{"id":343079,"date":"2025-12-12T12:04:10","date_gmt":"2025-12-12T12:04:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/343079\/"},"modified":"2025-12-12T12:04:10","modified_gmt":"2025-12-12T12:04:10","slug":"nrl-news-2025-viliame-kikau-reveals-how-his-premiership-title-hopes-led-him-to-re-sign-with-the-bulldogs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/343079\/","title":{"rendered":"NRL news 2025 | Viliame Kikau reveals how his premiership title hopes led him to re-sign with the Bulldogs"},"content":{"rendered":"

Viliame Kikau may already be in possession of two premiership rings, but the powering back-rower is determined to secure his third with the Canterbury Bulldogs<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Kikau withheld from taking up any deals tabled by rival teams over the past month and inked a fresh two-year extension that will keep him in Belmore until the end of 2028<\/a>.<\/p>\n

There was several promising signs shown by the Bulldogs throughout the 2025 season, although a chance to contest for the premiership did not end up on their cards.<\/p>\n

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A 26-18 defeat at the hands of the Storm in the first week of finals was followed by a damaging 46-26 defeat against the Panthers, in what marked the end of their season. <\/p>\n

But those results did not damage the confidence of the playing group, nor did it deter Kikau from cementing his future at the club.<\/p>\n

“Just with where the club is heading, I’d be silly not to re-sign,” he told 9News.<\/p>\n

\"Viliame<\/p>\n

Viliame Kikau of the Bulldogs celebrates scoring a try.\u00a0Getty<\/p>\n

“I’d love to be a part of what we are trying to build in Belmore. The final goal is to win another premiership for Canterbury Bankstown.”<\/p>\n

Kikau confirmed the premiership title is still his main goal at the Bulldogs.<\/p>\n

“Hundred per cent. That belief hasn’t changed at all since my first day walking in back in 2023,” he continued.<\/p>\n

“The motivation will only get stronger now.”<\/p>\n

Although some familiar faces including Toby Sexton and Reed Mahoney will not don the blue and white in 2026, the club looked to bolster their depth around the park.<\/p>\n

But the signing of former Newcastle prop Leo Thompson is one many are excited to see.<\/p>\n

“We’ve been adding a bit more size in our pack,” Kikau said, pointing to his new teammate’s signing.<\/p>\n

“It is something we have lacked over the past few years. (Thompson) is a great signing for us. Hopefully it is just going to make us better.”<\/p>\n

The first stop for next season will be a trip to the United States, where the Bulldogs will face the Dragons in a magical Las Vegas match.<\/p>\n

It is the first time either team has been selected to feature in a game in Las Vegas, with the Canberra Raiders, Cronulla Sharks, Penrith Panthers and Warriors all playing in 2025.<\/p>\n

Kikau admits that the spectacle of the international club match is one he dreamed of as a young boy back in Fiji. <\/p>\n

“I think the thing will be to just embrace it,” he said when asked about playing in Vegas.<\/p>\n

“And to just be proud to have a look back at where I’ve come from, being a kid back home in the little island of Fiji.<\/p>\n

“Now I am playing on the biggest stage in Las Vegas. I would’ve dreamed of that. I am so blessed.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Viliame Kikau may already be in possession of two premiership rings, but the powering back-rower is determined to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":343080,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[568],"tags":[64,63,761,762,158,85],"class_list":["post-343079","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nrl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-national-rugby-league","tag-nationalrugbyleague","tag-nrl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/343079","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=343079"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/343079\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/343080"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=343079"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=343079"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=343079"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}