The Bulldogs have continued their push to bring in new faces to the club from outside Group Nine with the signings of Andre Iro and James Strickland.

Iro is no stranger to Cootamundra after first linking with the club as a teenager in 2014.

However coach Aaron Byrne believes the front rower will have a much bigger impact this time around.

"He came over when he was 17 and played under 18s here plus a bit of reserve grade and not much first grade but he was very raw," Byrne said.

"He was pretty keen to come back out with a bit more experience under his belt, has been playing some good footy and he is a big lad."

The 24-year-old is the son of former New Zealand international Kevin Iro and it was through Mark Elia he first connected with the club.

Since then he's played Wentworthville and Sunshine Coast before heading back to New Zealand to play under Elia with Northcote in the Fox League.

Byrne is thrilled to have another big body in the side for 2020.

"I think that is what Coota lacked at times last year, those bigger bodies to get them out of trouble," he said.

"They had a team full of guys who were willing to have a good but you need that size in footy these days."

Strickland will add to Cootamundra's back line options.

Coming to the club as the top points scorer in the Cook Islands competition, Strickland has speed to burn and can be utilised in a number of different positions.

"He can play anywhere in the backs - fullback, halfback and in the centres - and is quite quick and looks like he will be quite handy for us too," Byrne said.

"Last year we lacked some tryscoring options, guys who can make something out of nothing, and hopefully he is one of them."

The latest signings come after Caleb Tohovaka and Jordan Coleman linked with the club from New Zealand.

Tohovaka is set to arrive on Friday however Coleman has already impressed at training.

"He looks quite sharp," Byrne said.

Having Coleman and Strickland in the same back line could create plenty of different avenues to attack.

However the Bulldogs have lost plenty of local talent as they look to rise back up the ladder following a horror 2019.

The club only won one game last season and will be without both co-coaches Matt Forsyth and Chris Maher as well as Wayne Parker.

James Woolford has also returned to Young after a season with Cootamundra.

Despite the changes off the back of collecting the wooden spoon, Byrne is pleased with the feeling within the club at training after coming back to the coaching role alonsgide Haydn Cowled.

"The feeling around at the moment is quite positive," he said.

"The vibe around training is good and this will be another boost on top of that and replaces some of the guys who have left. It is something to work with."

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