Bronson Xerri has insisted he will see out his contract with Canterbury, and said that being dropped to reserve grade was โthe kick up the arse I needed.โ
Captain Stephen Crichtonโs shoulder injury paved the way for Xerri to return to the NRL side on Thursday night, and he was more than solid at left centre as the Dogs triumphed 32-16 over premiership favourites Penrith.
Xerri reportedly wanted out of the Bulldogs after being told he would be dropped leading into the round-three clash against Canberra. There were also suggestions Xerri was unhappy about being moved from his preferred left side of the field to the right over the summer, while the Dogs had already told him there was no appetite to resign him beyond 2027.
The 25-year-old admitted the past few weeks had been tough, but nothing compared to the four years he spent on the sidelines because of a performance-enhancing drug ban.
โItโs been tough,โ Xerri said. โI went home [after being dropped] and asked some hard questions about myself and came back.
โIโve been through something similar to this โ much worse, to be fair โ so I know how to handle these things. I just got a bit comfortable in myself. I wasnโt really giving it my all at training. So it was that kick up the arse I needed.
โWhen itโs all gone, you donโt realise what youโve got. When I was playing NSW Cup, I was like, โThis is not where I belong, this is not where I want to beโ. I came into training and just put my best foot forward.โ
Xerri praised coach Cameron Ciraldo for supporting him, and his teammates who made a point of checking in on his wellbeing.
When asked if he wanted out of the club, Xerri said: โIโm not going to say anything, sorry.
โWhatever was reported was out of my control. As long as the team and all the boys knew my intentions with everything.โ
As for playing on the left edge, Xerri said: โI definitely feel more natural there. But I am capable of doing the job on the right. Ciro has spoken about that. Wherever he wants to put me, Iโll play.โ
Ciraldo said of Xerriโs performance: โThe most pleasing thing, which no one would have seen, is how well he was communicating out there.โ
Xerri will get at least the next month to retain his spot, with Crichton battling a grade-five AC joint injury.
Despite Xerriโs presence on the left, the Bulldogs had plenty of joy utilising their right edge and unleashing Lachie Galvin and Jacob Preston against young Penrith pair Blaize Talagi and Casey McLean, who was hit with a one-match ban on Friday for his high shot on Max King.
It was reported on Friday King had suffered a broken jaw, but the front-rower showed tremendous courage to finish the game.
