St George Illawarra Dragons CEO has confirmed Francis Molo has not received a breach notice from the club, and that the joint-venture is hopeful the forward will change his mind on leaving.

It was reported recently that Molo wanted out of the club and had refused to show up to training.

Webb confirmed that Molo had requested a release and is currently on leave, but denied breach notice has been issued.

"I guess there hasn't been a breach notice. There is a process you go through with those things, so it's probably good to qualify that," Webb said on SEN Radio.

"Francis did ask for a release, the club denied it, and now Francis is on leave. He isn't training at the moment.

"We are hopeful that he will consider that position and be back with us shortly.

"As far as giving you my thoughts are on whether he plays this year or not, I really can't do that. I think there needs to be a bit more communication and discussion before I can give you some clarity on that."

The incident was reported to be an off-handed comment made by a staff member regarding Molo and alcohol.

The prop, per reports, has been sober for two years, and he took offence to the comment.

Webb wouldn't confirm the nature of the incident, but said he would like the club and Molo to be involved in mediation to try and get to the bottom of the situation, finding a workable outcome for all parties.

"That [mediation] is the goal of the club without going into what it [the nature of the incident] is. We definitely think a discussion is what's needed - getting the right people around the table and having a discussion with Frank and his people. That's the path we are hoping to go down to solve it," Webb added when asked about the nature of the incident.

The Dragons refusing the prop's release request comes as no surprise given a current shortage of options in the middle third.

Despite having as many as ten players on the roster who can play through the middle, a handful are yet to debut, and Blake Lawrie may have played his last game for the club after an awful 2024 season.

Shane Flanagan has made no secret of his desire to sign re-enforcements in the middle third, having chased the likes of Stefano Utoikamanu, Daniel Saifiti, Reagan Campbell-Gillard and Corey Horsburgh among others in the last 12 months.

He did manage to add released Canberra Raiders forward Emre Guler to his 2025 squad in recent weeks, but will still be chasing more heading into the season, with the Dragons to open their campaign against the Canterbury Bulldogs.