Canterbury Bulldogs holding pre-season camp at Tamworth

The Bulldogs haven't played in the NRL finals since 2016 but hopes are high heading into the 2022 campaign following a major off-season recruitment drive.

St John's junior Burton and Wellington product Naden are among the new faces, alongside the likes of Coonamble Braidon Burns, Josh Addo-Carr, Tevita Pangai Jnr, Paul Vaughan, and Matt Dufty.

Burton, Naden and Pangai Jnr were part of a Panthers squad which won last year's NRL premiership while Burns and Addo-Carr have enjoyed plenty of success at South Sydney and Melbourne respectively.

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The new-look Bulldogs squad is ramping up its pre-season program in Tamworth this week, and while there Jackson said it's important to tap into the experience players like that have.

"I think pretty much everyone that we've brought on board this year has been part of a successful club, successful team," he said.

"The guys that have come from the Panthers and Melbourne systems they've obviously had a lot of experience in big games over the last few years so that's certainly helped us. Those guys also they're attacking weapons as well. They've got the ability to score points which is probably something we've probably lacked over the last few years."

Someone who played his junior footy in Gulgong while growing up, Jackson has been savouring the chance to get back out to the country this week and spending more time with his teammates.

"We've got a lot of new players that have come to the club and it gives us an opportunity to spend some quality time together and form some relationships and some combinations on the field and off the field as well," he said.

"I love getting out into the regional areas, people seem to appreciate footballers coming out and spending a little bit of time in their towns.

"I know when I was a kid and we had NRL players or players from one of the Sydney clubs come out, it put a smile on your face and you couldn't stop talking about it for weeks after."

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