Canterbury have hailed Nick Cotric’s signature as a “massive boost” in building a squad that can take them back to the NRL’s finals.

The Bulldogs confirmed rugby league’s worst-kept secret on Wednesday, with the NSW State of Origin winger to link with the club on a three-year deal.

It’s expected to 21-year-old could play as a centre at Canterbury, who are desperate to fix their roster after a long three-and-a-half years out of the finals.

“Signing a player of Nick’s ability and class is a massive boost for our club moving forward and another step in strengthening our squad to lead us into the future,” chief executive Andrew Hill said.

“With Luke Thompson having joined us and Nick now bringing some great strike power to our backline I am confident that we are constructing the quality of squad that can produce the results we are looking for in the coming seasons.”

Cotric has scored 37 tries in 80 games for the Raiders and was a key figure in their run to last year’s grand final.

It highlighted a big year for the youngster, who also made his NSW and Kangaroos debuts.

The Raiders had been keen to retain Cotric but pulled out of the race last week when the Bulldogs offered up far bigger money.

Meanwhile, Cotric’s announcement comes as the Bulldogs move closer to confirming Trent Barrett as the club’s next coach after the exit of Dean Pay.

The Bulldogs remain last on the NRL table with their attack having been a big issue for the past two years.