The Bulldogs’ end-of-year signing spree is about to hit overdrive with utility players Kurt Mann and Drew Hutchison agreeing to join the NRL strugglers.
Having already netted Stephen Crichton, Blake Taaffe, Jaeman Salmon and Bronson Xerri for next season, two of the most versatile players in the NRL are headed to Belmore to help lift Canterbury out of the NRL cellar.
According to club sources speaking on the condition of anonymity due to the confidential discussions, both Mann and Hutchison have accepted multi-year offers from Bulldogs general manager Phil Gould.
Canterbury are expected to make the signings official once their current clubs have finished their finals campaigns.
Mann’s Knights have won 10 games in a row to set up a semi-final showdown with the Warriors in Auckland on Saturday, while Hutchison was recalled to the Roosters team for their sudden death clash with the Storm on Friday night.
It continues the Bulldogs’ aggressive recruitment drive headlined by the capture of two-time premiership winner Crichton but focused on multi-position players coming out of successful NRL systems.
Both Taaffe and Salmon can fill a number of positions - the South Sydney star in the halves or fullback while Salmon is being lined up for a back row position but can also be used at five-eighth. The Bulldogs lamented a lack of squad depth during a miserable and injury-interrupted season.
Star forwards Viliame Kikau and Luke Thompson spent most of the year on the sidelines with long-term injuries as their season finished with a whimper.
Mann, 30, has been a key impact player for Newcastle during their late-season surge, logging significant minutes from the bench in a small forward role, and even deputising in the halves when Jackson Hastings went off with injury against the Raiders last week.
Hutchison has long been the Roosters’ Mr Fix-It under Trent Robinson, playing anywhere from the halves to hooker and even in the centres on a cut-price deal which has proved invaluable for the Tricolours.
But with the chance to secure a longer deal at the Bulldogs, the 28-year-old will move to his third NRL club after debuting with the Dragons.
The Bulldogs will add veteran prop and premiership winner Sio Siua Taukeiaho to their squad for next season and remain in the hunt for another prop, with Tigers workhorse Alex Twal a potential option.
The Tigers have told one of their longest-serving players he’s free to take up a longer-term deal at a rival club.
The Mann and Hutchison signings come at a turbulent time for the Bulldogs, with teenager Paul Alamoti (Penrith) joining Jake Averillo (Dolphins), Kyle Flanagan (Dragons) and Jayden Okunbor (Hull) in leaving the club.
Thompson won’t be re-signed for 2024 and Tevita Pangai jnr has spurned $750,000 in the final year of his NRL deal to pursue a boxing career.
Club captain Ray Faitala-Mariner has also been given the green light to find a new home despite still having two years left to run on his contract.
Cameron Ciraldo’s side only finished above the Dragons and Tigers on the NRL ladder this season, but had the worst points differential in the competition.
Having already netted Stephen Crichton, Blake Taaffe, Jaeman Salmon and Bronson Xerri for next season, two of the most versatile players in the NRL are headed to Belmore to help lift Canterbury out of the NRL cellar.
According to club sources speaking on the condition of anonymity due to the confidential discussions, both Mann and Hutchison have accepted multi-year offers from Bulldogs general manager Phil Gould.
Canterbury are expected to make the signings official once their current clubs have finished their finals campaigns.
Mann’s Knights have won 10 games in a row to set up a semi-final showdown with the Warriors in Auckland on Saturday, while Hutchison was recalled to the Roosters team for their sudden death clash with the Storm on Friday night.
It continues the Bulldogs’ aggressive recruitment drive headlined by the capture of two-time premiership winner Crichton but focused on multi-position players coming out of successful NRL systems.
Both Taaffe and Salmon can fill a number of positions - the South Sydney star in the halves or fullback while Salmon is being lined up for a back row position but can also be used at five-eighth. The Bulldogs lamented a lack of squad depth during a miserable and injury-interrupted season.
Star forwards Viliame Kikau and Luke Thompson spent most of the year on the sidelines with long-term injuries as their season finished with a whimper.
Mann, 30, has been a key impact player for Newcastle during their late-season surge, logging significant minutes from the bench in a small forward role, and even deputising in the halves when Jackson Hastings went off with injury against the Raiders last week.
Hutchison has long been the Roosters’ Mr Fix-It under Trent Robinson, playing anywhere from the halves to hooker and even in the centres on a cut-price deal which has proved invaluable for the Tricolours.
But with the chance to secure a longer deal at the Bulldogs, the 28-year-old will move to his third NRL club after debuting with the Dragons.
The Bulldogs will add veteran prop and premiership winner Sio Siua Taukeiaho to their squad for next season and remain in the hunt for another prop, with Tigers workhorse Alex Twal a potential option.
The Tigers have told one of their longest-serving players he’s free to take up a longer-term deal at a rival club.
The Mann and Hutchison signings come at a turbulent time for the Bulldogs, with teenager Paul Alamoti (Penrith) joining Jake Averillo (Dolphins), Kyle Flanagan (Dragons) and Jayden Okunbor (Hull) in leaving the club.
Thompson won’t be re-signed for 2024 and Tevita Pangai jnr has spurned $750,000 in the final year of his NRL deal to pursue a boxing career.
Club captain Ray Faitala-Mariner has also been given the green light to find a new home despite still having two years left to run on his contract.
Cameron Ciraldo’s side only finished above the Dragons and Tigers on the NRL ladder this season, but had the worst points differential in the competition.
