2024 NRLW Signings Tracker: Wheeler headlines new Bulldogs signings
The Canterbury Bulldogs have continued building a squad for their inaugural NRLW campaign with Jillaroos representative Holli Wheeler headlining five new signings.
Wheeler shapes as a key figure in the Bulldogs’ maiden season next year and will provide crucial leadership on and off the field. The forward has been playing NRLW since the competition’s creation in 2018 and is currently playing a crucial role in the Sharks undefeated start to the year.
Joining the veteran at Canterbury next season are Tongan representatives Kalosipani Hopoate and ., Kiwi Fern Angelina Teakaraanga-Katoa and youngster Alexis Tauaneai.
All five players have signed two-year deals for the 2025 and 2026 seasons.
Hopoate is currently a member of the Roosters, while Dymock plays alongside Wheeler at Cronulla.
Both Teakaraanga-Katoa and Tauaneai play for the Dragons, with Tauaneai the 2023 Tarsha Gale Cup Play of the Tournament and on track to represent New Zealand in the future.
“Bringing in this core of our forward pack is going to suit the style of footy that we want to play,” coach Blake Cavallaro said.
“I believe we have a powerful and physical pack with controlled aggression, which is a necessity in the NRLW to ensure our halves and outside backs can play to their capabilities.”
Dominique du Toit is the latest Rugby 7s star to switch codes, with the Paris Olympian joining Australian team-mate Sharni Smale at the Sharks.
Du Toit was a shadow player at the Rio Games in 2016, in which Cronulla team-mate Emma Tonegato scored the winning try in the final and played at the Olympics in Tokyo in 2021 and Paris in 2024.
The 27-year-old brought down the curtain on her decorated sevens career, which included a Commonwealth Games gold medal in 2022 and four World Series triumphs, after Australia’s fourth-place finish at the recent Paris Olympics.
Like Smale, who made her NRLW debut for Cronulla in Sunday’s win over the Knights, du Toit has joined the ladder-leading squad as a replacement player after season-ending injuries to Jada Taylor and Grace-Lee Weekes.
