Kyle Flanagan hasn't hitched up a stool in the NRL's last chance saloon just yet, but his career certainly has reached a critical juncture. Removed from the Canterbury side for the umpteenth time, his future has become the source of plenty of rumours recently as Manly reportedly were interested in acquiring his services.
Although both Sea Eagles coach, Anthony Seibold, and Bulldogs supremo, Phil Gould, have now moved to dampen speculation that he will end up on the northern beaches.
Anthony Seibold addresses Kyle Flanagan to Manly links
"I know nothing about that," Cameron Ciraldo said of Flanagan's links to Manly after watching his side pick up their fourth win of the season against the Dragons, while his former halfback turned five-eighth had been demoted to the reserves.
MORE: Is Kyle Flanagan leaving the Bulldogs?
"Kyle rang me actually straightaway...and he just wanted to reassure me that there was nothing in it."
When addressing the situation on Thursday, Seibold didn't exactly dismiss the fact his club had been interested in luring the under-fire playmaker to Brookvale to work alongside his dad and assistant coach, Shane.
"We were looking around - we had some outside backs injured - and then we were looking around (thinking) ‘Do we need to add a half?’ But at the moment, we’ll sit tight and back those two guys," the Manly coach said.
The 'two guys' in question are Cooper Johns and Josh Schuster who will be expected to form a partnership after the inevitable departure of Daly Cherry-Evans to Queensland camp soon.
"Chez will go to Origin in a couple of weeks' time so if we can have Josh and Cooper throughout that Origin period in the halves then we feel as though we’ve got a really strong halves combination there," Seibold said.
Phil Gould labels Flanagan rumours 'total fabrication'
Gould has repeatedly denied there was any truth in an early exit for the former Roosters and Sharks halfback.
He has doubled down on this following a report from The Sydney Morning Herald which claimed the deal had actually collapsed after the clubs couldn't come to an agreement on a swap deal.
"All of it rubbish and total fabrication," Gould wrote on Twitter.
"Firstly, Kyle Flanagan was never heading to Manly. In this latest report the author suggests ‘Manly had expressed interest in the Canterbury halfback’.
"Wrong. No one from Manly contacted me regarding Kyle Flanagan.
"The author goes on to say that the ‘parties could not agree to terms’. What parties? What terms? What discussions? There have been zero discussions around Kyle Flanagan between Manly and myself. Zero!!"
Is Kyle Flanagan's future at dummy-half?
Flanagan has struggled in the halves this year with his lack of attacking output - he hadn't registered a try or an assist in his eight appearances across 2023 - eventually leading to him being dropped to reserve grade.
However, it seems the Bulldogs haven't given up on the 24-year-old as they look to re-fashion him as a hooker.
"There's a lot of weight of expectation on Kyle," Ciraldo said. "But he turned up to training every day with the right attitude and embraced his new position."
Gould shared his opinion on Flanagan's possible positional switch after watching him feature in the NSW Cup for the second-placed Dogs.
"He played hooker in reserve grade and played really well," Gould said on 100% Footy.
"I’ve always thought he was going to make a good hooker…he had one of his better games of the season."
Kyle Flanagan contract
Since debuting for Cronulla in 2018, Flanagan has experienced a rocky ride in the NRL.
He was signed by the Roosters their long-term half yet after just one season exited Bondi.
Yet under Trent Robinson he enjoyed his best season to date; he crossed the stripe four times and provided 11 assists while also taking on the responsibility of being the side's first-choice goal-kicker.
His support play through the middle was constantly one of his best assets, yet his inability to offer an attacking outlet through his ball-running also came into focus during this time as he amassed just 34m on average across his 20 appearances for the Chooks.
This is something which has led to plenty of criticism during his three-year spell at the Bulldogs.
Although he has shown improvement with his average running metres gradually improving year upon year. But this wasn't enough to spare him the axe, as Ciraldo turned to veteran Josh Reynolds to partner Matt Burton.
Now in the final year of his deal with the Bulldogs, the prospect of what's next for Flanagan is looming large.
The confusion around his future at Belmore was only added to further when his dad Shane revealed that Kyle had 'options'.
"There's a little bit of truth to it, but it's a long way off," Manly's assistant coach told 2GB's Wide World of Sports when discussing the prospect of Kyle joining him at the Sea Eagles to resurrect his career.
"Kyle's got some options without a doubt, I know that. He's got some options if he doesn't stay at the Bulldogs, and that's not a shut door at the moment.
"Let's be honest, I don't think he'll stay there, but he's got some options."
