Paul Crawley: Ciraldo’s Tigers snub exposes stunning sliding doors moment; Eels’ $1.3m fury

Here’s a hypothetical for Wests Tigers fans to ponder when basking in the Bulldogs’ debacle that just goes from bad to worse:

If the Tigers had their time over, would they still want their club to chase Cameron Ciraldo ahead of Benji Marshall like they did four years ago?

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Talk about a sliding doors moment.

Even a year ago the careers of Ciraldo and Marshall were heading in completely different directions until Lachlan Galvin became the meat in the sandwich.

Back then Ciraldo was seen as the game’s next super coach.

And Benji was a former champion player considered completely out of his depth in the wake of Galvin’s controversial exit.

But fast forward 12 months and the script has been completely flipped.

Suddenly it’s Ciraldo, not Benji, under the blowtorch.

The Tigers head into Sunday’s game against the Panthers sitting 10th on the ladder _ and somewhat still in control their own finals destiny after beating the Bulldogs last weekend.

Meanwhile, Ciraldo’s Dogs _ top of the table this time last year when Galvin arrived _ are now 14th and fighting to save their season when they take on Parramatta on Monday.

The irony is impossible to ignore.

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If Galvin’s departure was damaging to Benji’s reputation at the time, what has happened since has been the ultimate response.

And to put it in further perspective, remember that when the Tigers were looking for a replacement for Michael Maguire, they also chased Ciraldo relentlessly.

First up they offered him a staggering five-year deal to take on his first head coaching gig.

And when Ciraldo knocked them back, the Tigers went after him again.

But Ciraldo didn’t want a bar of it _ deciding to stay at the Panthers as an assistant under Ivan Cleary until the right opportunity presented itself.

Then Gus Gould came knocking.

Everyone then expected the story would only end one way following Galvin’s arrival.

But the Tigers haven’t fallen apart.

Instead, Benji has somehow brought his squad closer together despite the attacks on his reputation, with camaraderie we haven’t seen at the Tigers since Tim Sheens was in charge for his first stint, when Benji was himself the game’s next big thing.

Yet you compare that to the Dogs where pressure is mounting on everyone by the week, not least of all Ciraldo, Galvin and Gould.

Last weekend’s loss to the Tigers only intensified the scrutiny.

And while no one likes to see a 20-year-old relentlessly booed every time he touches the ball, it is also difficult to be overly critical of Tigers fans given the circumstances surrounding Galvin’s departure last year.

Yet for mine even more concerning was the decision from his own skipper Stephen Crichton to knock back the captain’s challenge after Gavlin had appealed for the stripped ball.

It got worse when the on-field audio was revealed on NRL 360 during the week that highlighted how the Tigers players had sledged their former teammate: “Lachie, he doesn’t trust you.”

You can only imagine the embarrassment that would have had on Galvin on the back of the constant boos he’d copped all game.

Then came Ciraldo’s post-match media conference where he ripped into the match officials over a number of contentious decisions that most considered 50/50 calls at worst.

It just looked like another obvious attempt from an under-fire coach to try and divert attention away from the real story.

And yet what it revealed was a coach who was also struggling to handle the scrutiny that has come with arguably the most controversial player swap of the modern era.

Meanwhile, Marshall has never looked more comfortable as his coaching stocks continue to rise as players like Terrell May re-sign and publicly declare they want to align themselves with Benji.

The way Benji has handled himself throughout this has only enhanced his reputation.

As for Galvin, if only he could have his time over, maybe he would have made different choices.

Or perhaps those people advising him should be the ones looking in the mirror.

Ditto Ciraldo and Gus.

Not that you expect they would ever admit to that.

It’s probably easier to just blame the refs.

NSW RIVAL REECE SHOULD LOOK TO FOR MOTIVATION

It was good to hear Reece Walsh admit this week that he hasn’t been playing to the standards required to wear the Queensland jersey.

Now comes the hard part.

Doing something about it.

The Broncos desperately need Walsh to rediscover his best against the Titans this weekend because if they don’t, the season will be effectively done by the first weekend of June.

What is puzzling is why it always seems to take the Broncos getting to this point before they want to roll up their sleeves.

It was the same story last year.

Brisbane lost four straight and looked gone before suddenly hitting the go button and charging all the way to a premiership.

The point I want to make here is that Walsh could do worse than study one of his fullback rivals, Dylan Edwards.

Not because Edwards possesses Walsh’s natural talent.

But because Edwards has mastered the art of just going out and working his absolute butt off every game, every carry and every tackle.

And watching Edwards against the Warriors last weekend was a reminder of why he has become one of the most respected players of his generation.

Because there were no miracle plays that came because of his God given flair_ it was just his relentless work ethic that made its own luck.

He just looked like a player determined to prove that he belonged back in the Origin arena _ even though Edwards would have also known that he was absolutely no chance of getting the NSW fullback spot back from James Tedesco.

But that still didn’t stop Edwards going out and making a statement for the hell of it.

We all know that Walsh has all the talent in the world.

What he needs to show now is the hunger and consistency that Edwards delivers every single game.

$1.3 MILLION REASONS PARRA FANS CAN BE FILTHY ABOUT MOSES’ ORIGIN CALL UP

Here’s $1.3 million reasons why Parramatta fans have every right to be filthy about the potential call up of Mitchell Moses for NSW in State of Origin II.

Not because anyone doubts Moses’ ability.

But because the Moses situation has the potential to blow up not only on the Blues, but the Eels as well.

When Moses was initially ruled out of Origin I, we were told the hamstring issue was only minor.

In fact, it was described as touch-and-go whether he would play against Newcastle last weekend.

But a week on and Moses is still unavailable for Monday’s clash against the Bulldogs.

Yet he is still being considered for Origin where it is expected, if he is fit to play, it will mean him getting rushed straight back into the starting team at Ethan Strange’s expense.

To borrow a line from the great John McEnroe, you cannot be serious!

Because it will also mean Moses would enter the game in Melbourne having not played for 31 days.

That is a huge gamble.

Particularly when hamstring injuries have a habit of reoccurring at the worst possible moment.

But the even bigger issue for mine is if the injury does reoccur, what will it mean for the club who pays Moses’ salary of a reported $1.3 million-a-season.

It makes him the equal highest paid player in the league.

The Eels may be sitting 15th on the ladder, but their season isn’t over yet.

And Moses is their most important player by a country mile.

But the reality is he played only 11 games last season _ and just eight the year before that.

Again, no one is questioning his value to NSW.

But if Moses breaks down again during Origin, it won’t just hurt the Blues.

It could severely damage Parra’s hopes of finishing the season strongly.

And we are already hearing speculation that Jason Ryles needs a good finish to the season to keep the hounds from his door.

This is one of those decisions that has the potential to blow up in everyone’s face.