Bulldogs Battling To Retain Paul Alamoti After Cowboys Meeting.
Telegraph Sport
Canterbury is under pressure to retrain boom centre Paul Alamoti after the teenage prodigy held a secret meeting with North Queensland as he looks to secure a contract beyond next season.
Alamoti, hailed as the next superstar to emerge from the Bulldogs’ junior ranks, is yet to agree to a new contract with Canterbury with the club yet to secure the local product or fellow centre Jake Averillo.
Canterbury’s inability to lock Alamoti down has left him vulnerable to poaching raids from rivals and it is understood the Cowboys have been among the first to strike. North Queensland held a meeting with Alamoti and his family at Club Rivers in Riverwood in Southwest Sydney on Wednesday afternoon.
North Queensland coach Todd Payten, football boss Micheal Luck and recruitment boss Dane Campbell - in town for Friday night’s game against Parramatta – met with Alamoti and his family as the Cowboys step up attempts to replace the departing Peta Hiku. Hiku will join the Hull KR next year on a three year deal.
The Bulldogs remain confident they will be able to tie down Alamoti and Averillo – who share the same management stable - but at least one may be squeezed out if Canterbury’s salary cap situation bites.
Aside from their starting centre pairing they are yet to make a call on the futures of Braidon Burns. Corey Waddell, Nu Brown, Jayden Okunbor, Kyle Flanagan or Luke Thompson