Canterbury have confirmed Moses Mbye will play his last NRL game for the club against Gold Coast on Saturday before he moves across to the Wests Tigers.
Mbye recently signed a four-year contract with the Tigers from next season, but both clubs have agreed to the early switch before the June 30 transfer deadline.
“It’s his last game tomorrow and both parties have agreed to it so it’s a fitting farewell for him here in Belmore,” Bulldogs coach Dean Pay said on Friday.
“He’s been a fantastic player for the club. He’s a great person, and it’s sad to see him go.”
After facing the Titans the 24-year-old will head to Concord next week to start training with his new club.
Strangely, Mbye will play against the Titans in two consecutive games for different clubs either side of the representative bye weekend.
Pay said Mbye, who joined the Bulldogs in 2014, planned to speak with the playing group on Friday as he got his head around the premature move.
“He’s been here for a number of years,” Pay said.
“You never like to see any younger players leave the club but at the end of the day it’s a decision both parties had made.”
Less clear is the future of Aaron Woods, the figure at the centre of a tug of war between the Bulldogs and Sharks, who want him to join before June 30.
“Woodsy is still contracted here, that’s where it stands,” Pay said.
“There’s always speculation but he’s still contracted here.”
The coach was also quick to shut down talk the club would force decorated playmaker Kieran Foran into medical retirement.
Twelves hours after chief executive Andrew Hill denied the Bulldogs wanted to move the injury-prone premiership-winning halfback on in a bid to clear out some salary cap space, Pay reiterated there had been no discussions of the sort.
“There’s never been any discussion here and we’ve never had any discussions with the NRL” he said.
“Kieran is contracted here and that’s where that stands.”
He expected Foran to return from his toe injury to play Newcastle on Saturday week.
Greg
Guest
Looks like Mbye is playing against the Titans two weeks in a row for two different teams
Albo
Guest
Whilst it is sad for Doggies fans, it is a fantastic bonus for the Tigers in their quest for the finals spot !
Robert F
Guest
Still don't know what to make of all of this..... Pretty obvious the Dogs are done for the year but is there any point in watching or caring for the remainder of the year? Mbye has been the best player out of the spine by a country mile and he has been shown the door. Letting him go early has confirmed the club has written off this year as I don't see what depth they have to fill in for the fullback role. So not only do we need halves and a hooker but we also need a fullback as for me Hoppa is too slow and indecisive for fullback. I guess now would be a good time to blood the young guys and give them a shot to see what they have to offer in possibly making the team theirs in 2019. First person who comes to mind is Josh Cleeland but for some reason I believe it won't happen since it hasn't already happen with Lichaa coming back into the side so JMK to cover Foran while he is out. sad sad sad........