St George Illawarra coach Paul McGregor believes the burning desire to play alongside twin brother Josh was always going to trump anything the Dragons could offer departing winger Brett Morris. 

One of rugby league’s worst kept secrets was confirmed on Thursday with the Bulldogs announcing that they had lured Morris to Belmore on a four-year deal beginning in 2015.

The Dragons confirmed on Thursday that Morris - who’s notched 169 games for the club since debuting in 2006 - had sought a release from the final year of his contract to re-unite with twin brother Josh at the Bulldogs.

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Having witnessed the bond between the brothers first hand in his time with both Dragons and NSW, McGregor said the lure of playing alongside one another at club level was always going to prove too strong for the pair.

‘‘It has been a totally difficult time to be honest as Brett is a good lifelong friend of mine and still will be,’’ McGregor said.

‘‘I have personally known Brett since he was a child and we have formed a great friendship over the years so I understand how hard this decision has been for him and his family.

“I also know how extremely close the twins are and why this is also important to Brett.”

The announcement ends months of speculation over Morris’ future at the Dragons as the club battles well-publicised salary cap issues.

Chief executive Peter Doust confirmed the Dragons couldn’t match the lucrative offer tabled by the Bulldogs but denied the club had sought to offload Morris to alleviate salary cap pressure.

"Whilst there has been speculation in regards to our salary cap for 2015, I want to make it very clear that moving on Brett was not one of the club’s objectives nor was it one of its plans,’’ Doust said.

“Brett requested a release as the financial returns on offer were significant compared to what the Dragons had tabled for a similar period and he has a desire to again play with his twin brother.

“It is something that we have been discussing for some time as we wanted to upgrade and extend Brett to see him play his entire career at the Dragons, however, for a player like Brett, who has given so much to the Dragons, both football management and the board did not think it right to deny his request.’’

McGregor, who’s been tasked with rebuilding a roster on a shoe-string budget given the club’s salary cap concerns, backed the decision.

“Brett has been an important part of our team for many years so it is less than desirable to ever hear a player of his calibre make this type of decision...he is the best winger in Australia and has been for some time now,” McGregor said.

‘‘However I do respect his decision and making him stay, at least until the end of next season when he wanted to be somewhere else, was not the right outcome for anyone.

“This will give some of the young guys who have played under him for some time now a chance to play first-grade.”