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Tigers pull contract offers after deadline passes

The Wests Tigers have pulled offers to Aaron Woods and James Tedesco after their Friday deadline passed without contact from the players' agent.

The club gave the players a deadline of Friday 5pm to confirm whether they would re-sign with the club or depart.

"That deadline has now passed and Wests Tigers is yet to receive any official confirmation from the pair’s manager," a Tigers statement read.

"As a result Wests Tigers has removed the current long-term contract offers that were with their management."

As 7 News reported in recent days, Woods and Kieran Foran are both heading to the Bulldogs, while Tedesco has agreed to join the Roosters.

Woods and Tedesco. Image: Getty
Woods and Tedesco. Image: Getty

Canterbury were also reportedly close to snaring Tedesco before being trumped by the Roosters.

In a bid to bring to an end the constant swirl of drama and speculation which has enveloped the club this year, Cleary drew a firm line in the sand.

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"It's in the interests of both the players and the stakeholders," Cleary said.

"The constant speculation has become a hindrance to our performance and we don't want to go into another game with that.

"I think it's really good for the guys and we'd love them to stay and, at this stage, we've had no decision, no information regarding decisions."

When he took over as coach a fortnight ago after the sacking of Jason Taylor, Cleary sent a thinly veiled message to his off-contract stars when he said everyone needed to "get on the bus".

It was a message he reiterated on Thursday when he revealed that two days earlier, he had told player manager Isaac Moses, who represents both Tedesco and Woods, that they could take the offer or leave it.

The next day, incumbent NSW fullback Tedesco was linked with the Roosters and skipper Woods was photographed having coffee with several Canterbury players.

Image: News Corp
Image: News Corp

The Tigers will now lose three of their so-called "big four" at the end of the year, after Mitchell Moses signed a three-year deal to join Parramatta.

Foran had made no secret of his desire to return to Sydney next year to be closer to his young children.

The Bulldogs were early favourites to sign Foran thanks to Canterbury coach Des Hasler's bond with the five-eighth resulting from their time at Manly.

Newcastle spoke with Foran last weekend and Melbourne reportedly had initial interest.

Foran. Image: AAP
Foran. Image: AAP

Foran is said to have made a decision after touring Canterbury's facilities on Monday following the Warriors' weekend loss in Canberra.

Former NSW halfback Brett Finch said if Hasler had signed Foran and Woods it would have marked a huge turnaround for the once-besieged Bulldogs mentor.

Earlier this month Hasler re-signed for two more seasons after enduring weeks of speculation about his future.

with AAP