The Canterbury Bulldogs are have confirmed that Cameron Ciraldo will be their next coach on a mega five-year deal.
The Penrith assistant coach has been the most hotly-pursued coach on the market during the most recent movements, with all of the Canterbury Bulldogs, Wests Tigers and New Zealand Warriors going in new directions.
The Tigers were heavily interested in Ciraldo, however, after a tour of their facilities and a similar five-year deal was reportedly put on the table, the club were knocked back by the NRL's next coach in waiting.
He has since been reportedly in discussions with the Bulldogs, and now the contract has been signed, with the Bulldogs confirming the news on Sunday afternoon in a short statement.
"The Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs are pleased to announce that Cameron Ciraldo has been appointed as NRL Head Coach for five (5) seasons, commencing in 2023," the club said.
"As the Club continues to build for long-term sustained success, we are pleased Cameron shares the vision of ensuring our football programs are best-in-class.
"With respect to Cameron and the Penrith Panthers, we will not be making any further comment until the end of the season."
Ciraldo has been touted as the NRL's next head coach for many years, but has waited for what he considers to be the right opportunity to launch his head coaching career.
Ciraldo has spent time working his way through Penrith's junior and reserve grade ranks, coaching on an interim basis for a short period at NRL level after Anthony Griffin was let go by the club.
Since then, he has served under Ivan Cleary and is heavily credited for much of the club's success, with Penrith going to the 2020 grand final and taking the premiership out in 2021 with a famous grand final win over the South Sydney Rabbitohs in Brisbane.
It had been recently reported that Ciraldo may remain with the Panthers for an extra season, however, that now seems to be off the cards.
It's unclear what the move means for Mick Potter, who originally had no interest in staying on for 2023 beyond the end of his interim stint having taken over from Trent Barrett, however, he recently declared interest in remaining as the club's head coach for 2023 following a dramatic form turnaround under his leadership.
The Bulldogs are expected to announce the news this week, with reports suggesting he told Penrith at training on Sunday of his decision to exit the foot of the mountains.
