Canterbury club captain Raymond Faitala-Mariner has been told he is not welcome at pre-season training as the relationship between the two parties continues to sour.
The majority of Bulldogs players are set to return to the club to begin pre-season training on Friday but Faitala-Mariner will not be one of them.
The Daily Telegraph’s Michael Carayannis believes the 30-year-old’s days at the club are numbered despite him having two years left on his contract.
“He was appointed club captain heading into last season and his relationship with the Bulldogs is beyond repair,” Carayannis said on SEN 1170 Breakfast.
“Faitala-Mariner was told ‘do not come’ and was granted permission to explore the market at the back-end of last season.
“The situation has been poor between him and the club and he’s seen as a real leader at that club.
“You’re not appointing him club captain if he wasn’t a person with good leadership qualities.
“The Dogs are that desperate to move him along.
“It’s a bizarre and strange situation.”
The Bulldogs were at the centre of controversy towards the back end of the season after it was revealed that senior players complained about training and it is believed that Faitala-Mariner was one of the players who raised these concerns.
Faitala-Mariner has failed to attract any offers from rival clubs which has led SEN’s Greg Alexander to suspect clubs have done their due diligence and don’t want the Samoa and Kiwi international on their books.
“There has got to be more to it,” Alexander said on SEN 1170 Breakfast.
“I’m sure the Dogs are willing to chip in (for his contract) and move him on.
“There’s got to be a club that would only pay $200,000 which is not a bad buy.
“Maybe they have discovered something that may have happened at the Dogs last year that doesn’t sit right with teams.”
Faitala-Mariner played just 14 games in 2023 for the Bulldogs.