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Bulldogs set to reward forward with new deal
SCOTT PRYDEEDITOR | SEPTEMBER 29, 2022 - 5:06PM
The Canterbury Bulldogs are reportedly set to extend the contract of second rower Jackson Topine.
Topine struggled to spend time in the first grade set up throughout the 2022 season, but is known to be highly-regarded at Belmore, where he spent most of the season playing reserve grade in the NSW Cup for a team who made the grand final.
Topine was ultimately voted to the NSW Cup team of the year at the end of the campaign, a well-deserved honour for a superb campaign where he was regularly banging down the door of first-grade, with his continued non-selection angering fans and baffling pundits.
According to The Daily Telegraph, his run of form is set to be rewarded with a new two-year deal that will see him tied to the blue and white until at least the end of 2024.
He has made a total of 11 first-grade appearances, with a total of three in the 2022 season, all between Rounds 20 and 22, however, he impressed in those limited encounters.
His time in NSW Cup this season saw him play 21 games including the finals series, scoring seven tries, making 119 metres per game and tackling at almost 97 per cent efficiency.
The 21-year-old will have more competition for minutes in the 2023 campaign despite his potential re-signing, with Viliame Kikau set to make the switch from the Penrith Panthers.
The Fijian back rower will almost certainly claim one of the starting spots alongside either Tevita Pangai Junior or Raymond Faitala-Mariner, with the likes of Matt Doorey, Corey Waddell and Topine to then battle for the remaining minutes in Cameron Ciraldo's side.
