Miss ... Josh Reynolds has been withdrawn from the City-Country clash. Source: Gregg Porteous / News Limited
Josh Reynolds was dirty - and so were NSWRL officials.
A prime candidate for the Blues' No.6 jersey, Reynolds was forced to abandon his big audition in Sunday's City-Country clash after Canterbury-Bankstown scratched him from the traditional selection trial.
The withdrawal came after Reynolds was cleared at Monday morning's City medical, putting the exclamation mark on a succession of high-profile casualties whose absence has again re-ignited debate over the concept.
Robbie Farah (groin), Mitchell Pearce (calf), Chris Lawrence (ankle), Aaron Woods (knee), Jarryd Hayne (calf and back) and John Sutton (groin) had already made themselves unavailable for City, while Brett Stewart (hamstring) was not considered for his first Country jersey since 2007.
Jarryd Hayne, Nathan Merritt, Michael Jennings, Chris Lawrence, Jorge Taufua, Josh Reynolds, Adam Reynolds, Aaron Woods, Robbie Farah, Tim Mannah, Tony Williams, Ryan Hoffman, Feleti Mateo. Interchange: Wade Graham, Andrew Fifita, Tom Symonds, Tim Grant.
But Reynolds made the most intriguing vanishing act, with NSWRL officials convinced he was fit to play after reporting for duty at the team's hotel in Coogee.
The 24-year-old has been battling shoulder soreness for several weeks, and did inform City coach Brad Fittler about the discomfort immediately after Friday night's loss to the Sydney Roosters.
But nearly 48 hours later Fittler selected Reynolds at five-eighth, just as Bulldogs coach Des Hasler has done every weekend this year.
After attending the team medical and collecting his City kit, Reynolds hot-footed it back to Belmore, where he met with Bulldogs doctors and was ruled out.
He will now meet with a shoulder surgeon today to discuss options about managing the injury for the rest of the season.
Fittler had precious little time to organise a replacement, with the team photo pushed back an hour to accommodate the late arrival of replacement five-eighth Curtis Sironen.
But while NSWRL officials are privately furious at the Bulldogs, Fittler was getting on with life at Monday's opening training session.
"I was sitting with our doctor when we spoke to the Canterbury doctor," Fittler said. "The (Canterbury) physio told me he (Reynolds) had a meeting with an operating surgeon about the future of his shoulder.
"I also saw Josh straight after the game on Friday night and he said he had a problem with his shoulder.
"I was aware of it, but I was going to give him the opportunity to understand the importance of (this match) from his point of view.
"There's no use forcing him to play and then when it comes to Origin, he's out for eight weeks. I'm happy with the procedure."
Asked how Reynolds reacted to being withdrawn, Fittler replied: "He was dirty. He was very disappointed."
Fittler has every right to be dizzy himself after the calamitous morning that also saw first-choice replacements Reece Robinson and Beau Champion placed off-limits by their clubs.
Wests Tigers' Joel Reddy was eventually called in to cover for Lawrence, while Adam Cuthberston and Nathan Peats will deputise for Woods and Farah respectively.
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