Ben Hannant's proposed move to Gold Coast next season has met some unexpected resistance with Titans mentor John Cartwright saying the NRL club would not trade any of its players to secure the Test prop while he is coach.

Just hours after Titans captain Scott Prince warned the club to kill off the Hannant talk before it became a major disruption to their premiership campaign, Cartwright dismissed speculation of a player trade arrangement with the Bulldogs to allow a homesick Hannant to break his three-year contract and return to the Gold Coast with his wife and young family.

Cartwright said talk of a trade for Hannant this year or in 2011 was "way off."

"That's typical of blowing something out of proportion," he said.

"If Ben does a deal with us next year, that's next year.

"Player swaps and all that sort of rubbish are not going to happen."

Prince vented his feelings about the idea in his newspaper column on Friday, fearing players would be left to wonder if they may be the ones to make way for the Origin and Test front-rower.

"Ben Hannant. Not here, not now," Prince wrote.

"There is even talk of a deal to make it happen this season. Forget it.

"There is not one player in this squad that I would swap. They're all there for a reason. They have all earned their place.

"The talk so far is about Hannant coming in a swap involving a couple of players. Even if that was to happen at the end of this season, the butterfly effect starts now."

The Bulldogs, who are sympathetic to Hannant's reasons for wanting to return home to be with his family, have made it clear they also want to be well compensated for releasing him from his contract.

"The club can't be left in a worse position even allowing for Ben's homesickness and issues with his family and he's aware of that," Greenberg told AAP.

"I'm happy to invest some time into it to see if we can find a solution, but ultimately, if we can't, Ben's aware he's got a contract he'll potentially be having this discussion for 2012, not 2011.

Greenberg said the Bulldogs would not necessarily chase a like-for-like replacement, adding that situations involving player swaps were complex.

"As (Titans chief executive) Michael Searle said this week, and I agree with him, we're not in the business of just making players go to clubs that they don't want to be at, so there would need to be a situation where one of those players wanted to play in Sydney, and if that was the case, well let's have a discussion," Greenberg said.

"It's a difficult one because we're talking about people's livelihoods and people's families and transferring them - there is no simple solution.

"We might have to go out and look for what props are available (elsewhere), and you might not get a like for like, but you might get a younger player coming through.

Greenberg said Hannant was aware the Bulldogs needed to protect their interests and that he may yet have to serve out the last two years of his contract at the Sydney club.

"He understands that my first and foremost issue here is to stand up for the interests of the club, whilst also being respectful of his situation. He knows the situation.

"Ben understands that we're doing this in good faith."

Brought to you by AAP © 2024 AAP