Rookie Watch: The TEN best young prospects yet to debut at Canterbury Bulldogs

After coming close to making the 2025 NRL Grand Final, the Canterbury Bulldogs will need to rely on the next generation of young players coming through the ranks as they aim to move closer to winning their first premiership since 2004. Over the past couple of years, the likes of Harry Hayes, Jethro Rinakama, Jonathan Sua and Lipoi Hopoi have been introduced to the NRL after successfully progressing through the club's ranks. So...who's next? Honourable Mentions Outside of the 'Top Ten', the Bulldogs have plenty of great young players who are slowly progressing through the ranks. Some back-line players to watch include former Roosters and Tigers outside back Mikey Nassar, Jai Callaghan, Danny Gabrael, Braith Sloane and Under-18s Australian Wallabies representative Chayse Geros. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ae0khYzrYoY&t=6s Damon Marshall, Sosaia Alatini, Jack Hilliar and David Leota headline the most impressive forwards that are on the club's books and set to make waves in the coming seasons. Front-rower Alekolasimi Jones and dummy-half Kaawyn Patterson, who was previously named the New Zealand Warriors Under-17s Harold Mathews Cup Player of the Year in 2024, should also be watched closely by fans over the next few years. Raymond Puru The current Under-19s Queensland Maroons fullback, Raymond Puru has agreed to join the Canterbury Bulldogs from next season and will make the move down to New South Wales after a stint with the Gold Coast Titans. Over the past 18 months, Puru has made a name for himself across junior representative competitions in Queensland and has consistently delivered strong performances in the Mal Meninga Cup and the newly established Under-20s NRLQ competition. Scoring nine tries in 15 Mal Meninga Cup matches, the teenager will be eager to continue his form at the Bulldogs and continue to make a name for himself across the lower grades. Oliva Smith Another member of the current Under-19s Queensland squad, Oliva Smith arrived at the Bulldogs in 2022 and has been a continued standout in the Harold Matthews Cup, SG Ball Cup and Jersey Flegg Cup competitions. Still on 19, Smith showed he can perform on the big stage with a massive performance for Queensland earlier in the year and was one of the club's best players in the Under-19s SG Ball Cup, which saw him progress and make his debut in Jersey Flegg. A front-rower who can also be used in the back-row, Smith is contracted until the end of the 2027 season and will look to back-up his performance during this year's campaign with another strong season in 2026. Alex Conti The club's Under-19s SG Ball Cup skipper in 2025, Alex Conti has been touted for big things from a young age and hasn't dissapointed since making the move to Belmore after beginning his career with the Balmain Tigers. A star junior in both rugby league and union, he was a member of the Junior Blues squad in 2022 alongside Liam Ison and Samuela Fainu, a member of the NSW Waratahs Academy and also represented the Under-16s Australian Wallabies in the 15-man code growing up. While he has yet to reach the heights as some players on this list, Conti has been able to develop in a variety of positions including in the halves and at dummy-half and is the perfect utility to come off the interchange bench. https://youtu.be/AfmMLHLhM_8 "It's an honour to wear the Bulldogs jersey. It's a really good privilege and I think a lot of boys don't take it for granted," Conti exclusively told Zero Tackle. "It was hard (to leave the Tigers) having grown up there and it being my junior club, but I saw an opportunity at the Bulldogs, so I just took it. "I want to take my opportunities as they come. You don't know where you're going to be playing so just want to play my best footy here, try to be consistent and stay away from injuries. "If that NRL does come, it'd be the world! That's what everyone works for." Joseph O'Neill One of the more experienced players on this list, Joseph O'Neill has been playing in the NSW Cup since 2023 and has able to become a regular in the side whether it be in the halves or at lock. While he has been overtaken by the likes of Lachlan Galvin and Mitchell Woods as long-term options, O'Neill still has plenty of potential and even came close to making his first-grade debut this year before going down with injury. