Canterbury Bulldogs beat rivals to sign young gun Paul Alamoti to long-term deal

He has emerged as one of the most exciting and sought-after prospects in rugby league but Canterbury have been able to keep him out of rivals’ hands.

Bulldogs prodigy Paul Alamoti breaks the Manly defence. Picture: Julian Andrews

Canterbury have signed their own Joseph Suaalii by locking down boom centre Paul Alamoti on a long-term deal.

A host of rival clubs and Australian Rugby were lining up to sign the 17-year-old who has starred for the Bulldogs’ under-19 SG Ball side this year. Instead he has committed to the Bulldogs until at least 2023 after originally being off-contract at the end of next year.

It is expected he will jump into the top 30 next year.

Bulldogs coach Trent Barrett has been excited with Alamoti’s rise, describing him as a “great prospect”.

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Paul Alamoti is an exciting prospect for Canterbury. Picture: Julian Andrews

“He is a good kid who is keen to learn and develop and we think that the structures that we have in place here will help his growth as a player,” Barrett said. “We look forward to having him here and for people to get to see what an explosive player he is.”

While the Roosters received clearance from the NRL to play Suaalii in the top grade this year, the Bulldogs are prepared to wait for their own local prodigy.

He knocked back an opportunity to go to the same rugby school as Suaalii at The King’s School, instead preferring to stay at Kogarah Marist for his final year. He spent time training with the NRL squad during the pre-season.

Alamoti made headlines earlier this year when he caught the attention of Roosters supremo Nick Politis after impressing in Canterbury’s 24-14 SG Ball win against the Roosters — scoring two tries and laying on a couple more.

Joseph Suaalii in action for North Sydney. He has been given clearance to play NRL, despite being just 17. Picture: Justin Lloyd

Bulldogs boss Aaron Warburton said he was excited by the re-signing.

“Paul is an outstanding talent and it is great news for the club that a local junior from Milperra Colts has chosen to stay at Belmore,” Warburton said. “It is also great news for our pathways system and something that we hope to continue in regard to developing players through our local system.”