Renowned as the entertainers and the family club, the Bulldogs are delighted to have formalised a relationship with Groups 4, 19 and 21 under the Greater Northern umbrella.

And, they have had a rich history of players from the region (formerly Northern Division).

Outstanding players such as Ewan McGrady (Moree), Keith Harris and Jim Leis (Tamworth) and Kerrod Holland (Singleton) have played for and are still playing for the Sydney club.

In Holland's case, the former Singleton Greyhound played his 50th game for the Bulldogs just a few weeks ago.

Greater Northern Tigers region area manager Scott Bone said there was a long list of players who had linked with the Bulldogs.

He described the recent Canterbury "signing" as a "watershed moment" and a "strong commitment by the Bulldogs to our game in the GNR".

Bone added the Bulldogs would provide a "new representative development pathway for participants (players, coaches and trainers) in Groups 4, 19 and 21".

"To have the opportunity to be part of an NRL club pathway without having to leave home is extremely beneficial to a player's development," he said.

"It's a great opportunity for not only players but also coaches and trainers throughout Groups 4, 19 and 21."

Already two of this year's young Tiger stars, Jack Todd and Mark Simon, have signed on to scholarships.

Simon will fly to the UK in November as part of the 20-man NSW Country under-16 squad with Moree's Jock Brazel.

Indeed youngsters such as Greg Whitbread, Dean Ellison and Damien Kenniff did so a few decades ago.

Whitbread, a former Our Lady of the Rosary College student in Tamworth, headed to St Gregory's, Campbelltown on a scholarship with the Bulldogs.

"Greg went onto to play with the Dogs before moving to Gold Coast Giants (now Titans)," Bone added.

"He played 60 first grade matches.

"His son, Jai was a chance of playing here in Tamworth on Saturday night.

"He's in the Titans squad."

The Bulldogs have had many other links with a region that had previously been seen as more of a breeding ground for the Newcastle Knights.

The Knights benefitted from the likes of Robbie McCormack (Inverell), Matt Parsons (Werris Creek) and Steve Simpson (Singleton) over the years with many others such as Peter Malcolm (Inverell), Brad Tighe (Tamworth), Owen Craigie (Tingha) gracing their Newcastle sides.

However, CRL CEO Terry Quinn said the Knights rebuffed any advances the CRL made in the past 18 months to sign on.

Instead the Bulldogs gratefully signed on and may reap a huge reward.

Just finding one gem like McGrady would be enough.

The former NRL livewire had starred for Moree in Group 4 and Northern Division before joining the Bulldogs in 1990.

He and his brothers - Laurie (Loppy) and Brett - with the help of the Ryan brothers - Mark (who also played for the Bulldogs in 1990) and Matt - helped destroy Gunnedah in the 1988 first grade grand final at Moree's Burt Jovanovic Oval.

Down 28-14 midway through the second half, the John Kirkwood captain-coached side ignited and in a mesmerising final 20 minutes posted 18 points to win 32-18.

David McCann, now club president of the Gunnedah Bulldogs, was a prop in that decider for the Gunnedah team.

He went to the Bulldogs for two seasons (89-90) but remembers that '88 grand final well.

McCann took a hamstring injury into that match and came off midway through the second half.

"Panda (Ewan McGrady) went berserk, his brothers, Matt and Mark Ryan, tore us apart," he recalled.

"He (McGrady) was a special player though.

"He did the same thing to good players down there (in the NRL)."

The brilliant halfback struck repeatedly in his local career and, the same year as that Moree grand final win, the touring Great Britain side "never saw which way he went" when he led Northern Division to a shock win over the Englishmen at Scully Park in Tamworth.

He scored two tries in the 36-12 victory.

The following year he starred again when Northern Division beat Western Division in Dubbo.

Northern Division coach Frank Fish pulled a master stroke before the game, starting Aberdeen's John Hunter at halfback with McGrady on the bench.

He'd heard reports the Western Division boys were going to bash him, so Hunter ran on and took everything the locals threw early.

Singleton's Gary Gardner played in that game and still laughs about the fact the WD players all cheered and sledged "Ewan" off as he went to the bench.

The real McGrady then took the field and, with almost his first touch, scored one of the best big match tries this journalist has ever seen.

His tantalising little grubber in behind the defence caught the home side off guard.

Before they could recover and regather the ball, McGrady had skated through, picked the ball up without changing pace, accelerated and then stepped past an anchored fullback and scored under the posts untouched.

It was such a mesmerising masterpiece that it stunned the local crowd into applauding a magical moment.

I was hooting, clapping and taking swift notes to remind myself how great a try it was.

Still 30 years later it is etched into my memory.

McGrady then went on to play four years for the Bulldogs as well as a season at Wests, scoring about 30 tries in 64 NRL games.

He also won the Rothman's Medal (now the Dally M) in 1991, too.

His younger brother, Jason, also joined him at the Bulldogs in 1991-92.

"If any kid from the bush wanted to pick a club to look after them then Canterbury were the club," McCann said.

"They were renowned as the Catholics, the family club - and they are a family club.

"The camaraderie was unreal.

"Everyone was involved, it was a fantastic club to be at."

While down there McCann lived with Dean Pay, who is now the first grade coach.

"That's why they signed him for another couple of years recently," he said.

There are others too, who had their own Bulldog experiences.

Talented Gunnedah centre Jamie Corcoran had six years with the Bulldogs, Quirindi's Andy Saunders had 2017 with the boys from Belmore and Muswellbrook's Jamie Feeney spent seven seasons there, from 1999 to 2006.

The Canterbury-Bankstown link with the region would not be complete without mentioning Mick Adams.

He played 415 games for Widnes winning three premiership deciders and four Challenge Cup finals as well as 23 games for Bulldogs during the 1975-76 seasons.

He also toured with Great Britain and England and played against Northern Division in Tamworth in 1979, where he met his future wife, Chris.

He returned to Australia at the end of his career to live in Tamworth where he became a wonderful friend to many until his untimely death in 2017 from a heart attack.

An outstanding footballer, he was an even better bloke.

They filled Tamworth's TRECC with mourners coming from all over.

Former teammates from Canterbury and Widnes farewelled him and he is still fondly and sadly missed.

His positive spirit, kindness and sense of humour is a shining light for all of us to aspire to.

That's why he thrived in that family atmosphere at Canterbury and why that "family club" will help and prepare the way for a new generation of young stars.