Canterbury Bulldogs general manager Phil Gould has hinted the club could make more signings after the acquisition of Sitili Tupouniua.
Tupouniua is likely to line up in the second row next season alongside Viliame Kikau, while it remains to be seen where young star Jacob Preston plays.
The signing of Tupouniua comes after the Bulldogs were particularly aggressive for their signings this season.
READ MORE: Player with ‘vile’ tattoos acts after ban threatened
READ MORE: Root turns on Bairstow over ugly Ashes incident
READ MORE: ‘Disgrace’: BBC under fire for mocking crying Ronaldo
Stephen Crichton, Josh Curran, Drew Hutchison, Kurt Mann, Jaeman Salmon, Blake Taaffe, Connor Tracey, Jake Turpin and Bronson Xerri were among the new arrivals in a significant changing of the guard.
The release of Raymond Faitala-Mariner to the Dragons earlier in the year meant Gould had fully culled everyone from the club’s 2021 squad.
Gould explained to 9News Sydney the club is now in a position where they can pick and choose who comes to the club.
“We’ve been able to hand pick the players we’re recruiting. The good thing about our football club is we’ve got the ability to say no if it’s not good value, if it’s not the right price or if it’s not the right character,” he said.
“We’ve now got the ability to say no and we’re very particular about the players we want in our club.
“It’s always a hard road. Doing things the right way is always the hard way.”
Watch the 2024 NRL premiership live and free on Nine and 9Now.
The signing of Tupouniua makes him the second gain for 2025 with Tom Amone on his way from Leigh Leopards.
Props Sam Hughes and Max King have been re-signed until 2026 and 2027 respectively.
Despite his recruitment and retention exploits, Gould revealed there’s still room to bring more players in.
“We’ve still got a little bit of money left there, I’ll have to count it up,” he smirked.