An emotional Trent Merrin has described his decision to leave St George Illawarra as the toughest of his career, but he felt he had no choice.
Merrin, whose manager Wayne Beavis revealed to Fairfax Media last week that the NSW Origin forward had rejected the Dragons' offer, said after Friday night's 18-12 defeat of Warrington in the opening World Club Series match that he had hoped to play out his career with the club.
However, St George Illawarra's refusal to increase their initial offer after he attracted interest from Brisbane, Penrith and the Warriors convinced Merrin he had no alternative but to find another club from 2016.
"We have made a decision to move on, but we haven't made any other decision," Merrin said. "Obviously being away with the All Stars week and this week [in England], we will look at the options once I get back."
Despite confirming his departure, Merrin is yet to address teammates. He said he would do so once he decided which club to join next season.
The Broncos and Panthers are the favourites.
"They know I am moving on, but I haven't announced where I am going yet," Merrin said. "Once we get back I will make a decision and I will let the boys know."
Wanted to stay: Trent Merrin says he wanted to remain a Dragon, but felt he had no option but to leave. Photo: Adam McLean
The Dragons say the offer they made to Merrin would have made him the highest-paid forward in the club's history, but the deal did not come close to those being offered by rival clubs.
It is understood St George Illawarra officials were preparing to withdraw the offer if they signed a replacement before Merrin had decided if he wanted to stay.
"It was a tough decision, but it is something I need to do for myself," Merrin said. "I have always wanted to stay, so it is definitely been one of the hardest decisions of my career.
"It is something I have to do personally to further my career and I am heading into a different direction.
"It is hard to talk about because it is obviously one of the hardest things I have had to do. My main intent was to stay, but things didn't work out the way we planned and it has forced me into a position to move elsewhere."
Despite the decision, Merrin said he would be 100 per cent committed to St George Illawarra until the end of the season and wanted to retain his place in the Blues squad.
"That is my main plan," he said. "Footy always comes first and that is why I am in the position I am in, because of rugby league. My main goal is to continue to improve my game."
With second-rower Tyson Frizzell forced from the field with concussion in the first half, Merrin got more game time than usual against the Wolves and said he enjoyed the match
"It was awesome," he said. "It was a great challenge, it was a tough game of rugby league and the boys handled it well so it is something we can move on with and learn from this game."
