{"id":495653,"date":"2026-03-16T05:15:21","date_gmt":"2026-03-16T06:15:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=495653"},"modified":"2026-03-16T22:25:35","modified_gmt":"2026-03-16T22:25:35","slug":"one-point-dogs-great-cant-cop-amid-xerris-saga","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=495653","title":{"rendered":"One point Dogs great 'can't cop' amid Xerri's saga"},"content":{"rendered":"

Former Bulldog<\/a> Josh Morris \ufeffhas urged Bronson Xerri<\/a> to "show some resilience" as his future at the club hangs in the balance.<\/p>\n

Xerri is set to be dropped to NSW Cup with reports emerging that demotion has led to his unhappiness at the club.<\/p>\n

Morris believes Xerri needs to fight harder to regain his spot and not agitate for a release amid rumours he's also unhappy about being moved from the left side of the field to the right.\ufeff<\/p>\n

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"The Bulldogs gave him gave him the shot when no one else wanted to and Bulldogs fans don't forget that either," he said on 2GB's The Offload<\/em>.<\/p>\n

"He had four years out of the game, like you would have thought he would have built up a bit of resilience, having to play a different side of the field and cracking the shits about it. I don't get that there's no resilience there.<\/p>\n

\"Josh<\/p>\n

"And if you did get dropped to reserve grade, well then show some resilience, put in good performances and get back in the team. Like I just think these days players just expect to be first graders. And if you're not, you're still a professional athlete. If you get dropped, don't kick stones. The jersey isn't yours … you have to perform. And if Cameron Ciraldo doesn't think he's performed well, then that's fair enough.<\/p>\n

"Too often we see players get dropped and then straight away they're not happy. They speak to their managers, they agitate for a release. And I just can't cop that, I really can't."<\/p>\n

Morris' comments come after NRL legend Billy Slater<\/a> conceded \ufeffthere may be 'smoke to the fire' surrounding Xerri.<\/p>\n

The reports around Xerri prompted a swift meeting with \ufeffclub boss Phil Gould<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Both parties have appeared to hash out any issues<\/a>, with the star centre's manager confirming they had not asked to quit the club early and he would go back to NSW Cup.<\/p>\n

\ufeff"I think it's in Bronson's best interest; he needs to react positively," acting agent George Christodoulou told The Sydney Morning Herald<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

"To be an elite NRL player, you can't kick stones. I don't want to offer a soft option out for the kid. He needs to put his best foot forward and focus on his game.<\/p>\n

"It's not the right option to be trying to find an exit. As it is now, he'll just be playing on and trying to find his way back into first grade."<\/p>\n

Xerri has scored 19 tries in 44 games for the Bulldogs since returning to the NRL in 2024 after a lengthy drug suspension. \ufeff<\/p>\n

He played in the side's Las Vegas season opener against the Dragons, but will be axed heading into round three in favour of Enari Tuala.<\/p>\n

\ufeffSlater has backed Xerri to turn things around, but admitted there could be more to the story than what has unfolded since round one.<\/p>\n

"I'm always reluctant to talk about these rumours, because you don't know what's true and what's not true – but the one thing you can be assured of is, where there's smoke there's fire and there's something going on," he said on Nine's The Billy Slater Podcast.<\/em><\/p>\n

"You don't know what to believe, because Gus has come out and said there's nothing been said about a release \u2026 but there's obviously a player that's a little bit unhappy.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

"Cameron Ciraldo is obviously unhappy with some parts of his game and he's been put back there to go and work on that.<\/p>\n

"Sometimes you've just got to bite down and say 'I'm just gonna work hard'. I'm not a big fan of one minor setback and asking for a release, wanting to change your environment.<\/p>\n

"At the same time, I don't know the full situation. From the outside looking in and putting together the things we know and rumours that we hear, that's what it looks like.<\/p>\n

"This is out of the blue – but if it was me, I'd be biting down and wanting to prove to you that I deserve that position."\u00a0<\/p>\n

Despite the denials from Gould and Xerri's camp about an early exit, the rumour mill has continued to go into overdrive, with the Panthers caught in the crossfire.<\/p>\n

Watch the 2026 NRL season live and free on Nine and<\/strong><\/em> 9Now<\/strong><\/em><\/a>.\ufeff<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Izack Tago – who has been left out of Penrith's side for the first two games – had been linked as a potential player swap option for Xerri.<\/p>\n

However, in a blunt response, Ivan Cleary<\/a> \ufeffclaimed someone is "telling porky pies"<\/a> and shut down any suggestion of Tago being forced out of the club for Xerri.<\/p>\n

"I did hear about that – someone's lying," he told media on Monday morning.<\/p>\n

"We love him [Tago] and someone has made up a lie there. It's good for you guys, you get to run with it \u2026 but someone is telling porky pies.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

"All he can do at the moment is train. I mentioned after round one, his preparation was a little bit compromised due to situations that weren't his fault.<\/p>\n

"That was a little unfortunate for him, but that's the way it is at the moment.<\/p>\n

"We've got all the faith in the world in Tags, he's kept his head up and trained really hard and each week, he's a chance to get on the field anyway."<\/p>\n

Xerri's future will likely remain a talking point, even with Penrith out of the equation as a destination should things not turn around at Belmore.<\/p>\n

Aaron Woods<\/a> believes the 25-year-old would be best served focusing on his game, pointing out a similar situation with one of the game's best modern-day centres.<\/p>\n

"Bloody hell, drama at the Dogs and they've just started the season really well," he said on Triple M's Breakfast With Beau, Kat and Woodsy<\/em>.<\/p>\n

"There was news on Saturday night that Bronson Xerri had asked for an immediate release, which absolutely came out of nowhere. There's a lot of talk and innuendo that it could be a swap for Izack Tago at Penrith, who can't get a start at the moment.<\/p>\n

\"Izack<\/p>\n

"If I'm in this situation and get dropped, you've just got to work hard to get back in and I don't know why you're asking for an immediate release straight away – it's round two.<\/p>\n

"I remember when Jim Dymock took over at the Bulldogs, he dropped Josh Morris who had played Origin. He came back three weeks later, killed the back-half of the season and made the Australian side.<\/p>\n

"Sometimes players just need a little bit of a nudge when they're cruising, go back to reserve grade and work on your trade and get the fire back in the belly.<\/p>\n

"No one is guaranteed a start in first grade, that jersey is not yours – it's the club's and you're just wearing it."<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Former Bulldog Josh Morris \ufeffhas urged Bronson Xerri to "show some resilience" as his future at the club hangs in the balance. Xerri is set […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":495655,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/495653"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=495653"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/495653\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":495661,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/495653\/revisions\/495661"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/495655"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=495653"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=495653"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=495653"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}