NRL Profile: Canterbury Bulldogs

Canterbury Bulldogs will head into the new NRL season with plenty of reasons to be upbeat following a stellar 2024 campaign.

The Bulldogs finally started to live up to expectations when making finals and all eyes will be on them to see if they can move to the next level.

Cameron Ciraldo’s men are just outside the hot fancies to win the grand final, but if all goes according to plan they have the potential to go deep in to finals.

The Bulldogs have assembled a strong, experienced and talented squad over the last few seasons, and the supporters will be hoping they have what it takes to deliver.

Let’s take a close look at the Canterbury Bulldogs heading into the 2025 NRL campaign.

Ciraldo aims to build on progress

Much was made of the capture of Cameron Ciraldo when the Bulldogs managed to lure him away from the Penrith Panthers in 2022.

Ciraldo was working along side Panthers coach Ivan Cleary, but opted to leave the champions in favour of a fresh challenge with the Bulldogs.

After a season of bedding in, Ciraldo guided the Bulldogs to sixth on the ladder in 2024.

It was the first time they had made finals in eight years and even though they crashed out in week one, progress had still been made.

Ciraldo is very highly rated, but he will be judged on results and how far he can take the Bulldogs after initially penning a five-year deal.

He will be looking to make further progress this season and 2025 looks like being a massive year for Ciraldo and the Bulldogs.

Bulldogs roster looks robust

The Bulldogs look to have a very strong roster for the 2025 NRL season.

The only notable departure was that of flying winger Josh Addo-Carr, who was released from his contract.

Canterbury have made some massive signings in recent years and, although the latest batch may be less spectacular, they are good additions nonetheless.

Sitili Tupouniua and Marcelo Montoya will bring even more experience to the ranks, while more firepower has been added in the form of Enari Tuala.

One of the biggest plus points for the Bulldogs is the return of Ryan Sutton from long-term injury.

The English forward missed the whole of the 2024 season and having him back will almost be a like a new signing for Ciraldo.

The Bulldogs will be led by captain Stephen Crichton, who knows what it is like to win a premiership having done so with Penrith and can handle the pressure.

There is no shortage of quality in the side, with Matt Burton and Toby Sexton pairing up in the halves and Reed Mahoney at hooker.

Canterbury Bulldogs odds

When it comes to winning the 2025 grand final, the Bulldogs are one of the best of the rest.

They are currently on the fifth line of betting and can be backed at 15.00 to go on and win the NRL grand final, while they are 1.55 to finish in the top eight and 3.25 to secure a top-four spot.

This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.