{"id":452686,"date":"2026-02-02T01:34:15","date_gmt":"2026-02-02T01:34:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/452686\/"},"modified":"2026-02-02T01:34:15","modified_gmt":"2026-02-02T01:34:15","slug":"nrl-daily-news-and-updates-cowboys-bulldogs-kade-dykes-wiremu-greig-rugby-league","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/452686\/","title":{"rendered":"NRL Daily, news and updates, Cowboys, Bulldogs, Kade Dykes, Wiremu Greig, Rugby League"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Canterbury Bulldogs have provided an updated timeline on the return of recruit Kade Dykes as he continues to recover from a ruptured patellar tendon.<\/p>\n

Recruited by the Bulldogs on a one-year contract for this season, Dykes has been limited to only nine NSW Cup matches in the past three years due to multiple knee injuries, such as a torn ACL.<\/p>\n

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Preparing to make an impact at his new club, Bulldogs GM of Football Phil Gould has confirmed that he won\u2019t make his return to the field until at least April.<\/p>\n

This will see him be unavailable for selection for the club\u2019s opening five rounds against the Dragons, Raiders, Knights and Rabbitohs.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe believe that Kade will flourish in the Bulldogs system,\u201d Gould said of Dykes when he was first signed.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile injuries have halted his development, Kade has great potential, and his ability to play both at fullback and in the halves is an asset.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe is a bright young man who works hard, and he will fit in nicely with our squad for the 2026 season.<\/p>\n

NRL 2022 RD21 Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks v St. George Illawarra Dragons – Kade Dykes. Picture: NRL PhotosSource: Supplied<\/p>\n

FORMER EELS FORWARD LANDS CONTRACT UPGRADE WITH NRL SIDE<\/p>\n

Initially signing a one-year contract with the Townsville Blackhawks for 2026, former Parramatta Eels enforcer Wiremu Greig has landed a surprising contract upgrade.<\/p>\n

Impressing in pre-season with the Cowboys, the club has confirmed that Greig has now secured either a development or train-and-trial contract with the Queensland-based side.<\/p>\n

Previously with the Eels, he played 27 NRL matches for them between 2021 and 2024. <\/p>\n

This comes as the Cowboys confirmed their QLD Cup allocations for the 2026 season.<\/p>\n

Greig, Soni Luke, John Bateman, Matt Lodge, Zac Laybutt and Viliami Vailea headline the players allocated to the Townsville Blackhawks.<\/p>\n

While Mason Barber, Xavier Kerrisk, Jaxon Purdue, James Walsh and Jason Taumalolo have been allocated to the Mackay Cutters.<\/p>\n

And Robert Derby, Ethan King, Reed Mahoney, Jaxson Paulo and Jeremiah Nanai headline the Northern Pride allocated players.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re excited to return to the three-club model, which has been fruitful for our club in the past,\u201d Cowboys assistant coach Steve Sheppard said. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe have made one change to our allocations for 2026 after consultation with the playing group following last season. <\/p>\n

\u201cPlayers with young families have been allocated to the Blackhawks to allow them to spend more time at home during the season.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis decision also provides a wonderful opportunity for our younger players to take immediate key roles with the Cutters and Pride. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe are thrilled to partner with the Blackhawks once again and we look forward to building on the continued relationship with the Cutters and Pride.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wiremu Greig has made a return to North Queensland Cowboys pre-season training via a unique pathway. Picture: Alix Sweeney\/Cowboys MediaSource: News Corp Australia<\/p>\n

INTERNATIONAL FORWARD EYES NRL RETURN<\/p>\n

New Super League recruit Jacob Alicke-Wiencke admits that he is eyeing a return to the NRL in the future as the competition expands to 19 teams within the next two years.<\/p>\n

An 11-time international for Papua New Guinea, Alick-Wiencke decided to make the move overseas after not being renewed by the Gold Coast Titans at the end of last season.<\/p>\n

One of eight players who left the club, he recently signed a three-year contract with the Leigh Leopards in the Super League to play under Adrian Lam.<\/p>\n

However, he admits his time in the NRL is not over.<\/p>\n

Able to play a variety of roles in the forward pack, the 26-year-old would be a useful signing to either of the new expansion clubs, but especially the PNG Chiefs who will enter the NRL in 2028.<\/p>\n

\u201cI personally think I\u2019m still at a high enough level to play in the NRL, but this is an opportunity to come over here and play week in, week out,\u201d he told Love Rugby League.<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cI was on the fringes in Australia, so I\u2019ll try to assert my dominance (in Super League) and make a bit of a name for myself, or at least a bit more of a name for myself over here.<\/p>\n

\u201cI personally think I\u2019m still at a high enough level to play in the NRL, but this is an opportunity to come over here and play week in, week out. <\/p>\n

\u201cI was on the fringes in Australia, so I\u2019ll try to assert my dominance (in Super League) and make a bit of a name for myself, or at least a bit more of a name for myself over here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Over the past three years, Alick-Wiencke featured in 19 NRL matches for the Titans and a further 81 games in the QLD Cup reserve-grade competition for the Souths Logan Magpies, Burleigh Bears and Tweed Heads Seagulls between 2019 and 2025.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Canterbury Bulldogs have provided an updated timeline on the return of recruit Kade Dykes as he continues…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":452687,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[568],"tags":[212975,24164,64,63,689,233824,115408,7622,7520,163128,4524,222174,25558,233818,4612,233827,19972,49966,39262,11738,1081,28066,233822,222177,233821,79826,233817,66571,27296,233826,761,762,233823,764,132833,158,677,63149,27284,233816,1077,83409,74193,47900,85,233815,233819,233820,27155,233825,11741],"class_list":["post-452686","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nrl","tag-adrian-lam","tag-assistant-coach","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-australia-and-new-zealand","tag-bright-young-man","tag-burleigh-bears","tag-canterbury-bulldogs","tag-chicago-blackhawks","tag-contract-upgrade","tag-ethan-king","tag-ethan-lee-chalk","tag-expansion-clubs","tag-football-phil-gould","tag-gold-coast-titans","tag-immediate-key-roles","tag-injury-update","tag-james-t-walsh","tag-jason-taumalolo","tag-jaxon-purdue","tag-jaxson-paulo","tag-john-bateman","tag-lands-contract","tag-lee-chalk","tag-love-rugby-league","tag-mackay-cutters","tag-mason-barber","tag-matt-lodge","tag-melanesia","tag-multiple-knee-injuries","tag-national-rugby-league","tag-nationalrugbyleague","tag-new-super-league","tag-north-queensland-cowboys","tag-northern-pride","tag-nrl","tag-oceania","tag-one-year-contract","tag-papua-new-guinea","tag-reserve-grade-competition","tag-robert-derby","tag-sharks-v","tag-soni-luke","tag-souths-logan-magpies","tag-sports","tag-steve-sheppard","tag-surprising-contract-upgrade","tag-three-club-model","tag-train-and-trial-contract","tag-wiremu-greig","tag-zac-laybutt"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/452686","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=452686"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/452686\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/452687"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=452686"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=452686"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=452686"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}