Canterbury’s relationship with its 2023 club captain Raymond Faitala-Mariner has taken a brutal twist after he was reportedly told to stay away from pre-season training.
Faitala-Mariner was named Canterbury’s club captain after the retirement of Josh Jackson at the end of the 2022 season, although Reed Mahoney and Matt Burton were named the on-field leaders.
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But after Faitala-Mariner’s manager Ernest Santone made it clear the 30-year-old had been given permission to leave the club despite two years being left on his deal, it appears the club have drawn a line through the star.
As the first of the Bulldogs prepare to return for pre-season training on Friday, The Daily Telegraph has reported that “sources close to the club confirmed Faitala-Mariner had been told to stay away”.
Faitala-Mariner has two-years left on his deal which is worth a reported $400,000 per year.
It’s a shock fall from grace for Faitala-Mariner, who has played 102 of his 114 NRL games for the club and was elevated into the key leadership position.
But the rift reportedly began when the star was approached by a group of Polynesian players at the club who were unhappy with coach Cameron Ciraldo’s training requirements and he was asked to convey their concerns over the club’s culture and training.
Ciraldo defended himself late in the season after a player reportedly walked out of the club over a training punishment.
The forward played 14 games last season, having spent a month bedridden with pneumonia after training through a flu illness.
He played his last game in round 21 against Penrith.
However, the club’s footy boss Phil Gould denied in September that Faitala-Mariner had been given permission to leave the club.
But it doesn’t seem out of character for the Bulldogs, who have been undertaking the latest phase of their roster overhaul, having brought in nine players for the new season, while the same number of players are on the way out.
On Wednesday, the Bulldogs confirmed that Roosters Jake Turpin and Drew Hutchison, Knights utility Kurt Mann and Dolphins forward Poasa Faamausili on two-year deals.
They join Panthers premiership heroes Stephen Crichton and Jaeman Salmon, Rabbitohs utility back Blake Taaffe, Warriors back rower Josh Curran and former Sharks centre Bronson Xerri, who returns from a four-year ban after being caught using steroids as the club’s new faces.
The Bulldogs have also had plenty of players move on from the club including Paul Alamoti to the Panthers, Jake Averillo to the Dolphins, Kyle Flanagan to the Dragons, Franklin Pele, Luke Thompson and Jayden Okunbor to the UK Super League, Corey Waddell to Manly and Tevita Pangai Jr. to boxing.
The rebuild is necessary as the Bulldogs are currently in the middle of a long finals drought, having not made the playoffs since 2016.
The Bulldogs had a horror end to the season, winning just one of their last six, and two games since round 12.
The side finished the year 15th on the NRL ladder and despite having seven wins for the season, had a points differential of -331, the worst in the NRL.
The club leaked 769 points to have the worst defensive record in the NRL, and the second worst attack ahead of only the wooden spoon winning Wests Tigers.
But not all was bleak for the club as it won titles in both the under-21s Jersey Flegg and under-17s Harold Matthews competitions in 2023, meaning that young blood is developing at the club.
It continues the Bulldogs active off-season as the club announced a new coaching structure with club legend Josh Jackson named coach of the club’s Jersey Flegg side, with Steve Turner coaching the club’s SG Ball side.
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