The NRL coaching merry-go-round took a further twist with the confirmation that the last placed Canterbury Bulldogs had signed Panthers assistant coach Trent Barrett. Bulldogs CEO Andrew Hill confirmed that Barrett had been signed to a three-year deal and will be taking the reigns at Belmore in 2021. Barrett plans to see out the 2020 season at Penrith where he has transformed the Panthers into potential title contenders.

Canterbury assistant coach Steve Gerogallis will remain as interim head coach until the end of the 2020 season, with Barrett coming into the side in October.

Bulldogs CEO Andrew Hill was confident that the Bulldogs had made the right move in securing Barrett’s services:

“We have acted swiftly to secure the services of Trent because we believe he is the right man to take our club forward, having spoken to Trent on several occasions we have been impressed with his vision for the future of our football team and how he will look to develop our players on and off the field,” Hill said.