SAINTS prop Luke Thompson has vowed to sign off at his hometown club with a great final season after it was announced that he is joining Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs on a three-year-deal.

The 24 year-old forward, who will join the Bulldogs for the start of the 2021 season, attracted the attention of several NRL clubs.

He will follow in the footsteps of former Saints skipper James Graham who departed Saints for Belmore in 2011.

But the current Harry Sunderland Award winner wants to sign off in style for the club that has nurtured him for 13 years.

Thompson said: "Getting the chance to join the Bulldogs and be a part of a club with so much history and with such passionate fans is very exciting.

"Having spoken to many people at the club and listened to their plans for the future, I know that they are building for success and I’m looking forward to being part of that.

"When you join a club like the Bulldogs you know about the players and the culture that has gone before you and the fact that second best isn’t good enough and that was something that was important to me.

"I look forward to joining them for the 2021 season and getting to be a part of a talented squad that is hungry for success and this will now enable me to focus on having a great final season with St Helens.”

Bulldogs Chief Executive Andrew Hill spoke about the leadership qualities that Thompson would bring to the club.

“Even though Luke is at the start of his career, we have been really impressed by his on-field leadership qualities and his desire to be the best," he said.

"He is an excellent player who has become a star of the Super League and has shown what he is capable of at International level and we are looking forward to him getting the chance to show everyone in the NRL what he is capable of.

"We feel as though we are creating a really strong squad moving forward and to have someone of Luke’s calibre want to be part of that and to buy in to what we are building here is a big vote of confidence in the club and the future."