Phil Gould says the influence of fan favourite Josh Reynolds this pre-season has "done wonders" for Canterbury internally and externally, with one rising star in particular set to get the benefit of his tuition and guidance.
The 33-year-old Reynolds has returned to the club he played 138 NRL games for from 2011-2017 and Gould, the club's general manager of football, said his impact had been both positive and profound.
Gould said highly rated new 18-year-old five-eighth Karl Oloapu, signed on a four-year deal, would benefit from Reynolds' wisdom.
Playmaker Reynolds bleeds blue and white and it was no surprise he posted on social media recently a photo of himself alongside his hero Terry Lamb, one of the greatest players to lace a boot for the club.
Reynolds embraces club history and Bulldogs supporters embrace him. Gould said his return had been "wonderful for the fan base", and much more.
"Josh Reynolds' leadership through the off-season has been tremendous. It is a role model to the younger players," Gould told AAP at the Nine Network's Wide World of Sports NRL launch.
"That's what he wanted to do. He wanted to train with them and show them how a Bulldog trains and he's done that, to the point where he impressed the coach (Cameron Ciraldo) enough to be included in the top 30.
"I don't know how many games he will play this year, or whether he will play any, but the coach just wanted him around the group as much as possible.
"Josh has done wonders for the local community and wonders for the fan base. Internally he has done wonders for our playing group."
Oloapu is one of those players.
"We bought a young player from the Broncos in Karl Oloapu and Josh will be doing a lot of work with him privately and help nurture the early part of his career," Gould said.
Embracing the great Bulldogs history is important to Gould, who played for the club and coached Canterbury to the 1988 premiership.
He pointed to a growing group of former players including Andrew Ryan, Willie Mason, Mark O'Meley, Roy Asotasi, Steve Turner and assistant coach Mick Potter who all have roles at Belmore.
"A number of our players and staff now are ex-Bulldogs which is a nice touch," Gould said.
"The fans love the fact that we've brought former great players to the club."
