Matai then put out a statement<\/a> that he was healthy and happy and getting on with his life – and had no desire for any more of the limelight.<\/p>\n But the real story – from someone close to Matai – is that the Kiwi Test ace was unhappy with the way in which he parted company with the Sea Eagles at the end of 2016.<\/p>\n Matai had another year under contract with the club and was more than happy to play on despite neck and shoulder issues.<\/p>\n But the club told him after more than 200 games that his services were no longer required, gave him a payout and sent him on his way.<\/p>\n The ending left Matai anything but happy, thus his decision to have little to do with the club in the years since.<\/p>\n Don't be surprised if Broncos utility Cory Paix ends up at the Bulldogs next season.<\/p>\n The Dogs are looking for a back-up halfback and hooker – and Paix can play both positions.<\/p>\n The 20-year-old debuted in the top grade in the Broncos' season from hell this year and managed 13 games for the club in difficult circumstances.<\/p>\n The youngster learned the hard way – but there is no doubting he will be a better player in years to come.<\/p>\n Titans officials have been stunned by Lloyd Perrett's application to training as he attempts to win a contract with the club.<\/p>\n Perrett has lost a staggering 15kg since joining the Titans at the start of pre-season training, after missing much of last season due to COVID cutbacks.<\/p>\n The former Manly and Bulldogs prop has more than 50 NRL games to his name and would be a handy addition to the club's forward arsenal.<\/p>\n The 26-year-old has silky ball skills and is on track for a comeback to the NRL after being on the outer in recent seasons.<\/p>\n https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/CI7ikSwH_4r\/?utm_source=ig_embed&<\/a><\/p>\n The Dragons are the latest club to say 'thanks but no thanks' to controversial Broncos prop Matt Lodge.<\/p>\n The Broncos are so desperate to offload Lodge that they are prepared to pay $1.6 million of his rich four-year deal.<\/p>\n The Dragons did consider signing Lodge at a bargain price but ended up going for Eels prop Daniel Alvaro, who came to terms last week.<\/p>\n It's looking increasingly like the Broncos won't be able to get rid of Lodge and he will be part of Kevin Walters'<\/a> squad again in 2021.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" There's more to last week's bizarre Steve Matai 'disappearance' story than meets the eye. Former Manly players and officials were concerned about Matai's well-being after […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12441"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=12441"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12441\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12443,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12441\/revisions\/12443"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=12441"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=12441"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=12441"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<\/p>\n
BULLDOGS EYEING BRONCOS YOUNG GUN<\/strong><\/h2>\n
<\/p>\n
PROP'S REMARKABLE TITANS RESURGENCE<\/strong><\/h2>\n
DRAGONS NOT KEEN ON CUT-PRICE LODGE<\/strong><\/h2>\n