After weeks of speculation and denials from the Bulldogs, club captain Raymond Faitala-Mariner has been given permission to negotiate with other clubs.
He is the first of several Bulldogs players expected to be told they are free to leave.
Faitala-Mariner’s manager Ernesto Santone confirmed the news to The Sydney Morning Herald.
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Several media outlets have reported a rift had formed between the Polynesian players and coach Cameron Ciraldo surrounding concerns about the club’s culture and training regimen – which has also come under scrutiny in the past week.
Since his arrival at Belmore, Ciraldo and general manager Phil Gould have taken a harder edge in a bid to take the Bulldogs to the finals for the first time since 2016.
The Bulldogs last week defended their treatment of a top-30 player who walked out of training some six weeks ago, a week after being made to wrestle anywhere between a dozen and 20 teammates as punishment for arriving to training late.
He hasn’t been seen at the club since.
Reports first emerged Faitala-Mariner was on the outer at Belmore in July, which was denied at the time by Bulldogs supremo Gould.
On Nine’s 100% Footy on Monday night, Gould was asked directly about Faitala-Mariner and concerns around the culture within the club. He dismissed the reports as a “deliberate destabilising act”.
“I don’t read the media – I ignore it and I don’t listen to it,” he said.
“But I can tell you that it’s a deliberate destabilising act by people in the media who are trying to cause problems.
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“There are no issues there. There are no culture issues there at the Bulldogs. None whatsoever. There are no issues with the coach whatsoever. Done.”
The issue was not addressed on Gould’s regular Wide World of Sports Six Tackles with Gus podcast on Wednesday.
Club captain Faitala-Mariner played just 14 games this year, after a flu deteriorated into pneumonia after apparently continuing to train through the illness.
He spent a week in hospital and was bedridden for a month. He eventually returned to training six kilograms lighter.
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Santone said Faitala-Mariner’s decision to continue to train while sick, as well as playing out-of-position through the club’s injury crisis at the back-end of the 2023 season, was proof of his commitment to the club.
“He has been a staunch supporter of the club, he’s been there since 2016 through all the injuries and ups and downs,” he said.
“He has shown his commitment again this year by not playing in his regular position, he has continued at it.
“No one can question his work ethic after training while sick, which ended up becoming pneumonia. He spent five days in hospital and then returned to training six kilograms lighter pretty much straight away.”