Canterbury's pursuit of Des Hasler's successor will ramp up on Tuesday when Dean Pay fronts the board to put his case forward to take on the job as Bulldogs coach.
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Canterbury will hold a board meeting on Tuesday night to finalise plans for life after Hasler but aren't expected to make a decision after the gathering.
Just over a month out from the start of pre-season, the Bulldogs board will get a strong indication of whether Pay is the right man for the job when they listen to what the Canberra assistant coach has to say about potentially returning home to Belmore.
Jim Dymock and Michael Maguire will also be the subject of discussions, but it's understood the board will deliberate over a number of candidates. But it's Pay who will get the chance to leave a strong first impression when he outlines his plans to bring the best out of a Bulldogs roster that left a lot to be desired in 2017.
The board will also discuss its options in relation to the looming legal battle with Hasler, who was told the heads of agreement signed earlier in the year - that gave Hasler the impression he would be at the club until the end of 2019 - was non-binding.
The board will also need to determine the structure of the football department, but without a coach and a chief executive in place, it will leave some of the key decisions to the people set to take control later in the year.
Canterbury had already decided to limit its expenditure on the football department this year, offloading a number of Hasler's staff. It's likely the incoming coach will get a say in his staffing appointments, but the roster is all but finalised for next year.
As of last week, the NRL still had not registered the contracts of marquee recruits Kieran Foran and Aaron Woods. Despite Canterbury offloading James Graham to the Dragons to help their salary cap predicament, the governing body requires the Bulldogs to release at least one more player before rubber-stamping the deals with Foran and Woods.
The new Canterbury coach will have a number of pivotal positional decisions to make when he arrives given the club's attacking woes in recent seasons.
Hasler had planned to play Moses Mbye at hooker next year, but the club is now considering keeping Michael Lichaa if it can find room in the salary cap for a player who was unable to realise his potential under Hasler.
Andrew Hill, appointed as Raelene Castle's successor as chief executive, won't join the club until December when he finishes his current role as the chief executive of the Rugby League World Cup.
