'Dogs offer Tracey two-year extension, Bears hunting Hau

Phil Gould has confirmed the Bulldogs has tabled a contract extension offer to fullback Connor Tracey, with the fullbacks signature now the only thing standing between himself and two more years at Belmore.

Revealed over the weekend, the two-year offer was confirmed on Monday night's 100% Footy, with Gould indicating the process had been progressing for some time.

"The offer's gone out in the email. We've been talking to him for some months, there was never any doubts about us re-signing him," Gould said.

"We just had Vegas to get through and had a big preparation for the game down at Canberra. We caught up with his wife and manager last week. I sent an offer out on Friday so I expect to hear back very shortly."

Tracey has been one of Canterbury's best performers in the opening rounds of their 2026 campaign, and coach Cameron Ciraldo was equally effusive in his praise.

"He's put a lot of hard work into both sides of his game. He's a very underrated player but we love having him at our club," Ciraldo said.

"He's trained outstanding this whole pre-season. He's a guy who had a lot of injuries early on so there was a couple of years there when he didn't have pre-seasons."

The extension, if signed, is expected to draw a line under speculation linking the Bulldogs to Wests Tigers flyer Jahream Bula, with Tracey's re-signing effectively closing the door on any need to pursue the position externally.

Bears circle Titans' breakout star

While the Bulldogs move to lock up their own, the Gold Coast Titans face a fight to hold onto one of the competition's most exciting emerging talents, with the Perth Bears understood to be chasing back rower Arama Hau.

The 21-year-old stamped his mark on the competition in emphatic fashion on Sunday, crossing for two tries against the Dragons to help Josh Hannay secure his first win as Titans coach. Hau has been earmarked by some as the next David Fifita, a comparison that will only gather steam after his dominant display.

According to Code Sports, Bears coach Mal Meninga is keen to bring Hau west, adding to the substance is the fact that Meninga was involved in recruiting Hau to the Titans originally, with the youngster having come through Keebra Park School. Hau is understood to have been close to signing with Perth before his recent form gave him reason to reconsider.

His path to the first grade spot was far from straightforward. After spending the 2023 season on loan with English side Featherstone Rovers and making his NRL debut in the final round of 2024, Hau managed just seven games last season before seizing the back row position vacated by Fifita under Hannay's new regime.

Hannay revealed post-match that Hau's transformation only began in January, with Josh Preston the frontrunner for the spot until the youngster turned heads at training.

"In the middle of January he was not in contention," Hannay said. "He's a young lad and there was possibly a bit of immaturity about Arama. He probably didn't take his craft seriously enough.

"That's been a work-on for him and will continue to be. What he's done is put his head down and we're seeing the rewards. The challenge for him is to put a season together."

Four 80-minute performances to open the season suggest he is well on his way to doing exactly that.

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