Canterbury-Bankstown prop Ben Hannant has reportedly asked for an early release from the final two years of his contract.
Hannant, who hails from the Gold Coast and was one of four former Brisbane Broncos to join the Bulldogs last season, is said to be struggling to adapt to Sydney life.
Gold Coast Titans are reportedly keen to offer the Queensland and Kangaroos enforcer a lifeline should the Bulldogs agree to let him walk, while the Broncos are also believed to be circling.
The Bulldogs are understandably reluctant to let the 25-year-old player go, with club officials hopeful of talking him into honouring the remainder of his lucrative deal.
"His family (wife and three kids) and he are struggling a little bit with life in Sydney and so we've opened some discussion about a potential early release for Ben," Canterbury CEO Todd Greenberg told Channel 9 on Thursday.
"We're not going to get the best out of him on the field and we're being realistic about that."
"These discussions have been premised on the fact that he wants to return home, which is the Gold Coast, we're very understanding of that."
"It's a tough one because there's still a bit of work to do."
"Fundamentally I have to stand up for the club to start with and make sure we're not worse off."
The 108kg front-rower played a key role in the Bulldogs' climb from the wooden spoon to second on the NRL ladder in 2009, averaging 132m and 34 tackles per game in 18 appearances for the club.
Hannant, a veteran of five appearances for Queensland, made his debut for the Kangaroos at the end of last season in the Four Nations tournament, playing in all four games.
The blond-haired prop has played 96 games in the top grade since making his debut for the Roosters in 2005 before joining the Broncos for three highly-successful seasons.