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The rugby league off-season always brings about the question of whether new signings from rival clubs will deliver success. Looking back over the past few decades, which players have been the best buys?
Glenn Lazarus
The Broncos bought ‘The Brick with Eyes’ from Canberra – where he’d already won two premierships – to lead their forward pack. He repaid the faith by helping them win their first ever premiership in 1992, his first year at the club.
He played in another two grand final wins with the Broncos (in 1993 and Super League in 1997), before being signed by Melbourne and captaining them to their first ever premiership in 1999.
Kevin Walters
The Broncos also bought Walters from Canberra, where he had come off the bench in their 1989 grand final win. Along with Lazarus, he helped the Broncos to their 1992 title, and went on to win another four premierships with the club – in 1993, 1997 (Super League), 1998 and 2000.
Mal Meninga
Canberra bought Mal Meninga from Brisbane Souths, where he had already won two grand finals. He captained the Raiders to their first premiership in 1989, again when they went back-to-back in 1990, and in his final year in 1994.
Steve Edge
Steve Edge had already won two premierships at St George, including one as captain, by the time he arrived at Parramatta. He captained the Eels to their hat-trick of premierships from 1981-1983, which included their first ever title.
Terry Lamb
The Bulldogs bought him off the Wests Magpies for the 1984 season, and he helped the club win back-to-back titles in 1984 and 1985. He won a further two premierships with the club in 1988 and 1995, captaining the Doggies in the ’95 decider.
Jamie Lyon
The Sea Eagles bought Lyon off St Helens for the 2007 season, after he’d started his career at Parramatta. He repaid them with premierships in 2008 and 2011, and was the skipper for the latter win.
Cliff Lyons
Originally a North Sydney Bear, Manly bought Lyons after a brief stint in England, and he helped the Sea Eagles to premierships in 1987 and 1996.
Johnathan Thurston
Bought from Canterbury in 2005, the ‘Immortal in waiting’ delivered the Cowboys their first premiership in the epic 2015 decider.
Sam Burgess
Russell Crowe brought Sam Burgess to the Rabbitohs from the Bradford Bulls in England. He led the Rabbitohs to their 43-year-drought-breaking premiership in 2014, famously breaking his cheekbone in the first tackle of the match. And now he’s back…
Greg Inglis
If I was forced to only pick one from the same premiership team in this list, I’d have to toss a coin to decide between GI and Sam Burgess. Russell Crowe signed Inglis from Melbourne, or more accurately, from the palm of the Broncos hands, where he was initially headed.
Scott Prince
The Wests Tigers took a risk in buying Prince after he had suffered two broken legs while paying for the Broncos. He repaid their faith by captaining the joint venture to their first premiership in 2005 (and the first for the Wests Magpies and Balmain Tigers since 1952 and 1969 respectively).
Adrian Morley
The Roosters bought this tough as nails forward off Leeds in 2001, and Morley helped them break their 27-year premiership drought in 2002.
Have I missed any great buys that your club has made over the years? Or will a player your club has bought for 2016 make a list like this in years to come?
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