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Canterbury have lured highly rated Penrith assistant Cameron Ciraldo to be head coach at the NRL club from next season on a five-year deal.

Cameron Ciraldo has signed a five-year deal to take over as coach at NRL club Canterbury next season.

The in-demand Penrith assistant has helped mastermind the defending premiers' climb to dominance under Ivan Cleary.

But he's decided to take the step up into the head coach role at the Bulldogs after previously knocking back the Wests Tigers job.

The Bulldogs confirmed the news via a statement on their website.

"As the club continues to build for long-term sustained success, we are pleased Cameron shares the vision of ensuring our football programs are best-in-class," the statement read.

Interim Bulldogs coach Mick Potter was keen to stay on after taking over from sacked coach Trent Barrett.

However Canterbury general manager of football Phil Gould wanted Ciraldo, who has been in various coaching roles at the Panthers since 2014, to fill the position.

His arrival at Belmore will likely secure star playmaker Matt Burton - who Ciraldo previously coached at Penrith - long-term at Canterbury.