Reed Mahoney and Toby Sexton set to leave Bulldogs in wake of Lachlan Galvin’s move to Canterbury
The roster shake-up at Canterbury has begun with two members of the Bulldogs spine set to exit Belmore as the club prepares for Lachlan Galvin’s imminent arrival.
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The roster shake-up at Canterbury has begun with Reed Mahoney and Toby Sexton the first two players from the ladder-leading Bulldogs set for an exit from Belmore at the end of the season.
Canterbury have granted Mahoney permission to negotiate with rival NRL clubs, despite their first-choice hooker having 18 months left on his current contract.
It comes as Sexton will leave the club when his contract expires at the end of this season, in the wake of the Bulldogs’ impending signing of Lachlan Galvin, as he looks to secure himself a starting halfback spot with an NRL rival.
It is understood Bulldogs general manager of football, Phil Gould, granted Mahoney’s request to negotiate with rival clubs, leading to the prospect of a release prior to expiration of his contract.
It comes after the Bulldogs told Mahoney he was unlikely to be retained beyond 2026, with Bailey Hayward the club’s preferred long-term hope at hooker.
It’s understood Mahoney’s manager, Sam Ayoub, asked for permission to speak with rival clubs.
Ayoub is confident Mahoney, 27, viewed as a potential Queensland Origin bolter just a month ago, can secure a two-to-three-year deal at another club.
The Cowboys are one possible landing spot for Mahoney with North Queensland yet to replace Sydney Roosters-bound NSW Origin hooker Reece Robson for next season.
Sexton, 24, is exploring his future with the Bulldogs No.7 already attracting interest from three NRL rivals following Canterbury’s decision to lure Galvin from the Tigers.
The Bulldogs have not formally advised Sexton he will not be offered a new deal but the playmaker can see the writing on the wall as Galvin prepares to spearhead a new era at Belmore.
The Bulldogs were willing to give Sexton the chance to convince them that he was worth investing in beyond this season, but they couldn’t pass on the opportunity to secure Galvin.
In addition, the increasing influence of Hayward on Canterbury’s attack — particularly in the second half of the club’s incredible 32-20 Round 10 comeback against Canberra — was also a factor in Canterbury resisting the temptation to rush in an re-sign Sexton.
Sexton has played an undervalued role in Canterbury’s surge to the top of the ladder and sees himself as a starting NRL halfback.
Sexton’s manager was confident of securing a contract extension with the Bulldogs last month after holding promising talks with Gould.
But Canterbury’s play for Galvin has moved the goalposts and left Sexton on uncertain terrain at Belmore, given that he is off-contract.
It is understood Sexton has no bitterness over the Galvin signing, but will look for greener pastures to continue his NRL career.
Gould insisted that there would be no issues with Galvin’s arrival and the Bulldogs players should welcome his addition to the league leaders.
“He’s an outstanding young talent,” Gould said on 100% Footy.
“I mean, if he’s available for the Bulldogs, we’d like to have him. It’s as simple as that. I don’t see anything wrong with it.
“He’s got talent. Why wouldn’t you want talented players in your football club? And why wouldn’t the other players in the club want talented footballers? They do, they’re all very supportive.”
Gould said he originally considered signing Galvin when he was in high school.
“You want the truth? We nearly signed him four years ago when he was a kid,” he said.
“I don’t think anyone denies he’s a talent - and you win premierships with talented players.That’s my responsibility - to get talented players in the club.
“I think it’ll create great competition. We’ve got a lot of players unavailable at the moment. They’ve done a great job to do what they’ve done so far, but the more depth you’ve got in the club, the more talented players you got, the better.
“It’s a no brainer for me.”
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Originally published as Reed Mahoney and Toby Sexton set to leave Bulldogs in wake of Lachlan Galvin’s move to Canterbury
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