Cameron Ciraldo (born 30 October 1984) is an Australian professional rugby league football coach who is the head coach of the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs in the NRL, and a former professional rugby league footballer. He is known as the defensive coach behind the Penrith Panthers back-to-back premierships in 2021 and 2022. He was previously the head coach of the Italy national team and an assistant coach of the Penrith Panthers in the National Rugby League. During his playing career, Ciraldo played for the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks, Newcastle Knights and the Penrith Panthers, all in the NRL, and was selected to represent Italy. He primarily played as a or . Early life Ciraldo was born in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia to parents Nick and Kelly Ciraldo. He is of Italian descent through his grandmother, who migrated from Italy as a child. He completed his schooling at Menai High School class of 2002. Playing career Ciraldo made his NRL debut for the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks on 5 August 2005 in their round 22 game against the Melbourne Storm at Endeavour Field. Ciraldo signed a two-year deal with Newcastle on 19 October 2007. On 23 March 2009, he broke his fibula in four places and dislocated his ankle while playing against Cronulla-Sutherland at Toyota Stadium. He was escorted from the field with his ankle rotated at approximately 90 degrees; the injury was described as "one of the most sickening injuries on a football field". On 10 September 2009, Ciraldo re-signed with Newcastle on a two-year deal. On 17 August 2011, Ciraldo signed a two-year deal with the Penrith Panthers. He played for the Windsor Wolves, Penrith's feeder team, in their 8-36 loss to the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks in the 2013 NSW Cup Grand Final on 6 October 2013. Ciraldo retired at the end of the 2013 NRL season. Representative career In October 2009, Ciraldo represented Italy in the Australian Mediterranean (Aus-Med) Shield at Marconi Stadium in Sydney, a tournament made up completely of Australian residents, such as Blake Austin, John Skandalis and Jarrod Sammut. Italy's match against Malta was Ciraldo's first time taking the field since breaking his leg in March 2009. Ciraldo was named in the Italian squad for the 2009 European Cup, also held in October, but was unable to attend due to scheduling conflicts. In April 2011, Ciraldo was named as vice-captain for Italy in their 2013 World Cup qualifying campaign in October