Toby Sexton has declared he wants to stay at the top-of-the-table Bulldogs, but the club are torn on whether to stick with their halfback or hold off in hope of building a Panthers-like dynasty. Off-contract Sexton is playing some of the best football of his career, with Canterbury enjoying their strongest start to a season since 1938. Watch your team in the 2025 NRL Telstra Premiership. Stream every round LIVE in 4K, with no ad-breaks during play, on Kayo Sports. New to Kayo? Get your first month for just $1. Limited-time offer. But they don’t consider him an elite NRL half and the club have made no secret of their desire to sign one. Both Daly Cherry-Evans and Lachlan Galvin were recently linked with a move to Belmore. “I love this club at the moment and the direction it’s going in, it’s a really enjoyable club to be at, and yeah, I want to try to stay as long as possible,” Sexton told foxsports.com.au. “I’m doing a pretty good job at not worrying about that external stuff. The Dogs are always linked to some kind of half. That’s never ending, I’ve just got to worry about what I’m doing.” Bulldogs premiership-winning playmaker Braith Anasta told foxsports.com.au that it’s a “tricky” situation because he believes they’re an elite halfback away from winning “three comps in a row”. “If a big-name No. 7 came on the market I think they’d be interested because that’s really the final piece for them,” Anasta said. “But because Sexton is playing so well and has for a while, do they stick with him and put that to bed? Obviously they’re second guessing because they haven’t extended him and they’re probably wary of how much they pay him. “Sexton with his form at the Dogs would probably pick up $700,000 easily somewhere else and they’re probably thinking we don’t want to pay $700,000 because we’re not sure and if we pay $700,000 we’re out of the race for a No. 7 if they come on the market. “They don’t want to unsettle what they’ve got there and they don’t want to look like they’re looking for another half because they want to respect Sexton and the playing group. NRL agrees for Bears WA expansion | 01:02 MORE NRL NEWS FURNACE: Why Madge pulled Hunt stunner; ‘big question mark’ Dogs can’t shake LATE MAIL: Broncos star scratched as Madge weighs up switch for huge clash ‘NIGHTMARE’: The $2m payout keeping AOB safe in Knights’ historically bad season ‘MAJOR ISSUE’: Tigers boss called out over ‘hard to cop’ Benji claim in Galvin saga “If they can keep him at the right price, keep him for sure. Get him on a two-year deal for between $500,000 to $650,00 then if a good half comes on the market and Sexton isn’t getting the job done, they can be in the race for him still. “But if they pay too much and it doesn’t work then they’re gonna cut their nose off to spite their face. That’s why they’re treating this decision very cautiously because it’s a big one. “This is not to disrespect Sexton because I think they can win a comp with him. But if you had premier No. 7 come to the Dogs, they could win three comps in a row with the squad they’ve got, we’re talking Penrith.” Canterbury hooker Reed Mahoney said Sexton works as hard as anybody he’s ever played with and backed the club to re-sign him. “The start of last year was tough for him. He had to work on a few things in Cup and to come through the other side and he’s playing great for us,” Mahoney told foxsports.com.au. “He’s taken our football side the way he wants to play and he’s not overdoing it, but he’s just doing enough that he has to. Potential shock three-way player swap | 02:35 MORE NRL NEWS ‘EYE FOR AN EYE’ Cleary’s hip-drop confusion as NRL coaches vent over refs ‘NOT BACKING HIM’: DCE urged to stand down as skipper amid horror form slump RESSIES WRAP: Cleary’s little brother stuns with freakish act; Galvin’s monster outing TALKING POINTS: Wayne’s big headache as Bunnies ‘battered’; ‘buy of the year’ “We don’t need Toby setting up every try. We just need him doing his role, kicking well, defending well and he’s doing that great. “It starts with preparation and his is second to none.” Sexton stopped short of agreeing that he’s in career-best form but said he’s loving his footy at the moment. “I don’t know about career best, but yeah it’s obviously nice to be 6-0, it’s a good way to start the season and I’m just playing for the good side at the moment and I’ve got a pretty simple role,” he said. “There’s a couple of key areas that I want to focus on each week, and try not to over complicate my role. I’ve got a lot of good players around me, and I feel like if I can play a simple role then that’s my way of contributing to the team.” Watch LIVE coverage of the 2025 Betfred Super League season on Kayo Sports | New to Kayo? Get your first month for just $1. Limited time offer