Canterbury forward Tevita Pangai believes Cameron Ciraldo has the potential to be the best coach in the NRL, likening the rookie boss to master mentor Wayne Bennett.
An assistant to Ivan Cleary during Penrith's back-to-back premiership seasons, Ciraldo's arrival at the Bulldogs came with hype that was unprecedented for a first-year coach.
His quest to restore the Dogs' former glory has yielded mixed results thus far, with wins against North Queensland, Melbourne and Wests Tigers undercut by a tough run of injuries.
Viliame Kikau, Josh Addo-Carr, Luke Thompson, Jacob Kiraz and Nu Brown are all members of Canterbury's best 17 when fit but face long-term lay-offs, while Franklin Pele, Chris Patolo and Bailey Biondi-Odo are among the rising stars sidelined.
The undermanned Bulldogs have conceded 80 points across their last two fixtures.
Pangai played his first game back from a persistent calf injury in last week's loss to Parramatta, providing them with a much-needed set of fresh legs amid their injury woes.
The forward knows Ciraldo better than most of his teammates; Pangai met his current coach during his adolescence, when Ciraldo played alongside his brother Mosese at Penrith.
The pair reunited after the Panthers signed Pangai on the run to the 2021 grand final.
"My three months at Penrith, we really got to know each other," Pangai told AAP.
"We had a good three months and I'm grateful to be working with him. He ran the defence there and I learned a lot from him.
"I love playing for 'Ciro'. It's a credit to the club for getting him here. They made the right decision."
The longstanding relationship has left Pangai without doubt Ciraldo was the man to tackle the Bulldogs' current predicament, likening the former Panther to the coach who handed him his NRL debut at Brisbane: Seven-time grand-final winner Bennett.
"He's honest, he's straightforward. He reminds me a bit of Wayne, he just tells you straight-up," Pangai said.
"He rides us hard, so that's the good thing.
"He's a good coach. He's the best coach in the comp and hopefully he shows that in his time here at the Dogs."
Pangai was pleased to get through his first hit-out of the season without once again tweaking his calf.
The 27-year-old had been primed to return earlier in the season before aggravating the injury ahead of Canterbury's pre-season trials.
"It was frustrating, before Christmas I was training well, but that's footy," he said.
"Where we are at the moment, there's no luck at the club but we're being gritty and competing."
