Summer Buzz: Bulldogs to announce trio of big-name signatures

SUMMER BUZZ: The Bulldogs will begin 2016 buoyed by officially landing a trio of big-name signatures in the Belmore kennel.

Moses Mbye is set to re-sign with the Bulldogs. Picture: Mark Evans

THE Bulldogs will begin 2016 buoyed by officially landing a trio of big-name signatures in the Belmore kennel with young guns Josh Jackson, David Klemmer and Moses Mbye all poised to ink long-term contracts.

NSW Origin forwards Jackson and Klemmer are expected to have extensions with the Bulldogs rubber-stamped at the club’s football Annual General Meeting at Canterbury Leagues club on February 14.

The Bulldogs and Blues young guns have attracted numerous offers from rival NRL clubs but the duo have never seriously contemplated leaving Canterbury-Bankstown, where coach Des Hasler enjoys strong support among his playing group.

The Bulldogs are also tipped to officially announce Mbye’s signature at the AGM, hopeful his pairing with No. 6 Josh Reynolds can take the club to a new level this season.

Melbourne Storm had made a serious approach to Mbye well before Christmas but he is believed to have been persuaded by the lure of continuing his football education under ex-champion playmaker Hasler.

The Bulldogs are expected to part company with Tony “T-Rex” Williams at the end of the year, following on from the departure of Frank Pritchard at the end of last season.

MORE SUMMER BUZZ: Left-field contender to captain Panthers

MORE SUMMER BUZZ: Rival clubs circling for Sharks young gun

David Klemmer is set to re-sign with the Bulldogs. Picture: Brett Costello

●●●

THE mobile phones of champion NRL premiership players have been running off the hook attempting to work out who is the retired NRL captain set to appear on Ten’s I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here.

Champion Broncos forward Gorden Tallis has been contacted on numerous occasions, as has ex-Wests Tigers captain Scott Prince.

What many people forget is, Tallis never captained Brisbane to grand final glory. He was one of the club’s key premiership forwards but Allan Langer was skipper in 1998 and Kevin Walters was captain in 2000.

Tallis had retired by 2006, when Darren Lockyer captained the Broncos to victory over the Storm.

●●●

THE Big Bash League 05 will smash through the one million attendance barrier in terms of total crowd figures in Sunnight’s final at the MCG when the Melbourne Stars host the Sydney Thunder.

The Twenty20 domestic competition has also been a television ratings smash hit. The Thunder’s victory over Adelaide Strikers peaked at 1.51 million viewers, up 33 per cent on the same semi-final match last season.

Mel McLaughlin has refused to buy into the furore.

GAYLE CLEARLY CARRYING ON LIKE A BABY

UNIVERSE boss Chris Gayle has continued to thumb his nose at Cricket Australia on social media, posting his latest tattoo on Saturday complete with his signature “Don’t Blush Baby” punch line.

While Gayle clearly appears to be of the view his sideline interview with Channel Ten’s Mel McLaughlin was blown out of all proportion, some of the repeated attacks against the television personality have increasingly become way out of line.

In his latest Instagram post, Gayle signed off “Don’t Blush Universe Boss-OK Baby!”

With his new ink picturing a lion with a crown on its head and a sprawling set of wings, Gayle then used the hash tags Lion Heart, Man a Lion, New Tattoo and You Need Wings To Catch Me Up.

McLaughlin has done an outstanding job refusing to buy into the furore and continues to add to Channel Ten’s brilliant coverage of the Big Bash 05.

Half the fun is trying to figure out what champion English all-rounder Freddie Flintoff is actually saying.

FINCH FACED AXED FROM AUSSIE ODI SIDE

AUSTRALIA’S Twenty20 captain Aaron Finch was at serious risk of losing his place in the one-day international format prior to his blazing 107 at Manuka Oval in Canberra last Wednesday.

It may sound equally as strange as India losing 9-46 after cruising, but conversations were taking place among key selectors.

The debate centred on trying to get Shaun Marsh into the side. As it turns out Glenn Maxwell got injured and a place opened up.

The irresistible form of Usman Khawaja in the Big Bash has also guaranteed his selection in the Australian outfit in all three formats of the game.

Leon Cameron and the GWS Giants at Woolloomooloo PCYC.

GLOVE SESSION WAKE-UP CALL FOR GIANTS

GREATER Western Sydney Giants coach Leon Cameron showed a penchant for walking to a slightly different beat by putting his players through a gruelling boxing session at Woolloomooloo PCYC complete with a reality check at the end of it.

Cameron took up an offer from PCYC board member and Sydney business heavyweight James Dack to put his players through a circuit training session followed by a trip to the nearby Matthew Talbot Hostel.

The Hostel is essentially a halfway home for more than 35,000 men every year who have fallen on hard times and are often forced to sleep rough.

The point was to reinforce to the GWS players not to waste the opportunity they have worked hard to earn.

Originally published as Summer Buzz: Bulldogs to announce trio of big-name signatures