Canterbury have released Raymond Faitala-Mariner to join St George Illawarra - almost a year to the day that Bulldogs coach Cameron Ciraldo installed him as club captain.

Faitala-Mariner has had a rollercoaster past 12 months at Belmore, and on Monday it came to an end with the club granting him a release from the final two years of his contract to join the Dragons.

The Red V have signed the back-rower for two seasons.

Faitala-Mariner, 30, had been at the Bulldogs since 2016 but found himself on the outer midway through last year after telling Ciraldo of concerns the club's Polynesian players had about the coach's methods.

In September, the Samoan international was told he was free to leave and a month later he was asked to stay away from pre-season training.

Faitala-Mariner said in December last year that "there were no issues" with Ciraldo or football manager Phil Gould.

While Canterbury have lost one of their most-experienced forwards, Dragons coach Shane Flanagan said he was delighted to add the experienced forward to his roster.

"Raymond is a veteran first-grader who will add some experience and grit to our forward pack," Flanagan said.

"His ability to play both on an edge and in the middle, as well as the guidance he can provide our emerging forwards, will benefit our entire squad."