It puts things in perspective when you realise Lachlan Galvin only turns 20 today.

Yet he already owns more media space than just about any other NRL player this season.

But hopefully the hype is about to finally die down because it looks like Cameron Ciraldo has given Galvin the perfect birthday gift.

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An opportunity for his career to develop as it should, and not under an intense spotlight that was just not necessary.

In no way is this a personal attack on Galvin who obviously has a huge career ahead of him.

But for weeks many fans and former players working in the media have been saying the same thing.

That Galvin is a luxury the Bulldogs can’t continue to carry on the bench if they are going to get fair dinkum about winning this year’s premiership.

For a while there it was like Ciraldo was ready to dig in his heels just to prove a point.

Even last week Ciraldo couldn’t help but take a pot-shot at critics when he labelled the scrutiny on Galvin “ridiculous”, while referring to the commentary on NRL talk shows as “reality TV”.

But Braith Anasta nailed it when he responded on 360: “I’m the biggest fan of Cameron Ciraldo but I can’t believe he’s shocked at the attention over this.

“What is going on? How are you shocked mate?

“Is he frazzled here? Can he keep it altogether going into the finals?

“Whether he wants to admit it or not, there’s a distraction.”

Maybe Ciraldo forgot that it was actually Phil Gould that kicked off the “ridiculous” hype surrounding Galvin when the Bulldogs general manager initially declared Galvin to be the best teenage footballer he’d ever seen when he was still at the Tigers.

But then came the weekend’s bombshell with Galvin’s demotion before the game against the Cowboys in Townsville.

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Now only injury should reopen the door in the Bulldogs’ charge to the finals.

What has gone on at the club since Galvin’s arrival has been hard to comprehend, even though the Bulldogs have wanted to deny it’s been a problem internally.

But the constant swapping and changing of positions to try and accommodate the mid-season recruit was clearly taking a toll on the rest of the team.

Yet after back-to-back losses, Ciraldo’s decision to drop Galvin before the Cowboys clash proved exactly the right call, as Ciraldo said himself after the game.

With inspirational skipper Stephen Crighton rested after the Origin decider, Reed Mahoney and Matt Burton took it open themselves to put the Bulldogs back on track in a hard-fought 12-8 win.

While Toby Sexton did what he had to do to keep hold of the No 7 jumper.

And as we stated in this column last week, the Bulldogs are already stacked with better utility options than Galvin with Bailey Hayward and Kurt Mann (who was also rested post Origin) more than comfortable playing in the halves, hooker and lock.

Jaeman Salmon was also recalled for the game against the Cowboys.

The Bulldogs now take on the Dragons this Saturday and there will be tremendous interest when the teams are named on Tuesday to see if Ciraldo continues to play with fire when it comes to carrying Galvin on the bench.

Surely, he has seen the light.

Even though the club has decided both Mahoney and Sexton will be moving on at the end of the season, it is time to start building for the finals this year.

Mahoney and Sexton have done more than enough to warrant their positions instead of having them constantly second-guessing their ongoing place in the team.

RYLES’ POWER PLAY A POSITIVE STEP FOR PARRA

Now to the weekend’s other bombshell.

Jason Ryles’ deserves praise for his brave decision to switch Dylan Brown from five-eighth to hooker, then take him out of the game, before bringing him back at lock in the 32-10 loss to the Panthers.

While the call has copped some criticism that it basically concedes the Eels have given up on this season, for mine it was one of the gutsier decisions we’ve seen at Parramatta for some time.

The easy thing for Ryles to do would have been to push forward playing Brown in the halves to keep Brown happy and worry about next year, next year.

But with Ryles conceding post-match “our future’s now, we want to get on with it’, he has made it crystal clear what his intentions are.

It shows that the rookie Eels coach is strong enough to make the big calls, and long term that can only be a good thing for a club who have probably allowed the players to have too much for too long.

