Kieran Foran’s $3 million deal to sign with the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs must surely rank as one of the worst contracts in the history of rugby league.

Crunch the numbers and it works out the Bulldogs pivot has been paid $115,000 per appearance in a total of 26 games over the last two years.

Whichever way you try and slice it, put simply Foran’s tenure at Canterbury-Bankstown has been an unmitigated disaster.

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Round 20

The Bulldogs on Wednesday confirmed the Canterbury-Bankstown playmaker will now need at least the next nine months in rehabilitation.

Foran was already having six months off after undergoing a shoulder reconstruction on Tuesday when the medical experts discovered a new issue with his AC joint.

The Bulldogs playmaker will now be out of action for at least the next nine to 12 months.

Does this mean the Bulldogs will try and medically retire Foran? Foran has told people he wants to try and play on.

It’s wrong to blame Kieran. It’s not his fault the Bulldogs were prepared to give him a three-year deal worth $3 million.

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Sure it was a risky play at the time but at his best the Kiwi Test five-eighth would have been worth every cent.

As busted as Foran’s body already was, no one knew it was going to completely break down the way that it has.

In his prime, Foran was a gun playmaker whose lack of fear made him an overnight sensation when he burst onto the scene as a teenager with Manly.

In his formative years at the Sea Eagles, Foran was so talented he drew comparisons with Manly Immortal Bob Fulton.

Kieran Foran’s latest shoulder injury is set to rub him out for the 2020 season. Source: Getty Images

So whose fault is the Foran debacle at Canterbury-Bankstown? Bulldogs fans will be pointing the finger at previous chairman Ray Dib and ex-coach Des Hasler.

They were convinced Foran was the playmaker who could take the club to the promised land.

Hasler had been close in 2012 and 2014, making the grand final in both seasons using a Kris Keating-Josh Reynolds halves combination the first time and then a Trent Hodkinson-Reynolds combination the second time around.

In 2018, Foran was going to be the playmaker who could try and take Canterbury-Bankstown to the club’s first title since 2004.

Trouble was, Hasler got sacked at the back end of 2017 and then Dib and the board were voted out of office early in 2018.

All hell broke loose at Canterbury-Bankstown and the Bulldogs are only just starting to pull themselves out of the salary cap shit fight now.

Kieran Foran has struggled to stay on the field since joining the Bulldogs. Source: AAP

Or are they? Despite letting Aaron Woods, Moses Mbye and James Graham join rival clubs, the Bulldogs are still in a salary cap scramble next season.

It will finally begin to lift in 2021 but not before the club has to completely rehab the busted Foran’s latest injury.

Next year is the final year of Foran’s three year deal, with the Bulldogs no.6 playing 26 out of a possible 48 matches.

Foran played 12 matches in 2018 before a toe injury ruled him out for the season. But he had battled hamstring, quad and shoulder injuries since arriving from the Warriors.

In 2019, he only managed three NRL matches before sustaining a syndesmosis injury. Foran fought his way back from the injury and was able to play another 11 matches for the Bulldogs.

Strong form meant he made the Kiwi Test squad, ultimately earning his shot against Great Britain earlier this month.

But he lasted only six minutes before his left shoulder was gone.

The Bulldogs can apply for $350,000 worth of salary cap relief because Foran was injured playing Test football.

But the club still has to bear the brunt of another $850,000 in their salary cap for 2020. It’s a cruel twist for the Bulldogs as a club and Foran as a player.