St George fullback Matt Dufty will join Canterbury in 2022.
Fox League reporter James Hooper broke the news during live coverage of the Bulldogs clash against the Sydney Roosters, confirming the in-demand fullback will switch alliances in 2022 and the Bulldogs confirmed the news Sunday morning.
✍️ Matt Dufty will join the Pack in 2022.
— Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs (@NRL_Bulldogs) July 11, 2021
In a statement on the club's website, Bulldogs Chief Executive Aaron Warburton said the club is excited about what Dufty can bring in 2022.
”Everyone knows what an exciting player Matt Dufty is and his record of scoring 44 tries in 79 matches is testimony to the attacking flair that he brings.
He is quick and elusive with valuable NRL experience, and we believe that he will be an outstanding complement to our backline for next season."
The length of the deal surprised NRL legend Steve Roach who questioned the Bulldog's faith in Dufty to only offer him a one-year deal.
Dufty found himself in hot water for attending Paul Vaughan's infamous BBQ and running home when police arrived.
However, his future at the Dragons was confirmed before the incident when coach Anthony Griffin revealed the Dragons would not offer him a new deal.
“Matt’s been here for five years and he’s a really good person. We haven’t got any other issues with Matt other than football-related,” Griffin confirmed in May.
“I want to make that point clear, it’s never been anything off the field that we’ve had a problem (with) since I’ve been here and certainly the people that have been here before me back that up.
“We’ve got to build our list and Matt’s made a really good contribution here over the period he’s been here but come to the chase, we don’t see that going forward on our list.”
Dufty made his debut for the Dragons in 2017 and has played 80 games and scored 44 tries.
