Newcastle Knights utility Kurt Mann is understood to have passed his medical examination at the Canterbury Bulldogs and could sign with the club on a two-year deal in the coming days.
It was first reported during the week that Mann was seeing interest from the Bulldogs, and it has now emerged that things have progressed rapidly.
News Corp's David Riccio told Triple M Radio that a two-year deal will be on the table from the Bulldogs after the medical exam was passed with flying colours.
โI can tell you he was on the Bulldogs' site to undergo a medical examination and my indication is that that has all gone swimmingly," Riccio said.
โI expect the Dogs to forward a two-year offer."
The signing of Mann will raise eyebrows for some given the Bulldogs have already signed a number of utility backline options next year in Jaeman Salmon and Blake Taaffe.
Mann has played as a forward in his more recent games for the Knights, splitting his time between lock forward and hooker, where he has had to fill in alongside Phoenix Crossland following the injury to Jayden Brailey.
The other key signing for the battling Bulldogs next year is Stephen Crichton, who will likely take over the fullback spot.
Canterbury's director of football Phil Gould and head coach Cameron Ciraldo still have key decisions to make, particularly in the forwards with the most notable being the future of Luke Thompson, while in the backs the likes of Paul Alamoti and Kyle Flanagan still have no direction for 2024.
With the deal between Mann and the Bulldogs not yet done, Riccio said it was unclear if the Knights would elect to make a play for Mann.
The utility was earmarked as the all-important replacement for Connor Watson when he joined the Sydney Roosters at the start of last season but has managed just 27 NRL games since the start of 2022, having played 42 in the previous two seasons.
The Knights, on top of continuing to revamp their squad with the arrival of Kai Pearce-Paul and Will Pryce for 2024, also have salary cap considerations, with the likes of Bradman Best and Jacob Saifiti off-contract at the end of next year and likely to seek significant upgrades.
