Eels-bound Sharks fullback Michael Gordon has laughed off suggestions he holds any ill-feelings towards Cronulla and rubbished claims he walked from the club when trying to negotiate a mid-season release to Parramatta back in May.
Leaving it to his manager Andrew Purcell and the two clubs to sort out the 31-year-old's future, Gordon said he didn't know much about contract proceedings while they were happening, but is glad he signed a one-year deal to join Parramatta in 2016.
Admitting a "media circus" unfolded once he was told of the possibility of joining the Eels, Gordon refused to talk about it until now because he didn't want to say something which would damage his time at either club.
"There was one report I'd walked from the Sharks. How do you walk away from a club? Unless you go for a journey to France or something like that, but I don't know how you actually walk away from a club," Gordon laughed.
"I found that pretty funny, because during a bye week I was having a meeting with [Sharks' Football Manager] Darren Mooney when we had training and all of a sudden I'd walked out.
"The last thing I wanted to do was come out and says something that I didn't really know too much about. I just tried to distance myself and certainly not say anything about any situation that I didn't have all the facts on.
"Some stuff came out in the media that was pretty far off the mark. So I just sat back and tried to let it all unfold. In the end I got the result I wanted, but I just said to anyone involved that I wanted to enjoy the rest of my time here."
Coming off-contract at season's end, there were plenty of positives for Gordon to leave the Sharks early, though "securing next year" was the overarching goal for the former New South Wales winger.
With the Sharks not lacking in fullbacks and with the Eels desperately searching for a permanent replacement to fulfil the post-Jarryd Hayne era, Gordon said the search for the new club began when he was being benched during games early on in the season to make way for Ben Barba.
"That's when it started and I thought if they did want me to go, then maybe this is the easiest way to do it. It didn't work out and I'm not disappointed with that. There are no ill-feelings there," Gordon said.
"There was a lot of appealing factors for me to go [to Parramatta]. And obviously we've got a lot of outside backs here as well. I knew it was an easy decision to go. But in the end, I just let it all unfold and I'm still here and I'm happy to be here.
"I didn't want to be ringing [Eels' Recruitment Manager] Peter Sharp and say 'mate, you know I've got a back out clause too', just to get his blood pressure up a bit," Gordon laughed.
"I'm pretty straight up and down. For me it's here's your money and that's it."
