Cameron Ciraldo knew Bulldogs fans were special. In a London pub, he realised just how special

“That game was played on the last day before we flew home, and I’m glad we went,” Ciraldo says. “Just to experience that atmosphere in the pubs before the game. I started to get an idea of what it must be like being around our fans, and the energy they have. The energy that comes from Canterbury fans is probably the closest thing you will get to a Premier League game.

“It made me grateful. Everywhere you go now you tend to see a Bulldogs jersey. Fans will often come up to me or players or staff, and you can see how much emotion they have on their faces and in their eyes.

“They’re so proud of how we played last year, and they’re excited about the future.

“That’s nice for us, but our job hasn’t changed.”

Even diehard fans didn’t expect the Bulldogs to challenge for the NRL title last year. Most just wanted to see their western Sydney side improve on the 15th-place finished in Ciraldo’s first year at the helm in 2023.

But as the season went on, performances improved, expectations changed, and they finished sixth – their first finals appearance in eight years – claiming their share of big scalps along the way. There was a real energy at Belmore, and they were unlucky to lose to Manly in a week one elimination final thriller.

It wasn’t all plain sailing, however.

Josh Addo-Carr’s positive roadside drug test for cocaine on the eve of the finals, which led to him being sacked by the Bulldogs, undid some of the good work, but it was never a distraction, Ciraldo says.

“What I’ll say on that is it could have been a distraction, but our players didn’t let it be,” Ciraldo says. “I was proud of the way the players came to me and said, ‘This isn’t a distraction, we’ll be fine’, and way their performance proved that.”

Bulldogs fans are daring to dream in 2025, but with expectation comes extra pressure.

“Expectation is a funny thing,” Ciraldo says. “There’s expectation on every player and every team and every coach. It’s why we do what we do.

“Our only expectations are that we turn up to try and get better every day.

“We were really consistent last year. It’s not like we won a few games and went on a run to make the finals. We didn’t win every week, but we made sure we were always hard to beat.

“We’re not worried about outside noise.

“I’m striving to be a better coach, a better person and a better father every day. And that’s all I ask of the players, that they try to be better on and off the field every day.”

One thing the Bulldogs have lacked is someone to lead the forward pack, a powerhouse front-rower who has the opposition tossing and turning the night before a game.

Manly and North Queensland found it all too easy to roll through the middle in the final two rounds of the regular season.

The club obviously identified the position as an area of concern and chased Wests Tigers prop Stefano Utoikamanu and talked to Addin Fonua-Blake, before landing Newcastle aggressor Leo Thompson, who does not arrive until next year.

The perception is the Bulldogs’ pack is too small to challenge the NRL’s best teams. But when you ask Ciraldo about this, he just smiles.

“I actually think that’s a myth,” he says. “Max King and Sam Hughes are both over 110kg, Viliame Kikau isn’t small, and we have Sitili [Tupouniua] now, as well as Jacob Preston, and they aren’t small guys.

“We haven’t built a pack on smaller players – we’ve built a pack on their ability to do the job we demand and expect. I don’t care how big or small they are, as long as they are buying into our systems and culture.

“That day we were beaten by Manly [in round 26], we didn’t work together, and when you don’t do that, any team will roll through you.

“We’ve got a lot of younger forwards coming through. Our Jersey Flegg team has won the last two years and there will be kids knocking on the door. Jacob Preston came through two years ago, we had Harry Hayes and Bailey Haywood play last season, and you’ll see a few more again this year.”

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The leadership of Crichton, arguably the best centre in the game, was a definite highlight and Ciraldo said the three-time premiership winner at Penrith could be set for his best year yet.

“He’s got all his reps in this season, he got married and didn’t go away with the Samoan team, so that allowed him to have a full pre-season, which he hasn’t had in a few years … I think he will have every opportunity to have his best season yet,” Ciraldo says.

Toby Sexton is not the most fashionable halfback in the competition, but will be better again for spending a year in the spine with Matt Burton, Connor Tracey and Reed Mahoney.

Canterbury were linked to Ben Hunt, who met with the club, but never received an offer.

“And Toby knows that,” Ciraldo says.

Mitch Woods is another No.7 waiting in the wings, “but he’s also only 18, just finished school and someone I’m not going to talk about”.

Is a top-four finish realistic for the Bulldogs? Time will tell. But you can already feel the energy from their fans.