The Bulldogs are set to close the book on the most dramatic chapter in the National Rugby League club's 66-year history with the retention of star backs Nigel Vagana and Brent Sherwin.

Bulldogs boss Steve Mortimer revealed the club was in the advanced stages of talks with Vagana and Sherwin to secure their services at Canterbury for the rest of their careers.

Vagana, the premiership's Centre of the Year and leading try scorer in 2002, and Sherwin, last season's Dally M medal runner-up, as well as Willie Talau, Luke Patten and Travis Norton were all off contract at the end of this season.

But Mortimer said rival clubs could forget about securing any of them because the Bulldogs had no plan to let the classy quintet off its leash.

"We're committed to keeping all of those guys," Mortimer said.

"We've started negotiations with Nigel, Shifty (Sherwin) and Luke Patten and we'll get to Willie and Travis Norton very soon.

"I'd like to think we'll reach an agreement with all of them before (the) June 30 (anti-tampering) deadline.

"It's a priority for us."

The promising news would be welcome relief to the Bulldogs faithful after the club's devastating expulsion from last year's finals series for salary-cap cheating.

The Bulldogs were forced to apply an across-the-board eight per cent pay cut to keep their record-breaking class of 2002 in tact and Vagana and Co. were likely to be asked to accept less money than they could receive elsewhere in order to stay with the current premiership favourites.

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