Reni Maitua will be forced to honour the remaining two years of his Bulldogs contract after the NRL club rejected a request for a release.

Maitua had been seeking an escape passage out of Sydney as he looked to get his personal life and career back on track following an indifferent start to 2008.

He had been linked with a move to one of the three Queensland NRL clubs, but will now remain in the blue and white through to the end of the 2009 season.

"The Bulldogs value Reni too much as a person and as a footballer to let him go, we genuinely don't believe he'll find the solution elsewhere," Bulldogs chief executive Todd Greenberg said.

"At the Bulldogs Reni is surrounded by a strong support network of people who really care about him and his future and we'll continue to work to get him back on track and playing the football we all know he's capable of."

Maitua hasn't played in the NRL since round two, a combination of off-field ill-discipline and injury limiting his availability.

The former Test lock was stood down for the round three match against the Wests Tigers as punishment for a drinking session which wound up at a Sydney pub at 9:30am on March 23.

He suffered a rib injury during his spell in the NSW Cup and hasn't been sighted in the top grade since.

Maitua said he would accept the club's decision and vowed to fight his way back into the NRL.

"I've had a tough couple of weeks with my rib injury but I have been training hard and I'm looking forward to getting back on the paddock," Maitua said.

"I met with both (coach) Steve Folkes and (assistant coach) Kevin Moore and have reaffirmed my commitment to the Bulldogs."

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