Cameron Ciraldo has batted away speculation about his halves combination as captain Stephen Crichton prepares to don the No.6 jersey again on his return from injury.
Crichton will play at five-eighth in the Bulldogs' crucial clash with the high-flying Warriors on Saturday, one week after replacement half Sean O'Sullivan produced a scintillating performance in his maiden 2026 start.
The stand-in No.6 kicked two pivotal 40/20s and combined beautifully with Lachlan Galvin to help steamroller Wests Tigers 32-0, prompting speculation he could retain the role.
Just two weeks after he was stretchered off the field with a nerve-related neck injury sustained against Canberra, Crichton will renew his fledgling partnership with Galvin while O'Sullivan goes back to the interchange bench for the Accor Stadium showdown.
On the eve of the match, Ciraldo confirmed his skipper was good to go.
"He's trained really well this week, plenty of reps, so looking forward to getting him back out there," he said.
A strong round-17 outing against Gold Coast at five-eighth emboldened Ciraldo in keeping regular centre Crichton in the halves despite O'Sullivan's impressive effort.
"Critta's the five (five-eighth), Lachie (Galvin) is a halfback, Lachie was the halfback last week," he said.
"It's not that confusing."
O'Sullivan has hinted he's keen prove himself a starting half after plugging gaps all over the field this season.
But Ciraldo held firm that the thinking around the utility's role had not changed.
"We've got six people on the bench this year, so no one's guaranteed (game time)," he said of O'Sullivan on Friday.
"He's (O'Sullivan) ready to go and he can cover a few positions as well."
The 10th-placed Bulldogs (8-9) are on for a nail-biting finals tilt after their romp against the Tigers - their third win in four games.
But they stare down a treacherous path to the post-season including fixtures against minor premiership favourites Penrith and the Sydney Roosters (third) along with the second-placed Warriors.
They will need to win one of their bouts against those top-three contenders - and best all four of their other opponents - to post the winning record usually required for a ticket to finals.
"I don't know where confidence is at to be honest," Ciraldo said.
"At the start of the year it was low, not having many things go our way.
"We've worked really hard in the last seven or eight weeks of training ... we're doing a lot of things right.
"Last week was a good step forward ... but we need to make sure we're really disciplined."
