Lachlan Galvin is facing a baptism of fire as he gears up to face his old club, but he wouldn’t be there had it not been for a “big call” which could define the Bulldogs’ season.

Think back to 2019 at Melbourne Storm. Jahrome Hughes had featured at fullback for the majority of the season, with Brodie Croft pulling the strings in the No.7 jersey.

On the eve of the finals, Craig Bellamy swung the axe, dropping Croft and shifting Hughes into the halves.

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The Storm came desperately close to a grand final appearance — and Canterbury-Bankstown will be hopeful of going one better his year after a call of equal measure.

Toby Sexton had led the Bulldogs to the top of the table before Cameron Ciraldo decided Galvin was the man to lead this side to glory.

A brave decision, and one that is already paying dividends according to club legend Michael Ennis.

“There’d been a lot of raps. Brodie (Croft) was sort of that next Cooper Cronk, and it was a big call,” Ennis told foxsports.com.au.

“It was close to the finals and you felt, boy, that’s going to have to work. That’s a big call. Look where Jahrome is now.

“Those good coaches have got to make tough decisions but at the same time, (you’ve) got to back yourself and back your feel.

“Cameron has been there now for a couple of seasons, knows what he wants his footy side to look like.

“Knows probably where they needed to find those small improvements. They were sitting at the top of the competition but maybe he felt … when it got to finals they needed something different.

“Lachie brings that.”

Galvin’s injection at halfback sparked the Bulldogs’ attack, which Ciraldo considered to be lacking potency.

Prior to Round 20, Canterbury managed only 12 points against the Cowboys before going down to the Broncos 22-18.

The week before they managed six against reigning premiers Penrith. Just 36 points in three games.

Now, 62 points across Galvin’s two appearances have vindicated Ciraldo’s call, beating the Dragons in a tight affair before blowing the Sea Eagles out of the water.

“For Lachie, it was a big change. Canterbury got Lachie I think earlier than they probably expected,” Ennis said.

“To Cameron’s credit, he has made some brave calls. He backed him as tough as it is, and there’s not a person in the game that doesn’t feel for Toby Sexton.

“Given he was playing decent footy and he’d got them to the top of the ladder. But sometimes as a coach, you’ve got to make those tough decisions.

“If you’re feel you’re at that point that you can get to with the squad, and you’ve got an opportunity to bring someone in that makes the team better and can get you to change gears and find that next level, that’s what he felt clearly he had with Lachie.

“These last two weeks have been great. Given he’s been there for six or eight weeks, he’s a great talent.”

But now, the 20-year-old faces his biggest test.

There’s been non-stop noise, media spotlight and expectation heaped on the shoulders of a player with only 37 NRL games under his belt.

Taking the field against his former club and teammates shapes as a new and unique situation for a player barely out of high school.

Galvin was released by the Tigers after a six-week saga that included claims of bullying, Benji Marshall’s coaching credentials coming under fire and an immediate switch.

On the evidence presented, the rising star has always risen to the challenge at hand, according to Ennis, who believes nothing will change on Sunday.

“It will be really interesting to find out (how he is feeling) because he is coming off an incredibly high. They were brilliant against Manly,” Ennis said.

“His first real big stage, big opportunity in the new colours and obviously an important day for the club, celebrating the 95 premiership winning side.

“Big crowd at Allianz Stadium where the finals series will be apart of. I thought he handled that terrifically well. He’s probably full of confidence enjoying that win.

“Then in a matter of seconds, all of a sudden his attention turns to who he will be playing next, and all right, it’s the Tigers.

“The groundswell of media starts to build in the background. I think he’s handled himself incredibly well throughout the whole process and I think it’ll be a game he’s really looking forward to.

“The Tigers are going to be desperation, so they’re going to be up emotionally because they are not where they want to be.

“They went on a big recruitment drive where they attracted premiership winners to try and get themselves away from the wooden spoons they’ve attracted the last couple of seasons.

“Whilst there’s been improvement under Benji, they’re not where they want to be.”

Tigers halfback Jarome Luai was one of the most vocal figures when it came to Galvin’s messy exit, and he took to social media with a swipe on Instagram which read ‘Team First’.

Luai said there “wasn’t any beef” between the pair and he wasn’t buying into the Galvin versus Tigers storyline.

“It’s not about Lachie, it’s not about the Dogs. It’s about us,” Luai said.

“That’s a story everyone wants to talk about. For us here inside our four walls, it’s about us and how we perform on game day.

“Coming off the back of a loss, my main focus as a player is how I prepare throughout the week and ultimately, how I’m gonna perform. It’s all about me and my team.”

He also confirmed that he and Galvin haven’t spoken since the young gun departed, but did expect the fans to give him a noisy reception once he runs out in front of the Tigers faithful.

“I’ve been on the receiving end (of boos) many times,” Luai said.

“For me it’s fun. You know, that’s the game of rugby league. It’s a fan-driven game, you know, so you’ve got to expect that. Good luck to Lachie.”

That hostility is set to ignite a fierce battle, according to Ennis.

“Very rarely in the modern game do we see players come to blows or there’s no fighting in anything like that,” Ennis said.

“The game’s changed in that regard, but there’s still the hostilities, and the game has great tribalism, it just takes something like Galvin leaving the Tigers to come to the Bulldogs.

“Everything that sort of surfaced at that point in time around, you know, the leaders and the Instagram posts and all that stuff adds to that tribalism and that theatre around Galvin.

“There’s no doubt that we’ll see those emotions both in the stands through the fans and also on the field

“I think that battle between Luai and Galvin will be an absolute ripper on Sunday.”

While Luai explained his focus is purely on his side ahead of Sunday’s clash, Ennis was certain he will be desperate to one-up the player who jumped ship.

“He loves it, Jarome. He loves the battle and that’s what has made him great for so long. He’s an incredibly competitor,” Ennis explained.

“Four premierships, won an Origin series. He’s been up in the face of the opposition and it’s hard not to love what he brings to a footy side.

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