ANNOUNCEMENT: Tevita Pangai Junior, Announce Resignation And Departure From Canterbury Bulldogs Today….

As Canterbury coach Cameron Ciraldo looks to end the club’s longest run without finals football since the 1950s, he’s got all the options a coach could ask for.

It’s not just that the Bulldogs have embarked on yet another big recruitment drive that gives the club’s roster a new look for 2024, it’s the sheer number of positions the new faces can play.

The Belmore club has found itself in an unusual position — they have so many utilities they can cover just about every position on the field several times over.

If we try to map it out you need to pay attention, because it’s hard to keep track of it all. Jaemon Salmon has joined from Penrith and he can play centre, second row and five-eighth. Former Cronulla man Connor Tracey can play fullback, wing, centre and five-eighth.

Blake Taaffe, a one-time grand finalist with Souths, wants a starting spot and he can play fullback and five-eighth. In the halves he’ll be competing with former Rooster Drew Hutchinson, who can play centre, five-eighth, halfback and hooker.

Then there’s Kurt Mann, perhaps the NRL’s ultimate Swiss army knife, who has played fullback, wing, centre, five-eighth, halfback, hooker and lock since his first grade debut almost a decade ago.

The top end of the roster isn’t immune to it either — marquee buy Stephen Crichton isn’t sure if he’ll play centre or fullback and the club’s previous prize capture from the Panthers, Matt Burton, was linked with a move from five-eighth to centre, the position where he’s represented New South Wales and Australia, last month.

It’s a lot of moving pieces and Ciraldo’s greatest challenge over the summer is making a picture where they all fit together. Where some might see it as a weakness, the flexibility can also be a strength and a way to create competition across the squad over the summer.

“If everyone’s pushing each other rather than the coach pushing you, that’s something everyone wants to be a part of,” Hutchinson said.

The former Roosters playmaker, like many of Canterbury’s new recruits, joined the club in search of a permanent starting berth.

Locking down a single position when you’ve played so many in the past isn’t easy but in Mann, who has played some of the best football of his career at lock forward in recent years, is proof a utility can eventually find a real home on the field.