Only days after Sonny Bill Williams walked out of the NRL club, the Bulldogs may be poised to rip up the contract of one of their most promising future stars.

While the rugby league fraternity braces for confirmation Williams has signed a two-year deal with French rugby club Toulon, Arana Taumata is anxiously awaiting a decision on his own playing future after the Dogs launched an investigation into an off-field incident involving the 19-year-old halfback.

The incident is believed to have left another man with a broken jaw.

And while no police charges were laid, the Dogs are understood to have proceeded with their own extensive investigation in recent weeks, including the use of a private investigator.

"We are aware of the allegations," Bulldogs chief executive Todd Greenberg said.

"We are in the process of determining what actions need to be taken and we will look to move quickly to find a resolution."

That resolution could come as early as Thursday, with the possibility Taumata could be axed after less than a year at the club.

The talented teenager, who joined the Dogs from the Sydney Roosters this season, looked set to be one of the rare bright spots for the embattled club in 2008 after an impressive start to his NRL career last month.

He scored a try on debut against his former club, following that first-up showing with another two strong performances before being dropped back to the under-20s for Sunday's clash with the Wests Tigers after the Dogs' 30-0 loss to the Sydney Roosters on Monday.

The Taumata trouble continues a forgettable year for the Dogs, with the club trying desperately to move forward from the Williams saga despite launching legal proceedings along with the NRL against their runaway star.

They have received some support from one of their major sponsors, with Maxim Home Loans publicly backing the club for their handling of the issue.

"We are 100 per cent behind the Bulldogs on this and wholeheartedly support their campaign alongside the NRL in bringing his unacceptable actions to justice," Maxim chief executive Spiro Markopoulos said.

While he has encountered visa problems in his bid to get to France, Williams was expected to meet with Toulon coach Tana Umaga in the coming days with reports he had already signed a two-year deal with the big-spending French club.

Debate over what wider affect Williams' defection - and the loss of stars Mark Gasnier, Luke Rooney and Craig Gower to French rugby - would have on the NRL continued to rage, Eels coach Michael Hagan claiming the competition was in danger of becoming a feeder-league for cashed-up rival codes.

"I think we are going to be a game which produces talent for other codes, unfortunately that's the way it is," Hagan told reporters.

Melbourne halfback Cooper Cronk, who extended his contract with the Storm for a further four years, insisted the game would move forward from Williams' shock departure.

"The game's going to miss him, but ... rugby league has the past history of bringing in great players to replace players who've moved on," Cronk said.

Cronulla's Greg Bird, however, said such comments were only papering over the real issue, with the Sharks star joining the chorus of players calling for the NRL to explore changes to its $4.1 million salary cap.

"I do think there are areas that need to be looked at (in the salary cap), considering the amount of players we're losing overseas," said Bird.

"To say there's always going to be players coming through to fill those spots is burying our heads in the sand because we want to be the No.1 rugby league competition, yet we keep losing our strike players.

"I think it's been said that we just compete with those European codes."

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