With the Eels without a five-eighth for next year ahead of Brown’s pending move to the Knights on a 10-year deal worth $13m, it’s the perfect time to give young Joash Papalii a chance to show what he can do with the Eels already all but out of finals contention.

And if what Ryles said about Brown being “on board for it” is correct, then it’s also an insight into Brown’s character that he is prepared to do whatever is required of him without leaving a trail of bad blood in his wake.

Whether Ryles sticks with it for this round’s clash against the table topping Raiders on Saturday remains to be scene, although Ryles did indicate Papalii would get first shot at owning the No 6 jersey for the rest of this season.

WHAT PEOPLE FORGET WHEN CRITICISING NATHAN CLEARY’S ORIGIN RECORD

For all those writing off Nathan Cleary and saying he’s done his dash as the Blues’ chief playmaker going forward, they need to remember Cleary is still only 27.

So, despite all he has already achieved with his four premiership rings for the Panthers, his best footballing years are still ahead of him.

While I was one of the people who said going into the decider it was Cleary’s chance to conquer his final frontier, at no stage was that intended to be a criticism.

Rather, it was just pointing out the fact Cleary is yet to dominate Origin like he has in club land.

But it’s worth pointing out that Cleary is only now getting to the same age where Cooper Cronk came into his own as an Origin player.

It was only after the retirement of Darren Lockyer that Cronk become the regular Queensland starting halfback in his late 20s.

But Cleary showed yet again what a champion he is in the wake of the Blues’ Origin decider heartache.

After starting off the bench, Cleary was inspirational when he entered the game against the Eels.

That came after Cleary owned his below par performance last Wednesday night.

That win takes the Panthers to five straight heading into this round’s clash against the Rabbitohs.

It wasn’t so long ago the Panthers were sitting last on the ladder.

But they are now back in charge of their own destiny sitting in sixth spot.

You’d be crazy to underestimate their chances regardless of whether they finish top four or not.

WALKER’S RETURN PUTS BLOWTORCH ON DCE

Sam Walker’s return from injury in the Roosters’ win over the gutsy Dragons only further puts the blowtorch on Daly Cherry-Evans’ pending arrival.

With DCE still to announce where he’ll be playing next year, Walker did enough in his first game back after a season on the sidelines to show the 23-year-old is now at a point in his career where you’d think he wouldn’t want to spend next year playing second fiddle to Cherry-Evans.

While young Hugo Savala is just too talented to keep on the backburner.

With the Roosters in eighth spot, they take on the Sharks this round in what will be a big test for both sets of halves after Nicho Hynes’s starred in the 24-12 win over the Dolphins.

HUGHES MASTERCLASS SHOWS WHY STORM ARE TEAM TO BEAT

The performance of the round belonged to Jahrome Hughes.

With Cameron Munster rested after Origin and Ryan Papenhuyzen injured, Hughes turned on a masterclass with four try assists in the 32-14 win over the Knights.

Given how well Munster and Harry Grant finished the Origin series, you’d have to say the Storm now deserve to be the premiership favourites heading into the backend of the season.

NRL’S SLEEPING GIANTS NOW WIDE AWAKE

The NRL’s sleeping giants are well and truly awake after the Broncos made it five straight wins against the Titans.

It’s scary to think how good Broncos can be when they get it together.

While the 26-14 win was anything but clinical, it once again showed why they have so much improvement to come with the ease they put this game to bed.

While Reece Walsh and Kotoni Staggs delivered the highlights, Ben Hunt looked comfortable in his return playing dummy half, while off the bench Billy Walters continues to provide additional X-factor.

Michael Maguire also made a wise choice resting Payne Haas.

While history suggests it’s almost impossible to win the comp outside the top four, I reckon this year any team that finishes in the top eight must be considered a genuine chance.

You’d hate to be playing teams like the Broncos, Panthers and Roosters in sudden death, while sides like Manly, Cronulla and the Dolphins could upset anyone on any given day.