Departing Canterbury Bulldogs forward Joe Stimson has confirmed his next move, signing a one-year deal with the Gold Coast Titans.
The second rower has struggled during his time at the Bulldogs, having joined the club at the start of the 2020 season after a successful start to his career at the Melbourne Storm.
Stimson managed 51 games over a three-year period at the Storm, with 2018 arguably being the best of his career as he played 24 games.
He has managed just 34 games over three years at the Bulldogs, and despite being a regular inclusion during 2022 with 21 games, struggled to have any of the impact he had during the first three years of his career in the Victorian capital.
Despite that, the 26-year-old brings 85 games of experience to the Gold Coast and coach Justin Holbrook said he is the sort of player the club are looking for.
“Joe is the sort of player that we were chasing – someone who has experience at NRL level who can really do a job for us in a position that we were looking to reinforce," Holbrook said in a club statement.
“He's predominantly an edge player but can also play through the middle and his versatility will be important for our pack.
“He's at the stage of his career now where he is pushing towards 100 NRL games, he's played in an NRL grand final and we think he will be a great addition to our side for 2023.”
He becomes the third signing to join the Titans for 2023, following spine players Kieran Foran and Sam Verrills.
The news of Stimson's arrival at Robina comes just 24 hours after the confirmed departure of Herman Ese'ese to the Dolphins, while Jarrod Wallace will go the same way. Kevin Proctor has also departed the club, meaning the Gold Coast will likely chase more forwards before the first ball is kicked in 2023.
