Eastwood turned down Knights to stay

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It takes a brave man to say no to Wayne Bennett but Canterbury back-rower Greg Eastwood has done just that in rejecting an offer from Newcastle to pledge his future to the Bulldogs.

Eastwood ended speculation over his future on Wednesday by signing a three-year contract extension with the Bulldogs.

Bennett, who coached Eastwood at the Broncos for four seasons before he moved south, was desperate to link up with the New Zealand international forward again at the Knights.

But Eastwood decided to turn down his former mentor's advances and now hopes to end his playing days with Canterbury.

"They did approach and I guess Wayne Bennett (is always a factor)," Eastwood told reporters on Wednesday.

"But the Bulldogs were my first priority and I'm glad they came to an agreement and I can stay.

"It's a special place in my heart Belmore. They brought me back from England and once my contract was coming up I didn't want to go anywhere else.

"Hopefully I can finish my career at the Bulldogs."

Eastwood first joined the Bulldogs in 2009 before a one-year stint in the English Super League with Leeds before returning to Belmore.

He has made 67 appearances for the club and was integral member of the side that went all the way to last season's minor premiership and grand final.

Delighted to have fought off the Knight's attempts to snare Eastwood, Bulldogs coach Des Hasler said: "He is a major part of our forward pack both in attack and defence so it is good to know that he'll be part of the club for the next three years.

"He's such a smart player, a smart-ball player who works hard on his game and offers our side a lot.

"Greg had a great back-end to last season and the way he's started this year has been fantastic."

After winning just one of their opening six matches, the Bulldogs began the rebuild of their season with a gritty win over Cronulla last weekend.

And Eastwood believes it's the first step for the club to get back to their heights of 2012.

"We went out and showed on Sunday we can still match it with the best," the 2008 World Cup winner said.

"Our defence was really good and we got our attack right.

"We're still working but we got a lot of confidence out of that."

The Bulldogs take on an injury-depleted Wests Tigers outfit at ANZ Stadium on Friday night.

Hasler said he expects Benji Marshall to play for the Tigers despite the classy number six not being named in their side on Tuesday.

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