Roosters lose another star to Bulldogs as Phil Gould targets former club

2025-07-07 10:01:54

Phil Gould and the Bulldogs have reportedly signed another member of the

Roosters’ premiership-winning SG Ball Cup team

, with young outside back Baxter Warner leaving the Bondi club for Belmore. The Roosters won the Under-19 competition earlier this year, but their success has seen a number of rival clubs take interest in their crop of young talent.

Cohen Dittmann and Tyson Walker (the younger brother of

Roosters star Sam Walker

) have been poached by the Cowboys, while Phillip Lavakeiaho has signed with the Sea Eagles. And the


Sydney Morning Herald is reporting


that Warner has now joined

Mikey Nassar in signing with the Bulldogs

.

Gould has been working on signing as many talented young players as he can, putting together an impressive pathways system at the Bulldogs. Warner played centre in the Roosters’ SG Ball Cup team that won the premiership this year, but can also play fullback and wing.

He was selected in the Under-16s NSW City team in 2022, and recently made his debut in the Jersey Flegg (Under-21) competition. Warner is the nephew of Jack Elsegood, who played 72 first-grade games for Manly and 77 for the Roosters.

But he’s now departed his uncle’s former club to link up with Nassar and Gould at the Bulldogs. Nassar previously played Harold Matthews Cup (Under-17s) for the Wests Tigers, before switching to the Roosters and starring in the SG Ball Cup grand final.

He played fullback for the Roosters’ Under-19 team, but can also play anywhere in the back-line. He’s been featuring on the wing in the Bulldogs’ system in Ron Massey Cup since making the club switch recently.

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The signings of Nassar and Warner continues somewhat of a raid from Gould on his former club. The 67-year-old coached the Roosters from 1995 to 1999, and is now the general manager of football at the Bulldogs. Since taking on the role at the Bulldogs, he’s signed a number of former Roosters players in Sitili Tupouniua, Daniel Suluka-Fifita and Drew Hutchison.

Bulldogs urged to make decision on Sexton or Galvin

Meanwhile, the Bulldogs have been urged to

make a brutal call on one of Lachie Galvin

or Toby Sexton to solve their worrying dip in form. Cameron Ciraldo’s side have lost their last two games to slip from first to third on the

NRL

ladder, and the rotation of Sexton, Galvin and Reed Mahoney doesn’t appear to be working.

Galvin has been coming off the bench and replacing Sexton in the halves, who switches to hooker when Mahoney goes off. Last week against the Broncos, Ciraldo even shifted Matt Burton to centre to use Galvin and Sexton in the halves.

But after back-to-back losses, former Bulldogs player Michael Ennis believes the coach needs to change the plan. According to Ennis, the Dogs might be better off keeping Galvin in reserve grade until next year when

Sexton moves to France

.

“What they do with Galvin, he’s either on the bench or playing in reserve grade … that’s the decision they have to make at the moment," Ennis said last weekend. "Ideally, Galvin comes in the pre-season and they get a full pre-season to develop him. That’s not the case, he’s walked into a side that’s leading the competition with Sexton and Burton in great form as the halves pairing.

“Reed Mahoney and Bailey Haywood compliment each other around the ruck. That spine is so stable, the game plan they look to execute, they execute it.”

However Andrew Johns and Cameron Smith believe Sexton might be the man axed and forced to play NSW Cup. Sexton has been brilliant this season and led the Bulldogs to the top of the ladder at the halfway point, but has effectively been forced out by the mid-season signing of Galvin from the Wests Tigers.

This article originally appeared on Yahoo Sport Australia at
https://au.news.yahoo.com/roosters-lose-another-player-to-bulldogs-as-phil-gould-continues-signing-raid-on-former-club-223324228.html