Bulldogs coach Cameron Ciraldo wants more clarity over the NRL's rule changes ahead of next season. (Getty Images: Bradley Kanaris)
Canterbury Bulldogs coach Cameron Ciraldo wants the NRL to communicate rule changes for next season well in advance.
Ciraldo said he only learned his team will be subjected to a trial of new rule changes this weekend via an email.
Ciraldo's Bulldogs will wrap up their 2026 season with a clash against the Broncos on Thursday night at Stadium Australia.
Cameron Ciraldo wants rule changes for 2027 to be communicated to clubs well in advance of the season's start date as Canterbury prepares to become the latest crash-test dummies in trials for the NRL's kick-off experiment.
With the Bulldogs and Thursday's opponents Brisbane both out of finals contention, the NRL has again opted to stress-test changes to the kick-off rules, where teams conceding a try can opt to kick or receive from the restart.
The concept was widely panned by players in Melbourne's win over Brisbane, and Ciraldo claimed on Wednesday he only learned his team would be guinea pigs in their regular-season game via email.
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Ciraldo would have a right to feel aggrieved by the NRL's constant tinkering, given his side were firmly entrenched in the top four last year.
The Dogs slipped back in the pack when the NRL changed the six-again threshold from the 40-metre line to the 20-metre mark weeks out from the season starting.
Canterbury has righted the ship since officials have eased off on calling six-agains.
And while Ciraldo won't solely attribute his club's early-season form slump to the changes, he would prefer clearer communication so clubs can plan their conditioning and roster management accordingly.
"If you look at our form at the start of the year you can blame that, but I think there's a lot of factors that went into our results at the start of the year," Ciraldo said.
"We'll look to address those over the next few weeks.
The Bulldogs have corrected their form of late after referees eased off on the six-again calls. (Getty Images: Brendon Thorne )
