On Thursday evening news broke that the Canberra Raiders had signed Titans half Aidan Sezer on a reported three-year, $1.5-million deal.
Coming on the same day that the club re-signed promising back row prospect Mitchell Barnett and a day after announcing the signing of England international Elliott Whitehead, the news left Raiders fans quite giddy.
There are certainly a lot of positives to the signing. Firstly the dollar figure. While the signing is being casually reported as a ‘big money deal’ if the numbers reported are accurate, it is a reasonable amount for a starting half in the NRL.
Sezer was hot property in a crowded market for halves and that the Raiders were able to reportedly gazump the Sea Eagles to secure his services speaks volumes about the turnaround in the club’s recruitment fortunes.
While the club had a number of high profile recruitment flame outs last season a foray into the English Super League has netted impressive results with Josh Hodgson and Sia Soliola among the clubs best to start the year.
The club has also pursued generational change, moving on several big name players from the David Furner era – most noticeably Terry Campese, Tom Learoyd-Lahrs and recently Dane Tilse. In fact, if you include the enforced losses of Josh Dugan and Blake Ferguson to the big smoke and Brett White to retirement, the club has turned over more than half its top 25 from 2013.
The side has also signalled an intention to move out of the business of junior development and focus on signing established first grade players. Sezer certainly fits the bill on that count with four seasons and 58 first grade games under his belt.
Moreover at 23-years-old, he is at an age where many of the best halves make the leap from competence to excellence.
The question however is, how does he fit in on the field?
While the Raiders have had an up and down season thus far, the one player who has been consistently impressive has been Blake Austin. After five rounds, Austin sits equal second on the Dally M ladder with six points. He has been a constant running threat and his support play and defence has been outstanding.
However his kicking game has been mediocre at best and he has recorded only one try assist and one line break assist all season.
Despite the broad interchangeability of halfbacks and five-eighths in the modern NRL – with side of the field more important than the number on your back – Austin is still primarily a runner and support player. His strength does not lie in organising a team around the paddock or executing a precise kicking game.
Kieran Foran and Josh Reynolds among others have had elite careers as running halves. For Austin to be successful in that role he needs a half on the other side of the field who will organise the team’s game plan and take the majority of the kicks.
The strength of that model was demonstrated on Saturday night as running Austin and organising halfback Sam Williams orchestrated a much needed win for the club.
Is Sezer suited to this role? In 2014 Sezer had only five try assists which, even when accounting for an injury ravaged season in which he played only 13 games, put him in the bottom tier.
Sezer was also poor at creating line breaks, recording only two line break assists in 2014. Certainly stats aren’t everything and Sezer’s poor production may be as much due to teammates as his own creativity.
On the positive side, Sezer has a solid short kicking game which will be indispensable in a team that features outside backs like Sisa Waqa, Jordan Rapana and Edrick Lee. His long kicking game however is less reassuring with his average kick metres substantially lower than other primary kickers such as Jamie Soward, Cooper Cronk and Adam Reynolds.
Overall however it is clear that Sezer has all of the tools to be an excellent NRL half. The question is whether both he and Blake Austin are best suited to be paired with each other?
Certainly Sezer has been successful in the past alongside an unconventional teammate in Albert Kelly. The Raiders will be hoping he can work as effectively with Austin.
All these questions aside let us be clear, this a very good signing for the Raiders. Sezer is a quality player and his signing sends a message about Canberra’s intentions. After a dark, dark period for the club, fans are beginning to see a way back, if not to premiership glory, at the very least to respectability.
Reckon you can pick the winning team? Build your own dream team with Draftstars daily fantasy and compete on any match. For great odds on the NRL head on over to PlayUp. Imagine what you could be buying instead. Set a deposit limit.
Who are the hardest working big men in the NRL?
Andrew Johns thought he came up with a smart piece of analysis, only to be taken down by the Raiders halfback, then his own…
Graham Annesley has admitted the match officials got it wrong and the Titans should've been given a set restart after a Raiders player was…
Cranky old coaches Des Hasler and Ricky Stuart reportedly engaged in a post-match argument outside Canberra's dressing room following the Titans' controversial golden-point loss…
Ricky Stuart says Gold Coast coach Des Hasler is "on another planet" after the Titans boss blasted the refereeing in his side's golden point…
My American mate wants a Canberra Raiders jersey. If someone had told me a couple of months ago that I’d have friends in the…
