The brains behind the rebuild of the Canterbury Bulldogs rebuild – general manager of football Phil Gould and head coach Cameron Ciraldo – have both been re-signed until the end of 2031.
Ciraldo’s re-signing is a four-year extension, while Gould’s is a five-year deal.
The Bulldogs have been on a dramatic rennovation since Gould took over as general manager.
Ciraldo would join the club in 2023, and while his first season in charge didn’t bring positive results, it was worth the wait for fans of the blue and white, with the Bulldogs returning to the finals last year, and then moving into the top four this year.
Things have been shaky through the second half of the 2025 season with some eyebrow raising selection and recruitment calls, but the Bulldogs have still finished in third place and will take on the Melbourne Storm away from home this weekend in a qualifying final before being guaranteed a home semi-final or preliminary final.
The Bulldogs finished sixth last year and were knocked out of the finals in Week 1 by the Manly Sea Eagles.
Ciraldo originally signed with the club on a five-year deal through to the end of 2027, and now with three seasons ticked off for two finals appearances, he and Gould, who has overseen things as a the director of the football program, have both re-signed through to 2031.
Ciraldo, who was previously an assistant coach at the Penrith Panthers, spent time under Gould at the foot of the mountains.
One of the most-highly rated coaches without a top job to his name before his arrival at the Bulldogs, Ciraldo had been part of the start of Penrith’s dynasty at the foot of the mountains, and chairman Adam Driussi said both have been integral to the transformation of the club who had struggled for years before the arrival of the new brains trust.
“I’m thrilled that we’ve locked in Gus and Cameron for the long term,” Driussi said.
“Gus has rebuilt our entire football operation while Cam has transformed us into genuine contenders on the field.”
Gould has come under fire this year for his signing of Lachlan Galvin, but has otherwise made nothing but good decisions while he has been at the helm of the blue and white.
A former Penrith director who is now credited with plenty of the success at the foot of the mountains where four straight premierships have been won, Gould has attempted to do the same at the Bulldogs, working on the club’s junior areas while also signing players who have helped turn the blue and white into a compeitive outfit.
Ciraldo had been warned against accepting the Bulldogs job when it first became available, fearing the club were a year away from being competitive and that it would impact Ciraldo’s career.
Despite that, the former Penrith assistant took the job, turning his back on the Wests Tigers who had also offered him a five-year deal in the process.
The Tigers have since remained anchored at the wrong end of the ladder, although finally showed some signs of a turnaround under Benji Marshall this year.