Canterbury Bulldogs re-sign talented playmaker Lachlan Lewis
Kieran Foran is one of 17 Bulldogs off contract at the end of 2020 as Canterbury face a potential overhaul of their NRL squad. But they have been making moves to shore up talent.
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Canterbury fan favourite Lachlan Lewis has given the club a huge boost in the wake of Kieran Foran’s shocking injury blow, while also giving coach Dean Pay a huge vote of confidence.
The Daily Telegraph can reveal that the talented 23-year-old has extended his stay at the club until the end of 2021, a re-signing made even more important with revelations Foran will miss the entire 2020 season.
It also comes on the back of the recent announcement that fullback Dallin Watene-Zelezniak has also extended until the end of 2022.
Lewis is fast earning a reputation as one of the NRL’s best young playmakers with silky skills matched by a tenacity for defence that has already won plenty of admirers.
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The Bulldogs still have 17 of their current NRL squad coming off contract at the end of next season including the likes of skipper Josh Jackson, Foran, Will Hopoate, Adam Elliott, Reimis Smith, Jack Cogger and Aiden Tolman.
The club’s eagerness to extend Lewis’ deal highlights the high regard the nephew of rugby league Immortal Wally Lewis is held in.
As a footballer Pay was tough as they come and when he returned to the Bulldogs as coach he stated that he wanted to bring back the old ‘Dogs of War’ mentality.
It’s no surprise Pay has developed a genuine affection for the way Lewis goes about his football, while Lewis’ decision also shows that the players believe in Pay and the direction in which the club is heading.
With Foran again missing a significant chunk of this year through injury, Lewis and young halves partner Cogger really stepped up on a late season charge up the ladder.
Bulldogs chief executive Andrew Hill was understandably elated.
“Lachy is a great talent with unlimited potential and he is one of a number of young players that we think will form the basis of our squad going forward,” Hill said.
“He has shown great resilience on the field and also a real toughness in defence that has proven to be the basis of all great Bulldogs teams throughout our history.
“It is great for the club and our members and fans that Lachy wants to be part of what we are building here and we are all excited about the direction this club is heading.”
Lewis has only played 24 NRL games to date but his calmness and composure has some good judges believing he has the ability to take his game to the next level and potentially prove himself as a representative player.
He will get added time to show his value with Foran’s loss depleting the Bulldogs’ halves stocks. The club has vowed to stand behind the luckless 29-year-old, who told The Daily Telegraph that he has no intention of giving up on his NRL career.
But given he’ll miss the entire final year of his current contract with Canterbury, it is only going to make it harder for everyone concerned given Foran is the club’s highest-paid player.
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Foran is on a reported $1.2 million which wipes out a significant portion of the club’s overall salary cap due to an injury suffered while away on rep duty.
As it stands the Bulldogs can only apply for a maximum of $350,000 in salary cap relief if Foran misses the first 13 matches next season, but they could also miss out on any compensation as well as cap relief if he comes back sooner.
The guidelines do not take into account the significance pre-season has on an overall NRL season, which most would acknowledge is a serious flaw in the current policy that needs to be addressed.
Originally published as Canterbury Bulldogs re-sign talented playmaker Lachlan Lewis