The Bulldogs are quietly going about their rebuild, and have today snared their best signing so far.
According to the Daily Telegraph, the Bulldogs have secured Panthers edge forward Corey Harawira-Naera on a four-year deal, that will see the Kiwi star head to Belmore until the end of 2022.
The move makes more immediate sense for the Bulldogs than the Panthers, with Harawira-Naera and the recently re-signed Rhyse Martin providing Canterbury with a pair of attacking second-rowers they can build around for the future.
For Penrith though, they’re giving up an elite young edge runner, albeit a slightly superfluous one, given the presence of Isiaah Yeo and Viliame Kikau on their roster. High-end depth is hard to come by in the NRL, and we can only assume that this move is intended to create cap space for another move still to come.
Perhaps that move could be the re-signing of Origin utility Tyrone Peachey, who the Panthers said just this morning that they couldn’t fit under the salary cap, even if he were to renege on his Titans deal.
There’d be a little bit more wiggle room now, but whether or not that’s the direction they go remains to be seen.
Harawira-Naera has played 44 first grade games for the Panthers.