The battle for control of the Bulldogs has claimed an early casualty with the NRL club's media manager forced to resign following a botched smear campaign.

Chris O'Brien dramatically quit his post last night after being exposed as the sender of a libellous email which attempted to discredit Bulldogs board member Ray Dib, according to a News Limited report.

Dib is standing for re-election on the Bulldogs board on Sunday.

O'Brien allegedly sent an email to various media outlets on February 9 under the false name of `Ronnie Younis'.

The email falsely linked Dib to an ICAC inquiry, inferring Dib was involved in a hearing into bribes being used to secure building licences.

Dib secured evidence which established the original source of the email was from O'Brien's home computer.

The battle for control of the board has turned nasty over the last two weeks with a rival ticket involving former players Graeme Hughes, Paul Dunn and Andrew Farrar attempting to secure seats on the board.

The election will be held on Sunday.

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