Cameron Ciraldo believes that any rule modifications for 2027 should be communicated to clubs early, as Canterbury gears up to be part of the NRL's kick-off trials.
With both the Bulldogs and their opponents, Brisbane, out of finals contention, the league has decided to test kick-off rule changes again, allowing teams that concede a try to choose whether to kick or receive at the restart.
This idea faced criticism during Melbourne's match against Brisbane, and Ciraldo stated on Wednesday that he found out about his team's role in the trials from an email.
Given that his team was in the top four last year, Ciraldo has reason to be frustrated by the NRL's ongoing rule adjustments.
His team struggled as the league altered the six-again threshold from the 40-metre line to the 20-metre line just weeks before the season.
Canterbury has since improved as officials reduced the number of six-again calls.
While Ciraldo acknowledges various factors contributed to his team's early-season challenges, he advocates for better communication to help clubs manage their conditioning and roster effectively.
"If you look at the form at the start of the year you can blame that," Ciraldo remarked, "but I think there's a lot of factors that went into the results at the start of the year."
He added, "As the rules came back to what they were last year, we sort of found the rhythm a little bit more, and were able to get back to the style of footy."
Ciraldo expressed a desire for details on rule changes to be available before the pre-season, rather than during trial games.
He noted Canterbury had little opportunity to practice the new kick-off rules this week.
"I don't check my emails that often, so someone had to tell me," Ciraldo said.
Canterbury's matchup with Brisbane will mark the final game for Bronson Xerri (Melbourne) and Josh Curran (Perth) before they transition to new clubs in 2027.
Ciraldo acknowledged their important contributions to the Bulldogs and confirmed that Sean O'Sullivan has agreed to join Belmore for 2027, despite interest from the Super League.