May 21, 2026 — 1:31pmCanterbury supremo Phil Gould has revealed Lachlan Galvin’s long-term future at the club is unlikely to be at halfback and insists the exits of Reed Mahoney and Toby Sexton from the club shortly after the playmaker’s arrival at Belmore were “coincidental”.Gould appeared on James Graham’s The Bye Round podcast on Thursday to discuss the state of the club, which has lost its last five games – a losing streak that could result in the Bulldogs missing the finals. One of the talking points was the decision to sign Galvin from Wests Tigers midway through last year, and the impact his arrival has had on results.“These things with Mahoney and Sexton were in the pipeline for some months before Galvin even became available,” Gould said.“The Galvin thing had nothing to instigate the Mahoney and Sexton decisions, I can tell you that emphatically.”The decision to replace Sexton with Galvin at halfback has polarised Bulldogs fans, with some believing both Galvin and Matt Burton are more suited to the No.6 jersey. Gould maintained Galvin was currently the best halfback option at the club, but that it was unlikely to be his long-term position.“People say, ‘Is he a halfback or not?’ Well, I don’t know any 20-year-old who is a first-grade halfback,” Gould said.Lachlan Galvin has polarised Bulldogs fans.Getty Images“I don’t think he’s a long-term halfback. I don’t think we ever had the intention of him being a long-term halfback …“Lachlan Galvin, he’s a very special individual and he’s a very special talent. But he’s a 20-year-old kid playing in a very, very important position. And you’ve got to consider Lachlan Galvin’s grounding coming into this.“Galvin, I don’t think I’ve ever seen this too often before, went from schoolboy football to NRL with the West Tigers. He didn’t play any SG Ball.“He didn’t play any Jersey Flegg. He didn’t play any NSW Cup. He finished a schoolboy season.“And the next thing he was playing NRL in first grade with the Tigers. So he’s obviously talented. He’s never had to run a football team as himself as seven.“And longer term, he’s probably not a seven, but he’s getting great experience at the moment. He’s learning the game really well. It’s wonderful for him.”Gould recently met with Warriors halfback Luke Metcalf, who subsequently signed with the Dragons, and Titans hooker Sam Verrills. Asked if the club was in the market for spine players, Gould said: “Well, I think in the longer term, yeah, absolutely.“We keep evaluating that. Primarily I’d like to develop them, I’d like them to come through the academy.”From our partners