Former Rabbitohs winger Josh Mansour has ruled out a move abroad to join a Super League club.
Meanwhile, the Bulldogs are set to dip into Penrith’s talent pool once again with a pursuit of a front row enforcer.
BULLDOGS PURSUING PENRITH GUN
The Bulldogs are reportedly pursuing the signature of Panthers enforcer Spencer Leniu as their raid on the premiership winners continues.
Phil Gould’s club confirmed they had signed gun centre Stephen Crichton to a four-year deal from the 2024 season onwards on Saturday.
Now, according to The Daily Telegraph, the Bulldogs have set their sights on Leniu who is without a contract at the end of the 2023 season.
The 22-year-old made his NRL debut in 2019 and has gone on to play 63 games for his boyhood club.
Following back-to-back premierships, the Panthers were always going to be facing a salary cap squeeze and have already re-signed Liam Martin, Brian To’o and Izack Tago.
Leniu could be the man to make way and is currently stuck in the prop rotation with James Fisher-Harris, Moses Leota and Scott Sorensen.
MANSOUR’S BIG DECISION
Former Panthers winger Josh Mansour has ruled out a move to the Super League for 2023 as it would add too much pressure to his young family.
Mansour’s most recent NRL stint was with the Rabbitohs, playing only 16 games across two seasons in 2021 and 2022.
While reports suggested Mansour was set to join a club in the UK, the Lebanese winger revealed that with a third child on the way it would simply be too much for him and his wife to handle.
“It was (an option) earlier on especially when I was over there for the World Cup,” Mansour told SEN.
“I experienced the country and the culture and I really enjoyed it.
“I convinced the ‘missus’ to pack up our bags, head over and seek a new challenge.
“However, with a third child on the way, that kind of threw a bit of a curveball at me.
“I think I have to put that aside. I have to stay in Australia and stay close to family.
“My daughter is about to start kindergarten and there’s a lot going on.
“It would be too difficult.”
Despite not having a team to train with Mansour has taken matters into his own hands, sticking to his own training regimen by himself over the pre-season period.
“I’m not going to lie (but) it’s been a frustrating and hard couple of months,” Mansour said.
“It’s been difficult but I’m still trying to do my best to keep fit.
“I’m (training) mainly by myself which is difficult because you have to motivate yourself and write your own program.
“I’ve played the game for so many years so I’ve got that experience and knowledge so I’m just trying to replicate a pre-season as best as I can on my own.”
