Dean Pay has formally walked out on Canterbury on Tuesday morning, ending his three-year stint as coach of the NRL club.

Handed arguably the weakest roster in the NRL when he replaced Des Hasler after the 2017 season, Pay has led the Bulldogs to just 19 wins in 57 matches.

Assistant coach Steve Georgallis will take the reins as caretaker for the rest of 2020, while Trent Barrett is widely considered the frontrunner to succeed Pay on a permanent basis.