Canterbury Bulldogs director of football Phil Gould has revealed the person responsible for leaking a photo of him meeting with Raymond Faitala-Mariner has been identified.
The leaked picture was revealed in the media over the weekend, with Gould meeting with Faitala-Mariner and his manager after a difficult period in recent times.
Faitala-Mariner has reportedly been given permission to exit the Bulldogs, with that permission first granted mid-last year following comments over Cameron Ciraldo's training requirements at the club.
The club captain, who himself had returned from injury, was also utilised in the middle third instead of on the edge by Canterbury during 2023, and that was when he could play, after being put in hospital at one point by pneumonia.
It's unclear exactly what the meeting between Gould and the forward achieved, but the director of football took to Twitter/X saying that the club is unimpressed and that the person has been identified through leagues club CCTV.
😂😂😂 A photo was taken of me yesterday, in a meeting at Canterbury Leagues Club, and sent to the media for publication. I never care about these things, however, the club is rightfully unimpressed. Leagues Club CCTV has recorded the person responsible. He has now been…
— Phil Gould (@PhilGould15) November 12, 2023
"A photo was taken of me yesterday, in a meeting at Canterbury Leagues Club, and sent to the media for publication," Gould wrote.
"I never care about these things, however, the club is rightfully unimpressed. Leagues Club CCTV has recorded the person responsible. He has now been identified. I am told that he is a professional photographer.
"I have an image of him, and we also have his name. Again, these things never worry me. But I just wonder why a professional photographer happened to be at that particular venue, at that time of day, in a very quiet lounge of the club, and prepared to take the photo that he did?
"I find it hilarious. But I guess that's the world in which we live."
Faitala-Mariner was at one point linked to the New Zealand Warriors late last year, although Gould himself shot those rumours down in flames.
The forward has not been linked to any other clubs, although will likely fall further down the pecking order at Belmore in 2024 as young players continue to emerge, Josh Curran joins the club, and the Bulldogs continue to push for the signing of former Roosters premiership-winning prop Siosiua Taukeiaho.
“The club is unimpressed”
How does Phil Gould think Raymond Faitala-Mariner feels about the way he has been treated?
If I were RFM I would tell the Bulldogs that I have a contract, and will expect the club to honour it, and not try to force me out.
If the club want to free up the roster spot then they should make a financial offer to him, not try to bully him into walking away.