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-2E8kzVcQGU Shifted into a different role to close out the season, it wouldn't be surprising to see him used as a ball-running lock next season and could even find himself contending with Jaeman Salmon for the No.13 jumper. David Bryenton One of the most sought-after young players from Queensland, David Bryenton, attracted interest from at least three other NRL teams before the Canterbury Bulldogs secured his services. Arriving at the club ahead of next season, the livewire fullback is coming off a strong nine months, which saw him claim the Mal Meninga Cup Player of the Year and lead Keebra Park to win the NRL Schoolboy Cup, whilst claiming the 2025 Peter Sterling Medal in the process. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6BZnFT0XdKk Named in the 2025 Australian Schoolboys squad, Bryenton has already racked up an impressive array of highlights in his short career to date and is regarded as a long-term option for the Bulldogs' fullback jersey. Logan Spinks On a development contract once again in 2026, Logan Spinks is part of the next breed of forward coming through the Canterbury Bulldogs pathways system and is destined for a big campaign next year after continuing to develop in the NSW Cup competition. A member of the 2023 Australian Schoolboys side, Spinks hails from Tamworth in New South Wales and has shown his usefulness playing in the middle of the field as well on the edge in his preferred back-row position. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5xnXjl5_pTA Yet to reach his ceiling as a player, the Under-18s Country representative was in unreal form to end the 2025 NSW Cup season which saw him score three doubles and ten tries in 11 matches. Finau Latu A member of the next generation of forwards coming through the ranks at the St George Illawarra Dragons, Finau Latu decided to take his talents to the Bulldogs in the middle of this year on a long-term three-and-a-half-year contract with the goal of being a regular in the first-grade line-up. Yet to run out in Bulldogs colours due to an injury he sustained in the middle of the year, the 19-year-old has already shown that he is all the makings to be an NRL star and would have been selected to represent the Under-19s NSW Blues if he were available. A Minchinbury Jets junior, Latu predominantly plays in the No.13 jumper and has slowly transitioned from the Under-17s Harold Matthews Cup to the NSW Cup competition over the course of the past three years. Jack Underhill Recently extended until the end of the 2028 NRL season, Jack Underhill is not only one of the best forward prospects at the Bulldogs but also in rugby league. A lookalike of Jacob Preston, the Sunshine Coast product is an incredible athlete and workhorse on both ends of the field and has already received glowing endorsement from both officials and teammates. In 20 NSW Cup matches this season, Underhill showed that he has what it takes to take the next step into the NRL arena and averaged 66 running metres and 23 tackles per game to go with ten tackle busts, 480.4 post-contact metres and seven offloads. Cassius Tia A member of the 2025 NSW Cup Team of the Year, Cassius Tia is one of the most underrated young players in rugby league and doesn't get the recognition that he rightly deserves. Formerly with the Sydney Roosters before making the switch to Belmore, Tia played a significant role in the club winning the Under-21s Jersey Flegg Cup in 2024 and has continued his stellar form over the past 12 months in reserve-grade. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XYBbbdo7C28&t=8s Predominantly a five-eighth, Tia has been used in a variety of different positions at the Bulldogs but has found himself mainly used in the centres as of late and isn't afraid to take the defence on with his silky footwork and wicked step. In 20 reserve-grade showing, he made an astonishing 1606 running metres, provided 11 try assists and 13 line-break assists and crossed the line on ten occasions to go with four forced drop-outs. Mitchell Woods The number one young prospect yet to make his NRL debut, Mitchell Woods, has been highly touted for a number of years and is slowly inching closer and closer to playing in first-grade. Halfway into a four-year contract he signed without playing a single minute in the NRL, Woods is a sight to behold in attack and could have easily found himself excelling in both AFL or rugby union, but decided to remain in the 13-man code. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMALvhORNIs&t=1s Already leading the Bulldogs to a ton of success in the lower grades, he accumulated eight try assists in nine NSW Cup matches in 2025, where he showed multiple signs of his potential and also represented the NSW Blues twice in the Under-19s State of Origin match. "I was always tossing and turning, but I always loved rugby league," Woods told Zero Tackle. "It's all I've watched, it's all I bled, so I'd say it was always rugby league in the end."