Canterbury Bulldogs icons Josh Morris and Willie Mason have teed off on star centre Bronson Xerri after reports emerged on the weekend that he was considering walking out on the club.

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Over the past few days, Xerri has found himself at the centre of headlines after it was understood that he is unhappy at the Belmore-based side and was set to be axed to the NSW Cup for this round.

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This saw Code Sports reveal that he was poised to request an immediate release from his deal, despite being under contract until the end of 2027.

Speaking on his Level Networks podcast, Willie Mason was blunt about the club-first mentality that Xerri should adopt whilst playing with the Bulldogs and stated that he changed several different positions during his tenure with the club and he never complained.

The club’s most recent Clive Churchill Medallist, Mason made just under 150 appearances for the club and played a starring role in them winning the NRL Premiership in 2004 – a feat that hasn’t been achieved since.

“You don’t just get dropped for nothing. I’m not there with first-grade week in, week out for the last two or three years,” Mason said.

“They’ve been building and building and the way I see it, they’re building a club first, team first mentality – any position, anywhere.

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Bronson Xerri almost walks out at Dogs | 09:31

“If Willie Tonga had to go from left to right, it ain’t a big deal. If I had to play on the right side and then left-side back-row and then back into the front-row, I don’t give a f***.

“Because I want to win and I want to play and (it’s) team first, club first. It’s always been the mentality.

“Then, when you hear the little rumours about Xerri blowing up because he’s playing on the right side instead of the left, it is what it is.

“He’s upset at the positional change and in my head I’m like you’ve just got to suck it up and just get better and be team first and play better footballer and whatever the coach wants from you, you f****** buy in.”

The future of Bronson Xerri remains clouded.Source: News Corp Australia

Willie Mason wasn’t the only former Bulldogs icon to weigh in.

Speaking on The Continuous Call Team Offload podcast, former NSW Blues and 217-game Bulldogs centre Josh Morris accused Xerri of lacking resilience when it came to switching which side of the field he wanted to play on.

“Having to play a different side of the field and cracking the s***s about it. There’s no resilience there,” Morris said.

“If he did get dropped to reserve grade, well then show some resilience, put in good performances and get back in the team.

“These days, players just expect to be first graders. The jersey isn’t yours. You have to perform.”

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Both former players also stated on their podcasts that the Bulldogs were the only NRL team to give him a second chance after he served a four-year ban for performance-enhancing drugs during his first stint in rugby league when he was at the Cronulla Sharks.

“He had four years out of the game, you would have thought he would have built up a bit of resilience,” Morris added.

“The Bulldogs gave him the shot when no one else wanted to. And Bulldogs fans don’t forget that either.

“I want to see him stay in the Bulldogs jersey. I think he’s a great player. But we’ll have to see.”