Bathurst Bulldogs aim to engage and lure star prop Lamarn Ma'a

The star tight-head prop and former Australian Schoolboy has made the move from CSU's New Holland Cup outfit to join the Bulldogs in the Blowes Cup for the upcoming Central West Rugby Union season.

While Bulldogs first XV co-coach Dean Oxley said he is not expecting many new faces this season, having Ma'a on deck is a big boost for the club.

"He's come across from CSU, it will be great to have him on board, he's got the connection with a lot of the Bulldogs guys through the Central West program," Oxley said.

"I think because a lot of older players have families and he's got children, so that was an attractive addition, to be in a family environment having kids run around, so I felt that was really something that appealed to him.

"There's [also] a young fella by the name of Jason Corliss, who played with colts a couple of years ago. He's a pretty large second-rower, number 8, and it's always good to get some big bodies back in the club as we're not traditionally a very large forward pack.

"It's a fairly exciting young group. There's a couple of new faces, but really it's much of the same."

Bulldogs commenced pre-season training last week with around 40 senior players in attendance. Oxley expects that number to grow as kick-off grows closer.

Players have been keeping connected via touch football - something Oxley labels "a real winner" - and the goal is to embrace that enjoyment factor as the season draws closer.

The entire Bulldogs coaching staff has been working on ways to better engage players, especially given the abandonment of last year's finals series due to COVID has meant a long off-season.

"We're trying to make the product a little bit more attractive this year, that is the plan around Bulldogs training," Oxley said.

"It's all about just making sure the boys and the girls are enjoying what they're doing and learning something as they're moving forward and that we're offering something that they want to be a part of.

"We'd like to hit the ground running, we'd like to get early points, we'd like make a target to chase, but all that being said, I want something that is sustainable, not a boom and bust."

The season is set to start on April 23 with Bulldogs to face an away match against Orange Emus.

Oxley said the goal is for Bulldogs "to get back towards the top" and given the stiff opposition they will face, having a strong squad with depth will be key.

"Cowra is a different animal now, they're a lot stronger, and Emus have always been strong, Dubbo is on the rebuild, Forbes is always there and City is rebuilding as well - so there are just no easy games," he said.

"You've got to be ready to play and you've got to have a strong squad. We can't do it with 15, we'll probably end up with 30 in our squad and I want everyone to feel like they're first graders. That's how we'll get it done, if we can pull together like that."

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