Canterbury Bulldogs director of rugby league Phil Gould has confirmed both Enari Tuala and Jacob Kiraz will miss the start of the 2025 NRL season with injury.
Kiraz was among the best for the Bulldogs during 2024 on their run to the finals, leading the club in plenty of key statistical areas and sneaking into the top ten of Zero Tackle’s NRL MVP.
His strong form has him a walk-up start for the Bulldogs once he is fit, with that not to be expected inside the first month of the season.
Kiraz hasn’t trained at all during the off-season owing to a back injury sustained at the end of last season.
Enari Tuala, on the other hand, has joined the Bulldogs from the Newcastle Knightsduring the off-season, and Gould revealed he had been training strongly before suffering a foot injury.
The centre and winger, signed to the Bulldogs as a depth option, is unlikely to be available before Round 10.
“Jacob Kiraz hasn’t trained all summer and won’t see the start of the season and then last week our new buy from Newcastle (Tuala), who was training really well, fractured his foot at training, so he’s unavailable,” Gould said on the Six Tackles with Gus podcast on Wide World of Sports.
The injuries will test the Bulldogs outside backs depth, given they also sacked Josh Addo-Carr at the end of 2025.
While Stephen Crichton and Bronson Xerriare both believed to be fit and firing to retain their centre jerseys, the starting wingers will likely be Marcelo Montoya, who rejoins the club from the New Zealand Warriors, and Blake Wilson, who has impressed during his NRL opportunities to date.
The duo will be backed up by the likes of Jonathan Sua, who is on the club’s development list and started in the club’s first pre-season challenge match against the Wests Tigers on Sunday at Kogarah.
The Bulldogs would likely need to improvise with other players beyond that. Connor Tracey, who will start the season at fullback, could even find himself on the wing if injury issues cause a significant reshuffle.
Bulldogs likely Round 1 team
1. Connor Tracey
2. Blake Wilson
3. Stephen Crichton
4. Bronson Xerri
5. Marcelo Montoya
6. Matt Burton
7. Toby Sexton
8. Max King
9. Reed Mahoney
10. Samuel Hughes
11. Viliame Kikau
12. Jacob Preston
13. Kurt Mann
Interchange
14. Bailey Hayward
15. Josh Curran
16. Sitili Tupouniua
17. Tom Amone