Moses Mbye will be fondly farewelled from Belmore on Saturday but his early exit could mean Canterbury end up keeping Aaron Woods, with Cronulla coach Shane Flanagan revealing negotiations for the front-rower have stalled.
After more than a fortnight of speculation, the Bulldogs confirmed Mbye would play his final NRL game for the club against Gold Coast before joining the Wests Tigers.
The Dogs' No.1 recently signed a four-year contract with the joint venture from next season, but both clubs have agreed to the early switch before the June 30 transfer deadline, contingent on Mbye passing a medical at Concord on Monday.
Should he sustain an injury against the Titans it's understood a contractual clause will keep him at the Bulldogs for the remainder of 2018.
"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."
It's a coup for Ivan Cleary's Tigers side, who need a full-time fullback for their finals tilt.
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.
Only two days ago the 24-year-old revealed his preference to see out the current season and leave Belmore without burning any bridges.
It leaves Pay with the choice of moving Will Hopoate to fullback for the rest of the season or bringing in a younger player.
Mbye's move has ramifications for prop Woods, at the centre of a tug-of-war between the Bulldogs and Cronulla, who want him on board before June 30.
The former NSW and Australian representative has been heavily linked to the Sharks but the departure of Mbye, who had two more years to run on his heavily back-ended contract, has substantially eased the Bulldogs' salary cap squeeze.
"Woodsy is still contracted here, that's where it stands," Pay said.
Flanagan on Friday said the Bulldogs had left him in the dark and the "ball's in their court".
"We put our offer in. I don't think it's going to happen. I haven't heard anything for two weeks," Flanagan said.
Meanwhile, Pay has 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, Pay reiterated there had been no discussions within the club or with the NRL.
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