STEVE MORRIS believes his identical twin sons, Brett and Josh, would not be separating at the end of this season had centre Mark Gasnier decided earlier to quit St George Illawarra and take up a lucrative deal with French rugby union club Stade Francais.

The former St George winger, nicknamed Slippery, said yesterday that Josh, who signed a three-year deal with the Bulldogs in April, wanted to remain at the Dragons.

"I'm so disappointed," Morris said. "I've been disappointed for three months that they've let him go. I'm absolutely shattered. The poor kid had no alternative.

"After he signed on [with the Bulldogs], I was in tears the first game he played, against the Roosters … It's a real shame. They lost a centre and they're going to have to buy another centre next year. If they'd known what was going on, I'm sure they wouldn't have let him go."

However, Dragons chief executive Peter Doust said Josh Morris was no guarantee of staying had Gasnier's future been finalised earlier.

"At the time, we'd just [re-] signed [Matt] Cooper," Doust said. "With the benefit of hindsight, things may have gone differently, but I don't know how much differently."

Meanwhile, Australian coach Ricky Stuart said yesterday Johnathan Thurston's knee injury, which will restrict him to four more club appearances at the most this season, would not threaten his place in the World Cup squad.

And Manly veteran Steve Menzies is expected to announce today that he will finish his career in the UK, with Bradford his most likely destination.