Penrith caretaker Steve Georgallis says a deal to become an assistant coach at the Wests Tigers doesn't necessarily rule him out of the vacant Canterbury job for 2012.

Georgallis will finalise a contract to be Tim Sheens' right hand man at the Tigers in the coming weeks, but says the agreement would allow him to take an NRL head coaching job if he was offered one.

"If a first grade opportunity came up and I was still assistant at Wests Tigers, obviously they would let me go, I'm pretty sure of that," Georgallis told reporters on Wednesday.

The Bulldogs position was vacated by Kevin Moore last month after he was told his services would not be required beyond this year, while current Warriors coach Ivan Cleary has been appointed to the Panthers head coaching position.

Georgallis has been linked with Canterbury and has made it known he'd like his young family to stay settled in Sydney.

Asked if he'd spoken with the Bulldogs, Georgallis said he hadn't "personally" and didn't know whether his manager had.

But he added: "Obviously they're looking at coaches for next year and obviously there's still that opportunity there if that arises as well."

Bulldogs chief executive Todd Greenberg has cast his net wide to fill the position, which is currently occupied by Jim Dymock, and has said he would interview around a dozen candidates, including NSW State of Origin boss Ricky Stuart.

Georgallis took the helm at the Panthers after Matt Elliott's mid season departure and, despite being told he was being given an audition for the top job, it was announced Cleary would be his replacement little more than a week afterwards.

Georgallis said he'd only been made aware of the job at the Tigers, who he previously played for, on Tuesday night.

"My manager's looking through it today and then hopefully that's finalised in the next one or two weeks," he said.

"It's good news for me and my family.

"It's a great club and a club I've been involved with most of my career with the West Magpies and the first year of the Wests Tigers.

"I'm really looking forward to going back there."

The Panthers are yet to announce who Cleary's assistants will be.

Meanwhile, the club has signed 19-year-old half Harry Siejka to a two-year deal, a move that may effect the chances of Parramatta discard Daniel Mortimer joining Penrith.

Mortimer has been linked with the Panthers since the Eels allowed him to look for new opportunities despite having two years to run on his contract.

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