After reports came to the forefront last week about Kyle Flanagan's immediate future, a new report suggests the Bulldogs halfback may be involved in a player swap with the Manly Sea Eagles.
The Sydney Morning Herald reported that the Sea Eagles would be willing to entertain a player swap to see Flanagan link up with his father, Shane Flanagan, at Manly.
If this comes to fruition, it will be the second player swap the club has made this season. They had previously sent Viliami Fifita and Alec Tuitavake to the Dragons, receiving veteran Aaron Woods in return.
Flanagan is currently in the last year of his contract with the Bulldogs and out of favour which saw him featured in the NSW Cup last week at hooker- a position that isn't his primary choice.ย
Although sources confirmed to the Sydney Morning Herald that the Bulldogs have no desire to release Flanagan, a player swap could provide a win-win situation.
The injury crisis at Belmore gets increasingly worse every week, especially in the forwards, with the casualty list including Viliame Kikau, Luke Thompson, Max King, Franklin Pele, and Chris Patolo.
Matters have gotten so bad for the Bulldogs that they needed to seek an exemption to allow Harrison Edwards to play in the team against the Dragons.
A player swap would allow them to receive one or more players to fill the void in their team, for example, the front row and back row.
It would also be a win for the Sea Eagles as the arrival of Flanagan would help assist them when Daly Cherry-Evans appears for Queensland in State of Origin.
Originally intended to be a job for Cooper Johns, the uncertainty of Josh Schuster's fitness and injuries have forced Johns to be the main five-eighth for the club alongside Cherry-Evans at halfback.
