Raymond Faitala-Mariner has confirmed he is now planning to see out the final two years of his deal at the Canterbury Bulldogs.
Named club captain just 12 months ago ahead of incoming coach Cameron Ciraldo taking over at Belmore, Faitala-Mariner, who had almost hung up the boots due to injury prior to that had a difficult season, spending a chunk of time injured and then in hospital with pneumonia.
He was then involved in a controversy around the club's training methods under Ciraldo, and, when things came to a head in the post-season, it was believed he may have played his last game for Canterbury.
Despite having two years to run on his contract, it was widely reported that the Bulldogs had given permission to the forward to explore his options elsewhere, and he didn't report for the first day of pre-season training.
It was reported however that no other clubs had expressed major interest in Faitala-Mariner. The closest report was at the back end of 2023 when the New Zealand Warriors were said to be briefly interested.
That is now in the rear-view mirror though, with the forward, who was shifted into the middle for much of his time on the park in 2023, back at training and telling The Sydney Morning Herald that he has sorted through his issues with the club.
“There was a bit of miscommunication,” he told the publication.
“Obviously, the club wanted to know if I was fit mentally to come back to training.
“I had that meeting on the weekend, on Saturday, just to clarify things and just reassure I am ready, that I am committed. I was going through a few things off-field, and I needed to sort things out, and I'm glad everything is sorted.”
He confirmed he didn't see himself leaving Belmore anytime soon as he takes on leadership responsibilities alongside a mostly inexperienced forward pack, particularly in the middle third, for 2024.
“I've got two more years here left on my contract, and I don't see myself leaving anytime soon,” he said.
“As long as I'm wearing the blue and white colours then I'm going to put my best foot forward ... I want to play footy, and I do want to see this club successful.”
The 30-year-old has played 114 NRL games, with the last 102 of those at the Bulldogs in a stop-start stint since 2016.
