Kieran Foran's contract saga isn't over yet after revelations Canterbury boss Raelene Castle denied reports of a completed deal to Warriors counterpart Jim Doyle.
Off-contract at the end of the year, Foran and Wests Tigers skipper Aaron Woods are believed to have agreed to join the Bulldogs at the end of the season.
However Doyle emphatically slammed those reports on Friday.
"I got a text message from the Bulldogs CEO after midnight (Thursday night) saying, 'Despite what's on the back page of the newspaper, we've got no agreement with Kieran," Doyle said.
"'We've got no contract with Kieran Foran'."
The Warriors boss, who also took aim at the media's constant speculation over the player market, hasn't given up hope of keeping Foran at the club.
"He may go back to Sydney and he may still stay here. He's obviously finding it very difficult to make a decision because his kids are there," Doyle said.
"But at this point in time, he's still working through that. He wants to focus on playing really good football for the club and helping the club."
Doyle also suggested the player market is now set to find some traction after the NRL had finally given clubs a tentative salary cap figure for next season.
It is believed clubs have been told to work within the indicative cap being used in current collective bargaining agreement talks between the governing body and the players' union.
The cap is currently at $7 million this year, however it is understood some clubs have been signing players in the belief that figure could reach as high as $10 million as soon as 2018.
Doyle claims the uncertainty of the final cap figure is the primary catalyst to the increased speculation around the transfer market.
"Players and player managers who sign contracts didn't want to commit beyond 2017 because no one knew what the cap was going to be," he said.
"The NRL came out last night and have said to all the clubs, here's a number that you now have to use for the salary cap, so for the first time we've got clarity from them.
"Whether that's the final number or not, who knows? But they've given us some clarity so we'll be able to start locking in contracts for some players."
One of those players could be star halfback Shaun Johnson, who comes off-contract at the end of the season and is believed to have attracted interest from rivals clubs.
"I spent time with Shaun yesterday, I met with his manager this week. We're pretty close. Shaun obviously wants to get success and he wants to help this club get success," Doyle said.
Foran's possible arrival could spell the end of a number of Bulldogs players, including off-contract first-team regulars Will Hopoate, Josh Reynolds and Michael Lichaa.
Castle this week told AAP negotiations surrounding the future of local junior Reynolds "are progressing with his management."
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