Bulldogs-bound forward Viliame Kikau says he hopes to emulate former teammate Matt Burton’s exit from the club before heading to Belmore.
The 26-year-old signed a four-year deal with Canterbury beginning in 2023, worth reportedly in the region of $800,000 a season.
“This club means a lot to me, it gave me the opportunity to play at the highest level of football in Australia and all I can do before I leave the club is give back another premiership,” he told Nine News.
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He said that Matt Burton, who also signed with the Dogs a year in advance before leaving Penrith, had provided the perfect blueprint.
“Burto, what he’s done – he had speculation that he was going to leave early but he didn’t and see what he gets? He cemented his spot in the centre position, he got a (premiership) ring and he’s going to take that with him to the Bulldogs.”
Kikau flat-batted questions about that infamous leaked photo, which showed him wearing Canterbury club gear less than two months after winning a premiership with Penrith, and more than a year before switching clubs.
Panthers coach Ivan Cleary was furious while Bulldogs supremo Phil Gould apologised over the incident, which saw Kikau booed by a second of fans at the Panthers’ grand final celebrations the following day.
The leak also resulted in a Canterbury Leagues Club worker being sacked.
Kikau addressed the incident for the first time.
“Everything that was done that day was definitely private,” he said.
“These days it’s a bit hard to keep things private, everyone wants to know your business and I think that’s how the world works nowadays so you can’t do much about it.”