The Canterbury Bulldogs are reportedly closing in on announcing Penrith assistant Cameron Ciraldo as their next head coach.
Ciraldo recently knocked back the once-vacant Wests Tigers job but it’s believed he’s been convinced by head of football Phil Gould to take over at Belmore following Trent Barrett's exit.
The Daily Telegraph’s Michael Carayannis says that Ciraldo must make his call before November 1 if he wants to coach an NRL side in 2023 and take over from Canterbury interim coach Mick Potter.
“The drums have been beating over the last couple of days that he will be the coach of the Bulldogs,” Carayannis said on SEN 1170 Breakfast.
“Obviously, you know Brandy that there’s an offer for him to remain at Penrith as an assistant coach, that’s for one year.
“It’s an interesting contract in itself as it basically has an out-clause that if he finds a deal before November 1 then he’s free to leave Penrith immediately.
“But come November 1, he’s got to stay for the full 12 months.”
While Gould has remained tight-lipped about his Ciraldo pursuit, Carayannis says the pair have had several discussions which have ultimately led to an agreeance about his next move.
“There’s no doubt Phil Gould has been courting Cameron Ciraldo despite the games that Gus has played publicly,” Carayannis said.
“They’ve had multiple conversations, he’s run him through the salary cap and the recruitment situation long-term.
“They’ve done it very quietly, they’ve done it behind the scenes and those at Belmore have remained tight-lipped over the last couple of days as people have chased the story.
“Cameron Ciraldo is getting close to being announced as Bulldogs head coach.”
While most of the discussions have remained behind closed doors, images appeared yesterday of Ciraldo dining with Craig Laundy, a key Bulldogs stakeholder.
Penrith board member and SEN host Greg Alexander doesn’t believe the Bulldogs want to keep their chase of Ciraldo quiet any longer given the public nature of the meeting.
“Obviously, they forgot about keeping things quiet when they had lunch together,” Alexander said.
“As if someone wasn’t going to take a pic or report it that they were sitting down for lunch.”
Carayannis believes that meeting was an indicator that a deal had effectively been finalised.
“They’re pretty high-profile people,” Carayannis said.
“But my gut feel is by that stage, the deal has probably been done and the fact that they’re sort of parading publicly and be seen is indicative of a deal being done.
“Whether that’s for ‘23 or ‘24 I’m not sure, I’m definitely not a fan of the deal beginning in ‘24.
“If Cameron Ciraldo wants to be the coach of the Bulldogs, he’s got to take control now.”
The Bulldogs are currently the only club without a head coach for 2023 after the Tigers appointed Tim Sheens and the Warriors signed Andrew Webster.
More in NRL
Meninga and Parker praise Payten for swinging the axe
“The players now know that the coach is fair dinkum and they have to get their act in order.”
Why a dearth of local playmakers and lingering premiership drought led Newcastle to historic Brown deal
“The Knights are sick of struggling to make the eight every year and bombing out.”
“Not that good”: NRL world reacts to Brown's $13 million Knights contract
“Can anyone confidently say that this is a fantastic deal?”