The Canterbury Bulldogs have officially signed Melbourne Storm forward Max King, while also being linked with South Sydney Rabbitohs outside back Braidon Burns.
It comes after general manager of football Phil Gould yesterday promised two new signings, "hopefully by the weekend" for the club to complete their roster for the 2022 season.
King's signature was confirmed by the club this morning. The 24-year-old spent time at the Gold Coast Titans before switching to the Storm, however, has struggled for regular game time.
The off-contract forward didn't make an appearance in 2021, and only played 12 games combined in 2019 and 2020, having originally played 38 games in two and a half years for the Titans. He has played exactly 50 NRL games.
Bulldogs' chief executive Aaron Warburton said King would be another valuable signing.
"We have worked really hard in recent months to find the right blend of players to take us to the next level in terms of performance, and we believe that Max will be a tremendous addition for us," Warburton said.
Having come to us from the Melbourne Storm, he will bring the sort of winning mentality that we are looking to create here at Belmore, and I know that he is excited to get a chance to remind everyone of his ability.
With the additions of Tevita Pangai Junior, Paul Vaughan, John Asiata and Josh Cook for next season, we believe that Max can add to the leadership within our forward pack."
The Bulldogs have been on a signing rampage as they look to elevate themselves away from the bottom of the table, with all of Matt Dufty, Josh Addo-Carr, Brent Naden, Matt Burton, Tevita Pangai Junior, Paul Vaughan, John Asiata and young South Sydney dummy half Joshua Cook signing with the club.
It had previously been thought the club may have used their final two spots on players yet to be re-signed or confirmed as departures in Christian Crichton and Ofahiki Ogden.
However, that now appears to have been tossed out the back window.
First reported yesterday after a flurry of Phil Gould tweets, Braidon Burns is set to join the club after struggling for consistent game time at the Rabbitohs this year.
Wide World of Sports' The Mole is now reporting Burns will make a decision after the grand final, despite only being in the extended squad for this week's clash with the Penrith Panthers.
