Here yez go. Looks like Ready has been reading TK:
The RLPA are watching how the Bulldogs are treating unwanted club captain Raymond Faitala-Mariner. But more is at stake for those in charge at the rebuilding club, writes Brent Read.
The Bulldogs returned to training on Friday and there was plenty to like. Big-name recruit Stephen Crichton wasn’t there as he finally gets a well-deserved holiday but Bronson Xerri was front and centre as he works his way back from a four-year drug ban. Xerri could be anything. He could disappear into the ether. It will be a journey worth watching and it doesn’t end with a player looking to reclaim his lost years.
There are high hopes that the club can unearth some stars as they did last season with back rower Jacob Preston. Preston came from the clouds to become a fixture in the Bulldogs side. He trained the house down, got his reward and now serves as an example for other players emerging through the ranks.
As the faces old and new were being put through their paces,
one significant figure was absent. Raymond Faitala-Mariner was named club captain back in January. At the time, he was regarded as the type of player other Bulldogs aspire to become. The sort who would set an example that others would follow.
As of Friday, he was no longer welcome at Belmore and the Rugby League Players Association was seeking further information on his treatment. Faitala-Mariner has two years remaining on a deal believed to be worth in excess of $400,000 a season. His management has been attempting to find him a new home ever since he was told he was free to leave a few months back, but it has been hard going given the way things have panned out at the Bulldogs.
If reports are to be believed, Faitala-Mariner is seemingly paying the price for being the conduit between some of the players and the coaching staff. Coach Cameron Ciraldo wanted to toughen up the club after years of failure and it didn’t sit well with everyone. One player, who took mental health leave after being made to wrestle a conga line of teammates as a training ground punishment, is yet to return and has likely played his last game for the Bulldogs.
Ciraldo rocked the boat, Faitala-Mariner raised some concerns and was apparently cut adrift as a result. The new coach wanted to put his stamp on the club and there was always going to be casualties along the way. Few expected it to include the club captain. It was a high price to pay given the damage that has been done to his reputation, leaving him playing a game of patience as he waits to resolve his future. Clubs in England have reached out but Faitala-Mariner believes he still has something to offer in the NRL.
His isn’t the only future that hangs in the balance. Chair John Khoury will know in a matter of weeks whether he faces a challenge for his position at board elections next February. The sense is that Khoury will be safe, although there have been rumblings for months that support is being rallied and numbers are being counted. Bulldogs supporters have been patient to this point but at some stage, it will run out. Things need to change and change quickly. Head of football Phil Gould is calling the shots and has largely lived a charmed existence given the stench that has often emanated from the playing field. Khoury, however, is the man with his hands on the wheel and the buck stops with him. Fans will eventually turn if results don’t. Bulldogs supporters have been patient, happy to put their faith in Gould and Khoury, but they will only accept failure for so long.
At some point, they will want to see some results to match the promises. Khoury will know soon enough. By then, one can only hope Faitala-Mariner has found a new home. His story is a compelling one given the way he overcame serious injury to become an NRL player again. He could barely contain himself when he was named club captain earlier this year, having been hand-picked by Ciraldo to be a guiding light for others at the club. At the time, Faitala-Mariner spoke about how his injuries had helped him build patience, character and resilience. They had made him grateful and appreciative of the little things, he said. They were the words of a footballer who was willing to spill blood for the Bulldogs. ‘The culture here is mad’, he added. ‘The big thing is togetherness, and to achieve that we need to stay connected and trust one another’.
Those words must seem like a lifetime ago.
