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Canterbury have confirmed Nick Cotric's poaching from the Raiders as Canberra ramp up their bid to lure Corey Harawira-Naera in the opposite direction with a two-and-a-half-year offer of their own.
Cotric's three-year Bulldogs deal was made official on Wednesday a week after the Raiders withdrew from the battle for his services, refusing to budge on their initial five-year offer to the NSW and Kangaroos flyer.
His signing is a serious coup for Canterbury and incoming coach Trent Barrett, whose own three-year deal was confirmed on Wednesday afternoon.
The Panthers assistant is believed to have got the ball rolling on his return to head coaching by weighing into the Bulldogs' efforts to keep Harawira-Naera at Belmore in recent days.
Barrett was Harawira-Naera's first coach when he arrived at Penrith as an 18-year-old from New Zealand, and had previously tried to lure him to Manly when he was in charge on the Northern Beaches.
Harawira-Naera is known to be a fan of Barrett's as he and teammate Jayden Okunbor continue discussions with Canterbury officials around their futures.
As it stands Harawira-Naera is contracted to the Bulldogs until the end of 2022 and it is understood Canberra have offered to cover the same terms of that agreement.
Raiders officials have told NRL.com they have not heard from Harawira-Naera's camp since tabling the club's deal.
"It's up to Canterbury. If they release him, we'd like to get him, but the ball's in their court. That makes up for John [Bateman] going that's all," Raiders chief executive Don Furner told The Canberra Times on Wednesday.
Suggestions of Harawira-Naera requesting a release from Canterbury have been consistently floated given interest from NRL rivals and the Bulldogs' hardline support for his contract's termination over a pre-season incident involving school girls in Port Macquarie.
He and Okunbor had their NRL deregistrations overturned last week, with the latter believed to still be keen to resume his career at Belmore.
Canberra have led rival interest in Harawira-Naera with the club targeting him as a long-term replacement for Bateman when he returns to Wigan next season.
Bateman was named on an extended bench for the Raiders this week having returned to contact training following a lengthy lay-off due to shoulder surgery.
The Raiders have been granted around $120,000 in salary cap dispensation to cover Bateman's loss this year as his injury occurred while playing for Great Britain late last year.
Any mid-season transfer must be completed before August 3, while Harawira-Naera is available for selection once more after serving the last game of his 10-match ban on the weekend.
He is believed to be at least a few more weeks away from being NRL-ready in terms of fitness, while Okunbor's suspension lapses in round 15.
https://www.nrl.com/news/2020/07/22...ulldogs-sign-raiders-star-on-three-year-deal/
Cotric's three-year Bulldogs deal was made official on Wednesday a week after the Raiders withdrew from the battle for his services, refusing to budge on their initial five-year offer to the NSW and Kangaroos flyer.
His signing is a serious coup for Canterbury and incoming coach Trent Barrett, whose own three-year deal was confirmed on Wednesday afternoon.
The Panthers assistant is believed to have got the ball rolling on his return to head coaching by weighing into the Bulldogs' efforts to keep Harawira-Naera at Belmore in recent days.
Barrett was Harawira-Naera's first coach when he arrived at Penrith as an 18-year-old from New Zealand, and had previously tried to lure him to Manly when he was in charge on the Northern Beaches.
Harawira-Naera is known to be a fan of Barrett's as he and teammate Jayden Okunbor continue discussions with Canterbury officials around their futures.
As it stands Harawira-Naera is contracted to the Bulldogs until the end of 2022 and it is understood Canberra have offered to cover the same terms of that agreement.
Raiders officials have told NRL.com they have not heard from Harawira-Naera's camp since tabling the club's deal.
"It's up to Canterbury. If they release him, we'd like to get him, but the ball's in their court. That makes up for John [Bateman] going that's all," Raiders chief executive Don Furner told The Canberra Times on Wednesday.
Suggestions of Harawira-Naera requesting a release from Canterbury have been consistently floated given interest from NRL rivals and the Bulldogs' hardline support for his contract's termination over a pre-season incident involving school girls in Port Macquarie.
He and Okunbor had their NRL deregistrations overturned last week, with the latter believed to still be keen to resume his career at Belmore.
Canberra have led rival interest in Harawira-Naera with the club targeting him as a long-term replacement for Bateman when he returns to Wigan next season.
Bateman was named on an extended bench for the Raiders this week having returned to contact training following a lengthy lay-off due to shoulder surgery.
The Raiders have been granted around $120,000 in salary cap dispensation to cover Bateman's loss this year as his injury occurred while playing for Great Britain late last year.
Any mid-season transfer must be completed before August 3, while Harawira-Naera is available for selection once more after serving the last game of his 10-match ban on the weekend.
He is believed to be at least a few more weeks away from being NRL-ready in terms of fitness, while Okunbor's suspension lapses in round 15.
https://www.nrl.com/news/2020/07/22...ulldogs-sign-raiders-star-on-three-year-deal/
