Josh Jackson’s retirement shocked a lot of people in rugby league — but none more so than new Bulldogs coach Cameron Ciraldo who learnt of the captain’s decision on his first day in charge.

Jackson became a part of the furniture in Belmore over his 11 seasons at the Dogs and was appointed captain in 2018 after James Graham left the club.

But with one year left on his contract he dropped a bombshell on Ciraldo, who has since revealed on Graham’s podcast The Bye Round how it all went down.

“It was grand final Sunday, then I spent Monday celebrating with the boys,” Ciraldo said.

“I woke up Tuesday and just thought I needed to get to Belmore and see what it’s like.

“I went in there and ‘Jacko’ was doing a 300kg hip thrust on the ground. I walked in and this guy was training in October!”

The pair went for coffee with Ciraldo thinking it was a good opportunity to chat about footy ahead of next season. But Jackson was on a completely different page.

“He just said, ‘Ciro, I’m sorry to drop this on you on your first day but I’m not going to play next year — my body has had enough’,” Ciraldo recalled.

“I was still a bit under the weather from celebrations the day before, and I was sitting there with the captain, and he was telling me that he didn’t want to play.

“I was a little bit in shock and didn’t know what to say.

“I sat there and talked to him for a bit, and it was clear he’d thought about it a lot. I said go away and sleep on it; come back to me in a few days when you’ve had time to digest it.

“And he came back again and said he was done.”

Not only had Ciraldo just started his very first head coaching gig, but he was going to have to do it without the club’s highly respected captain and veteran forward.

“I didn’t know how to handle it,” Ciraldo said of Jackson’s shock revelation.

“There are no textbooks I’ve read that says how to handle when your captain wants to retire early.”

“He was the player I rang while we were still playing and said, ‘if anyone wants to talk to me, you’ve got my number’, so I was excited to work with Jacko again.”

 

Jackson will still be around Belmore though having taken up a new role as a strength and condition coach with the club.

But Ciraldo revealed the “incredible” 31-year-old was willing to hang up the boots without a job on the table — although the Bulldogs were never going to let that happen.

“He did it without asking for a job on the staff or anything like that. He was happy to just walk away from the final year of his contract,” he said.

“That just shows the type of man he is — he’s incredible.

“We’re really grateful that he’s on our staff now and still has a part to play in the Bulldogs.

“I heard the work ethic that he had from people within the Bulldogs, and he’s brought that onto the staff. He’s the first one there and the last to leave.”

Ciraldo is now tasked with appointing a new captain, which he won’t settle on until the new year. He conceded Jackson’s retirement “has left a big void” but he’s hoping the entire squad will step up to try and fill it.

“We’re going to need everyone to be thinking like a leader if we are to be successful,” he said.

“We’re not going to be able to replace Josh Jackson, everyone is going to have to step up.

“There were probably a few guys there who knew Jacko was the leader, so sort of sat back and let him run things. But maybe this will bring them out of their shell now.”