Bulldogs signings: Greenwood stays on, Leapai arrives, and Hart returns

Tyson Greenwood has confirmed that he will once again coach the club, but this time he will be flying solo as his former co-coach, Jesse Martin, has signed with the Woden Rams.

"It was a pretty easy decision for me," Greenwood said.

"I'm a Goulburn local, Goulburn junior, I haven't moved towns and I'm not going anywhere anytime soon. I thought 2021 was a very rewarding season for us as a club and also as a town with all the local junior boys that really stepped up and shined.

"[Jesse's] life got the better of him in terms of work commitments and travel, so he wanted to find a club closer to home, and we understand that."

Though Martin, who starred for the club on-field in 2021, will be sorely missed, the arrival of Ron Leapai and return of Chris Hart will go some way towards making up for his absence.

Leapai was a member of the Woden Rams' 2018 premiership-winning team, and spent the first half of 2020 playing in the prestigious French Elite One Championship where he turned out for FC Lezignan in 11 games.

After COVID-19 scuppered his dream of being selected for the Catalan Dragons in the UK Super League, Leapai came back to Australia and spent 2021 with the Tumut Blues in the Group Nine competition.

When Greenwood was informed by former Bulldog and Young Cherrypickers captain/coach, Nick Cornish, that Leapai intended to return to the CRRL competition, he leapt on the opportunity to add some much-needed size and strength to Goulburn's forward pack.

"He'll be huge for us, he's a big boy but he's also got crazy footwork," Greenwood said.

"He steps around blokes like a halfback and he's built like a front-rower, so I'm excited to see what he can bring to our club and First Grade side, and I'm keen to have him around the boys."

The signing of Hart, meanwhile, is also thrilling for Greenwood. The former Bulldogs back and kicker spent the 2020 season on the sidelines following the outbreak of the coronavirus, before he made his playing return to rugby union with the Bungendore Mudchooks in 2021.

"Chris and I are the same age, so we've played a lot of footy together," Greenwood said.

"We made our First Grade debuts in the 2015 season where we went on to play in the grand final and we unfortunately went down to the [Queanbeyan] Blues, and we both played in the 2019 grand final where we lost to the Blues again.

"I'm really stoked to have him back, because I know what he's capable of and having another older head will be really beneficial to the squad."

The club is expected to make further announcements regarding player signings in the coming weeks.

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