The complex deal which kept Gasnier with the club in 2006 - reportedly worth between $650,000 and $700,000 per season - fell apart, allowing the Dragons captain to shop himself to the highest bidder.

Gasnier contends he was left heavily in the red, and triggered his move to Paris-based rugby club Stade Francais as a result of that.

However, confidentiality clauses in the contract prevented the Test centre from revealing how much he was out of pocket.

"The shortfall is significantly greater than $50,000," Gasnier said last night.

"The exact numbers are commercial in confidence."

The 26-year-old denied wanting to escape the pressure of being one of the most high profile members in the rugby league community and said rugby union would have got their man in 2006 without the deal.

"The sole purpose for my leaving the NRL and the Dragons is due to the commitments from external third parties not being fulfilled," he said.

"This is not in any manner related to the Dragons club, its sponsors or Peter Doust. In fact Peter and the club have given me more support than anyone else.

"Without Peter Doust, I would have been playing rugby two years ago."

Doust said the club did not discuss contract figures in public but it is believed between $350,000 and $400,000 of the deal comes under the NRL salary cap with more than $250,000 made up in third-party payments.

That was the problem, with Gasnier saying on Tuesday that he received only two-thirds of what he was entitled to under the contract.

St George Illawarra are standing by the deal which gave Gasnier another two years with the club that developed him after he spent his junior years with Renown United.

Doust said deals like the flawed Gasnier contract, which depend on third-party payments, were common in the NRL, with the clubs not allowed to guarantee the full amount to players under salary cap rules.

"Mark was offered $700,000 by rugby union in 2006 and our deal was very competitive with that," Doust said.

"We could not put all of that under the salary cap, and Mark didn't want us to put it all under the salary cap because it would have disadvantaged other players.

"He wanted the club to be strong and to keep playing with it.

"We have kept our part of the deal and Mark has received some of the third-party payments, but not all of them."