14 players off contract. $800,000 spare in their salary cap.

It’s the frightening reality dooming Canterbury’s recruitment drive, according to Channel Seven reporter Josh Massoud.

‘’If you thought their salary cap was bad this year, wait until you see it in 2019 and 2020,’’ Massoud told the Big Sports Breakfast.

‘’The figure I’ve heard is that Canterbury have (14) players off contract and they only have $800,000 to spend next year.

‘’About half their squad is taking up about 90 per cent of their salary cap for next year, so they somehow have to fit 12 players into $800,000.’’

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Des Hasler’s risky strategy of back-ending contracts has created a challenging nightmare for the Bulldogs’ retention and recruitment team with a painful culling process imminent.

Out-of-favour prop Aiden Tolman has already been casted onto the open market, attracting interest from Cronulla and Gold Coast who are both willing to chip in on his rich three-year deal.

There’s almost no hope of Greg Eastwood extending his stay at Belmore, while the club proved Brett Morris wasn’t a top priority after shopping him around last season.

Both veterans are reportedly earning $800,000 and $700,000 respectively this season, freeing up at least $1.5 million for Dean Pay to find a partner for Kieran Foran if he decides to cut them loose.

Sticking to his preference of Bulldogs blood that saw a number of old faces appointed to his staff, Pay is eyeing off club junior Aidan Sezer as the solution to their attacking woes.

But with the club's cash tied up in back-ended deals, the rookie coach has no wiggle room in the salary cap to work with.

‘’It’s no secret Aidan Sezer desperately wants to come back to Sydney, his girlfriend wants to come back to Sydney, he’s a Bulldogs junior, there are players in that team that want him there,’’ Massoud said.

‘’It can’t happen. That’s the type of situation they are in.

‘’They just can’t go to market for even a middle of the range player.

‘’The club at some stage soon if they keep losing games , and that’s a rabid support base that wants success, the club needs to tell this story and explain it to its fans as Nathan Brown and Newcastle did a couple of years ago.

‘’That bought Nathan Brown two years of patience when they realised the situation that Wayne Bennett left the club in, the big contracts like your Trent Hodkinson’s and your Jarrod Mullen’s.’’

Canterbury's 2018 off-contract list: Lachlan Burr, Tom Carr, Mason Cerruto, Josh Cleeland, Greg Eastwood, Asipeli Fine, Matt Frawley, Lachlan Lewis, Jeremy Marshall-King, Rhyse Martin, Brett Morris, Josh Morris, Clay Priest, Zac Woolford