MARK ‘SPUDD’ CARROLL: Lachlan Galvin signing has derailed Canterbury’s shot at NRL title

I am convinced more than ever Canterbury won’t win the 2025 premiership.

And it’s all because I can’t get one game out of my mind.

Back in round 17, the Dogs pushed premiers Penrith all the way before going down 8-6.

They didn’t get the two points but it was almost as good as a win.

It was the best I’ve seen them play for years.

This was finals come early and the blue and whites stood up and gave as good as they got.

But somewhere along the line they have lost that grit, intensity and fluency.

They don’t quite look the same side.

Lachlan Galvin’s mid-season arrival has complicated things and is one of the main reasons why the Dogs won’t be lifting the Provan-Summons trophy on October 5.

I feel for the young bloke.

He moved from the Tigers to the Dogs amid a blaze of headlines mid-season and it’s been anything but a comfortable transition.

After playing with great fluidity when Toby Sexton was wearing the No.7, Canterbury has had to change things to accommodate Galvin’s arrival.

And while there have been occasional flashes of brilliance, things have looked a touch clunky more often than not.

Against a Penrith club that fielded a NSW Cup-quality team on Thursday night, Galvin looked rushed and bothered when the defence was up in his face.

At least three of his passes went to ground as panic got the better of him.

I know the Dogs eventually got their act together and cleared out for the win, but it was hardly impressive.

The Panthers would have gained more confidence from their performance than Canterbury did from theirs.

Galvin has played in some big games during his short stint in first grade, but he won’t know what’s hit him once the finals roll around.

Intensity levels rise up to 11 on the old Spinal Tap meter, with defensive line speeds just that touch quicker than you see in the regular season.

If he’s reading this column, I’d suggest Galvin play a foot deeper to negate this rushing defence.

That’s what some of the great playmakers did just to give them that little bit extra time.

Sometimes you’d need a telescope to see where the magician, Cliffy Lyons, positioned himself.

Young Galvin could also do with more help from his forwards to ensure the opposition’s not in his grill for 80 minutes.

But I see that as another problem area for the Dogs.

Their forwards are tough and agile and swarm you in defence, but I don’t see them punching big holes in the defence when in possession.

There is no Payne Haas, Lindsay Collins, Addin Fonua-Blake, Josh Papalii or Spencer Leniu among them.

Those blokes live on raw meat. If they walked down the street, you’d cross to the other side of the road to avoid contact.

The Dogs’ pack has plenty of ticker but it lacks size and menace and a bit of x-factor.

In those big end of season games, I just don’t know whether they’ve got the necessary firepower to go the distance.

Yes, the Bulldogs have comfortably secured a top four spot and the double chance that goes with it.

But I fear they may go out in straight sets.

AND DON’T GET ME STARTED

We have seen some wonderful players make the transition from rugby union to league over a long period of time.

During my playing career, there were the likes of Michael O’Connor, Matthew Ridge, Craig Innes, Brad Thorn and Ricky Stuart.

They’d all played rugby at the top level before excelling in the 13-man game.

Before then, Russell Fairfax, Ray Price, Rex Mossop, Dick Thornett and dozens like them successfully made the jump.

And, of course, Dally Messenger kicked things off by switching codes in 1908 and helping launch rugby league in Australia.

But I reckon we might just be witnessing the emergence of the best convert of the lot, at least as far as backline players go.

The Roosters’ Mark Nawaqanitawase is something else.

Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii is a very good footballer but rugby league got the best out of the deal when he and Mark Nawaqanitawase traded places.

This guy should be in a circus. He’s got it all.

He steps off both feet, he kicks left-footed and right-footed, he swallows bombs like a seagull catching a chip, eats up the metres in hard carries, possesses a wicked flick pass and hits like a Mack truck in defence.

He’s scored an astonishing 21 tries in 22 games, some of which will stay on NRL highlights reels for generations.

The great Gus Gould has seen hundreds of quality footballers in his time.

But he is clearly blown away by Marky Mark.

“You can’t keep doing this stuff and making it look as he easy as he does,” Gould said in commentary on Friday night as Nawaqanitawase put four tries on the Storm.

“He just keeps doing it. Once is a highlight but twice is freakish.

“I don’t know where we go with him.”

I know where we go with him, Gus.

To England.

As a proud member of the “Kangaroo representative before Origin debut club”, I’m declaring Nawaqanitawase will be our newest entrant when Australia takes on England in the Ashes later this year.

The deeper the Roosters go in this comp, the more irresistible his case will become.

Can you imagine him on one wing and Xavier Coates on the other?

The poor old Poms won’t know what’s hit them.