Canterbury Bulldogs director of football Phil Gould has claimed his club is not finished signing players yet.
In what has been a tumultuous period off the field for Canterbury, Gould has also now shut down any report that Josh Addo-Carr could be set for an immediate departure.
The Bulldogs yesterday confirmed Josh Curran would be the club's latest signing after being released by the New Zealand Warriors.
It will begin to answer some concerns of fans around the club's forward pack, with the Bulldogs mainly signing backs for 2024 to this point - all of Stephen Crichton, Jaeman Salmon, Blake Taaffe and Bronson Xerri will report to Belmore from November.
Curran is the first forward, and reports are that the club has also signed Siosiua Taukeiaho who will be an important upgrade in the forward pack and also go some way towards replacing Luke Thompson, who is heading back to England after an injury-ravaged stint at the Bulldogs, as well as Tevita Pangai Junior who has retired.
Asked on 9 News if the signings were finished, Gould claimed they weren't, and that, despite turning the roster over in the last two years, there is still work to do.
“No, not by any means,” Gould told 9 News.
“We are a couple of years into this program and have virtually turned the roster over in that time.
“We have also done a lot of work in the junior pathways in that time, and hopefully it all marries up in a couple of years' time.
“That's the plan anyway.”
On top of turning over their roster and having five signings for next year, the Bulldogs have also made calls on Paul Alamoti, Jake Averillo, Kyle Flanagan, Jayden Okunbor and Corey Waddell who will leave the club, as well as Matt Burton, Jacob Kiraz, Jacob Preston and Blake Wilson who have all re-signed.
Gould, a controversial figure, was influential in turning the Penrith Panthers around through their own junior pathways during his time at the club, with Penrith now winning three premierships in a row using a squad made up predominantly of local juniors.
Canterbury will struggle to have the same influence given their area, but have made tracks into Queensland, signing a partnership deal with the Western Clydesdales.
