Canterbury Bulldogs

The 26-year-old has scored 96 of his 102 tries in 127 NRL games for the Storm and he admits that starting pre-season with a new club for the first time in five years initially took some getting used to.

Mahoney informed coach Brad Arthur of his decision on Thursday morning in the latest cruel twist under the Eels’ Roster Management Committe regime.

It comes after the Eels upped the ante in a last ditch bid to retain Mahoney.

The Bulldogs have reportedly beaten out the Cowboys and St George Illawarra to secure one of NRL’s best edge forwards on a four-year deal.

The contract is worth around $800,000 per season and eclipsed out the Dragons’ three-year offer., according to The Daily Telegraph.

On Monday, the Bulldogs shared several photos of the former hulking forward at a pre-season training session, kitted out in club gear.

The 41-year-old was quietly overseeing training and was standing alongside head coach Trent Barrett in one of the images shared to the Bulldogs’ official social media channels.

The decision comes two weeks after Lewis was stood down pending the outcome of an investigation into an alleged incident.

"After issuing Lachlan a breach notice and following due process regarding his response, the club has decided to part ways with Lachlan, effective immediately," Bulldogs CEO Aaron Warburton said in a statement.

"The Club is committed to supporting Lachlan during this time and we wish him all the best for the future."

This isn’t your typical rugby league bad boy story. Suli never breached the NRL’s code of conduct. There was no wild bender. No off-field misdemeanour. He’s a good kid.

But to put it simply, his heart just wasn’t in it. He lacked the desire to uphold standards required to play in the NRL and now finds himself on the brink of being lost to the game for good despite enormous talent.

When he was sent packing from the Wests Tigers just a month ago, the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs did their due diligence. They had heard the stories.

Lawyers acting for Hasler filed a statement of claim in the NSW Supreme Court this week.

Hasler was sacked in September just five months after the Bulldogs announced he had signed a two-year extension to his contract.

In response, club chairman Ray Dib said the club was preparing a legal defence.

It took a Shaun Johnson field goal in the 69th minute to give the home side some breathing space.

A dart from dummy-half by skipper Roger Tuivasa-Sheck six minutes from time and Johnson's conversion virtually sealed victory at Mt Smart Stadium on Friday night.

The result keeps the Warriors - who had started the round in 11th place, one place ahead of the Bulldogs - within touching distance of the top eight.

But it was tempered by injury to hooker Issac Luke, who dislocated his shoulder in the 33rd minute after what seemed like an innocuous tackle.

With Reynolds' NRL future uncertain after the Bulldogs were linked with Foran, a deal worth a reported $3.2 million was too much to resist for the fiery No.6.

The Dogs had in the past few weeks been deep in negotiations with the former NSW playmaker but admitted they were unable to match the money on offer from the Tigers, who have entered the market aggressively after the loss of Mitchell Moses, Aaron Woods and James Tedesco.

The NRL's player musical chairs is now in full swing with Foran expected to soon join Woods at the Dogs under respected coach Des Hasler.

Extending their incredible streak was an impressive feat on the road in front of a hostile home crowd and in tough wet-weather conditions. 

However, it is only Round 1 and captain Cameron Smith knows there's a long way to go for Melbourne to return to the Telstra Premiership decider. 

"I don't think I've ever played a Round 1 game and come away and thought 'it can't get any better than that'," Smith said. 

"I think there are some fundamental things we need to improve on – there's no doubt about that."