Sally Fitzgibbons and Trent Merrin in July last year. Credit:Mark Metcalfe Merrin is one of the biggest characters in the NRL and an extremely popular team man. I got to see that first hand on the Kangaroos tour of England late last year. There was no more welcoming and accommodating player. Along with the likes of Josh Mansour, Aaron Woods, David Klemmer and Jake Trbojevic, Merrin would go out of his way to include people. It is one of the reasons Kangaroos coach Mal Meninga stuck solid and selected Merrin for the Test against New Zealand earlier this year, despite his club form being down on 2016. One of the enduring off-field memories I have of Merrin was the night Mansour did his knee on the Kangaroos tour. Mansour – a health nut who eats only the best food – was depressed and he sent his roomie Merrin out to search for junk food. Merrin came back with a stack of chocolate bars for his buddy. When Fitzgibbons started seeing Merrin, many considered the league star to be "punching above his weight". In the sporting world, it became known as "a Merrin", but those who know him know it was a very even relationship.

Big changes: Trent Merrin and Sally Fitzgibbons when they announced their engagement and Merrin at Penrith on Tuesday. Credit:Instagram, Adrian Proszenko We wish both of them well. Dogs knew there may be drama, so Dib intervention is curious Ray Dib and his board went into this season with their eyes wide open, fully aware it had the potential to be a disaster. They knew that the restructure of the club – which potentially included the removal of Des Hasler as coach – was always going to be painful. Hasler's trusted staff were the first significant victims, and now a player, Josh Reynolds, and an official, Raelene Castle, are looking at the exit door. Hasler didn't want any of them to go. Hasler had an ally in Castle and loved Reynolds.

Hasler was also made aware that the club's heavies knew that this was going to be a season of change. But all of that seemed to count for nothing when Dib requested the Bulldogs room after the loss to the Panthers last week. This story was first relayed to me a few hours after it happened. The way it was initially told to me, Dib marched in and demanded to talk to the players – and they were none too impressed. The word is Aiden Tolman expressed his displeasure at Dib's intervention. No one will confirm that Tolman made comment. In the past few days I've been told there was a conversation between Hasler and Dib in the rooms and Dib finally got to address the team 40 minutes after full-time. I've been told that there was definitely a conversation between Dib and Hasler in the rooms. It's hard to imagine it was lacking in passion because Dib wanted to address the Bulldogs side without Hasler in the room. It's my understanding that at that point it was Dib who left the room and gave Hasler space. Dib finally got to address the team and he told me his comments were all about Hasler, which is why he initially wanted the coach out of the room. It wasn't because he was stabbing Hasler in the back, instead it was because he wanted to remind the players that they needed to be right behind Hasler, and that Hasler had the full backing of the club. Dib also made it very clear that performances such as the one that they had just produced (a record 38-0 loss to Penrith) also hurt the Bulldogs on the corporate front.

Dib said a number of sponsors have been put off by recent results. The other chatter to come out of the game was that Hasler was under pressure, despite signing a new two-year deal. You can be certain that if the Dogs are getting edgy about their decision to keep Des they would face a multimillion-dollar payout. Top dog: Bulldogs chairman Ray Dib with departing CEO Raelene Castle. Credit:Sarah Keayes Carter in rehab Paul Carter's demise at the Roosters was predictable and, while rugby league is based on giving second chances, Carter has chewed through three clubs and hasn't improved.

It's worth pointing out that Carter asked the Roosters for a release and it appears that he is trying to get control of his life again by checking into rehab. He needs to worry about his long-term health and happiness, and forget about football for a while. His cards were marked from the moment he was out and in very close proximity to Shaun Kenny-Dowall on the night he was arrested and charged with cocaine possession. Then he was seen in Channel Nine vision on the night when Western Sydney Wanderers player Mitch Nichols was arrested for cocaine possession at Casablanca nightclub in Double Bay. Standing by SKD And while on Kenny-Dowall, his life is on hold until his court case takes place, but behind the scenes there is plenty going on as he tries to get on with his life. The Roosters are hearing that he may end up at Salford soon after the case is heard. His management say he wants to remain in Australia. The club won't wash its hands of him regardless of what happens. He will receive a decent farewell because he has been a tremendous club man for a long period.

SKD has been training with his good mate Roger Fabri to keep up his fitness. King of the kids Jarryd Hayne and the Titans team were given four days off by Neil Henry after their loss to the Cowboys. Some players got away and Hayne was planning on some time in Sydney. But a request came from Byron Bay Rugby League Club and Hayne spent time coaching the local team instead. He made a mini-break of it with his partner. GI on road back Greg Inglis looked healthy and relaxed in his video message to Souths members, and there are plenty of people in the game who are relieved as he is such a strong role model for the Indigenous players.

It doesn't mean that he hasn't been forced to endure ongoing rumours about his home life. Those spreading the lies wouldn't know about the lengthy road trip Inglis and his wife Sally took as he drove her and the kids back from Brisbane to Sydney, where they are all living together. Their home, which they are renovating, will be ready at the end of July. No one in the media, and very few outside his family, have any idea of his issues. Inglis wanted to fight his battle in private because he knew what the league rumour mill would toss up. He has endured it most of his career and can handle it. He hates the effect that it has on his family. The most left-field rumour that reached our ears was that Russell Crowe had flown Inglis by helicopter to Brisbane to watch Origin I. As far as we know he wasn't at the game. For Peat's sake Blues coach Laurie Daley had no issue with Andrew Fifita spending the night before Origin I in the company of his best mate, Matt Lodge. As this column revealed there were airconditioning issues and Fifita thought it would be best to let Origin rookie Nathan Peats have the room. Fifita went to Lodge's place in Brisbane and even shared a bed with him. Then played the match of his life.

"There were issues in terms of snoring," Daley said. "They both came to the conclusion that it would be better that one of them stayed and one of them left. Again, it's not something you want to happen all the time, but when it gets ticked off by management, then it's OK." Lodge, meanwhile, has been destroying teams in Queensland's Intrust Super Cup and good judges say he could be an Origin player in the future. But his issue is getting re-registered by the NRL. It is widely assumed that he will end up at the Broncos because Wayne Bennett has been instrumental in his move north. But that hasn't stopped his agent trying to sell him off to rival teams. Lyon's share Loading

Jamie Lyon has relocated to Ballina as he moves into the next phase of his life. He is running a golf tours business and is keeping his fitness up by playing for the local Oztag team. His team has won the competition for 22 years running. Berrick Barnes has been a mainstay of the team. Dummy run Bondi-bound James Tedesco is on the way out at the Tigers, and he is picking up some tricks from new coach Ivan Cleary as he exits. His amazing Origin display was underlined by a try. "That was something that Ivan Cleary has tipped me in to, to run from dummy half when I'm near the line," Tedesco said. "It worked and I'll keep it up."