Dragons young gun Finau Latu signs with Canterbury Bulldogs, Shane Flanagan reaction, comments

Canterbury have got one over local rivals St George Illawarra, landing the signing of teenage prospect Finau Latu from next season in a move that has left coach Shane Flanagan fuming on the eve of a crucial Anzac Day game.

According to Nine's Danny Weidler, the 18-year-old has knocked back a contract extension from the Dragons and will head to the Bulldogs.

The deal is worth an estimated $1.2 million over three years.

Advertisement

READ MORE: More pain for busted Bunnies with grim Walker reveal

READ MORE: NFL Hall of Famer dead at 67 after horrible battle

READ MORE: Joey's plea to disgruntled Tigers ahead of Galvin return

Newcastle were also heavily in the mix to sign Latu, who is regarded as one of the best young forwards in the country and is on the cusp of an NRL debut.

After moving across from the Penrith's junior system to St George in 2022, Latu has come on in leaps and bounds, playing a pivotal role in the Red V's drought-breaking SG Ball premiership last year in a dominant grand final win over the Dogs.

Watch the 2025 NRL premiership live and free on Nine and 9Now.

Latu has since progressed through to the NSW Cup competition and has found a home in the No.13 jumper for the joint venture.

The NSW Blues U19s and Australian Schoolboys representative came through age-group football alongside Loko Pafisiki Tonga and Jacob Halangahu - both of who recently extended their stays with the Dragons until the end of 2026.

Finau Latu. St George Illawarra Dragons

Latu has been named in the first grade squad for the past fortnight under Flanagan, but it wasn't enough to keep him in red and white long-term.

Speaking to media on Thursday morning, the premiership-winning coach let rip at Finau's management for the way they handled the negotiation process.

"I wanted to keep him," Flanagan said.

"I'm not happy about the negotiation side of it, it's been handled poorly, terribly.

"Sometimes you lose them because you're not willing to pay a certain fee or you don't want the player, but we wanted to keep him. We're not happy about it.

Shane Flanagan speaks to media ahead of round eight Nine

"I just didn't like the way it was handled by his management, it was handled really poorly.

"We've brought that young bloke up for the last three or four years, we wanted to keep him and we never got an opportunity to."

St George Illawarra have recently re-signed both Toby and Ryan Couchman, as well as rookie back-rower Dylan Egan for a further two seasons.

Click here to read article