to make that play at the end, it’s possibly one of the bravest passes I’ve seen.

“We all know he’s had pressure on him and I can’t wrap him enough for how well he’s handled it.

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“But to trust his instincts and trust himself to make that play just shows everyone probably what we’ve been seeing at training for the last six weeks.”

Ciraldo’s main emotion after the try assist was joy for Galvin, who has copped a lot of criticism this season since switching from the Tigers.

“Really happy for him and just so stoked that he just trusted in it and just played what he saw,” Ciraldo said.

Ciraldo backed Galvin to be his halfback going forward even before his last crucial pass.

“Yeah, I’ve got to say, even before that last pass, I’d seen enough that I’d seen a lot of what I liked or what we wanted to see,” Ciraldo said.

“So whether he makes that pass or not, there was a lot in his game that I liked tonight. A lot in our team’s game that I liked tonight and then some areas we can really do a lot better in.”

Despite the win, Ciraldo doubts Galvin has silenced the doubters, but he isn’t worried about critics and hopes his halfback is the same.

“I don’t know if you’re ever going to do that and I’m not worried about that,” Ciraldo said.

“And hopefully he’s not either. I’m just really happy we got the win tonight. We started off great.

“I thought our first half was really good. We were really disciplined and played some good footy.

A couple of square-up penalties after half-time, which changed the whole momentum of the game and we lost a fair bit of possession and energy there.

“But to come back, fight back and then win it at the end, I’m really proud of that.”

Bulldogs skipper Stephen Crichton echoed his coach’s sentiments on Galvin’s clutch performance.

“Basically what coach just said there, he’s been copping a lot ever since he’s come to the club,” Crichton said.

“So we see in our four walls what he does at training and just for him to trust that and in the biggest moment, he put that pressure on himself. If the pass happens, which it did, that’s what he does at training as well.

“So even if it didn’t, we’ll be back him anyway, but just the confidence that he had to throw that pass just shows the type of player he is and we’re happy that he’s at our club too.”