The Canterbury Bulldogs are set to clear even more space on their roster, with prop forward Ava Seumanufagai reportedly the next player to depart.
The Bulldogs, who have been dealing with few remaining roster spots and little in the way of salary cap space remaining, have already lost Josh Jackson (retirement) and Aaron Schoupp (Gold Coast Titans) in the last fortnight.
Jackson's retirement - which reportedly came without a payout - saved the Bulldogs significant money off their salary cap, although came as an unexpected announcement that will cost the blue and white dearly in experience under new coach Cameron Ciraldo as they aim to make the finals for the first time since 2016.
Schoupp's immediate release to the Gold Coast also came as a surprise, although director of football Phil Gould hit back at critics, saying the club has a plan.
โWe have a plan," Gould said on his Twitter account.
โContrary to constant misreporting of our roster and cap positions, we have a healthy amount of money available under the salary cap for 2023. At this stage we only have a dozen or so players signed for 2024. We sit and discuss our future roster plans every day."
It was Gould himself who originally posted late last year that the club only had around $700,000 or $800,000 left for five roster spots.
As it currently stands, we have five top 30 spots to fill for season 2023, with approx $700-$800k to spend. https://t.co/RrD5cgwNN9
— Phil Gould (@PhilGould15) July 5, 2022
The club have since made numerous roster moves.
The Daily Telegraph are now reporting that Seumanufagai will be the next of those moves, with the prop reportedly to be released by the club.
No official announcement has been made at this stage, and it remains unclear whether the 31-year-old will continue his career or elect to retire after playing 171 games - of which 23 games have come for the Bulldogs since he joined the club in 2021.
He previously played for the Tigers, debuting in 2013 and managing 105 games for the club, before playing 13 games at the Sharks. He moved to the Leeds Rhinos for a two-year stint in the English Super League in 2019 ahead of playing at the Bulldogs.
