Canterbury has officially granted Raymond Faitala-Mariner permission to negotiate with other clubs, just eight months after appointing him as club captain.
There has been ongoing speculation over the future of Faitala-Mariner, despite being contracted until the end of 2025. This masthead first revealed he was on the outer in July, although the situation only came to a head during a recent meeting with club supremo Phil Gould.
If Faitala-Mariner can’t find another home, he will remain at Belmore, although it’s likely the 30-year-old has played his last game for the club.
“After discussions with Canterbury officials, Ray has been given permission to look elsewhere,” said Faitala-Mariner’s manager, Ernesto Santone.
Faitala-Mariner was appointed club captain in January, while Reed Mahoney and Matt Burton were given the on-field co-captain roles. However, the Bulldogs have decided to shake up their roster after a disastrous 15th-placed finish, in which they recorded the 12th-worst defensive record of the NRL era (765 points conceded, at 32 per game).
Several other contracted players are expected to be given permission to negotiate with rivals.
Raymond Faitala-Mariner could be leaving the Bulldogs.Credit: Getty Images
It has been reported that several Polynesian players had approached Faitala-Mariner to express their concerns about the club’s culture and training regimen. In his capacity as club captain, “RFM” relayed those sentiments to Canterbury officials.
However, the Bulldogs have doubled down on their desire to forge a harder edge, with Gould and coach Cameron Ciraldo making no apologies after failing to make the finals since 2016. The club’s training philosophies have come under the spotlight after a player was made to wrestle each of his teammates after arriving late, a punishment one onlooker described as “brutal”. The player requested, and was granted, a leave of absence to deal with mental health issues shortly after the incident.
Faitala-Mariner, who made his 100th NRL appearance for Canterbury in July, has played predominantly in the back row throughout his career. However, the Kiwi international played his last two games at prop to cover for the injury crisis affecting the club’s middle forwards.
Injuries, as well as a sickness that led to pneumonia, resulted in Faitala-Mariner making only 14 appearances this year.
“Ray spoke about how much he loved the club when he was appointed captain at the start of the year,” Santone said.
“He has been a staunch supporter of the club, he’s been there since 2016 through all the injuries and ups and downs. 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.”
Faitala-Mariner spoke about the toll his sickness took during an interview with NRL.com in July.
“It started off like a ’flu and then there was this one training session where it was really cold,” Faitala-Mariner said at the time.
“I shouldn’t have trained but I trained anyway – I trained, being ill – and one thing led to another.
“I was in the hospital, I did a few blood tests, and they came back that I had pneumonia. I was in hospital for a week, and I was bedridden for about four weeks … I actually thought pneumonia was only for the elderly people until I spoke to the doctor and he said anyone can get it.”
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