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In defence of mid-season transfers

Benji Marshall is off to the Broncos. (by Robb Cox ©nrlphotos.com)
Roar Rookie
30th June, 2014
1

Yes it’s that time of the year again. The June 30 deadline has come and gone, and boy was it a doozy. Over a dozen mid-season signings have occurred since the start of the season, and who says they’re all for nothing?

If it wasn’t for these ‘useless’ mid-year signings, at least three clubs would still be crashing down in an injury-fuelled crisis.

The Dragons wouldn’t have Benji Marshall picking up the pieces, Parramatta wouldn’t have Isaac De Gois to fill in for the injured Nathan Peats, and don’t even start on Daniel Mortimer popping in to the Gold Coast like a guardian angel.

Then you’ve got the less essential ‘fill-in’ players. The players merely there to fill a gap, whether it be for first grade or just simply reserve grade.

This is where you find guys like Tautau Moga (Cowboys), Scott Dureau, Nathan Stapleton (both Roosters), Jacob Loko (Bulldogs), Ben Murdoch-Masilla (Panthers), Marika Koroibete (Storm) and John Sila (Tigers).

These aren’t worthless signings. No, these are desperate footballers looking for another shot. These ‘fill-in’ players have played a combined total of four NRL games this year – all by Nathan Stapleton.

This season has produced almost double the mid-season signings that 2013 did, with Josh Dugan the only real superstar transferred before the deadline. In fact, the only club to have not utilised the mid-season transfer are the South Sydney Rabbitohs, with their last mid-season signing coming mid-2011 in the form of a big bopper named Luke Burgess.

The mid-season transfers aren’t ‘a waste of time’. They have a purpose. Think of where some of these clubs would be without it? Where would Parramatta be this year, with no fit hooker available? Or this halves despair up at the Gold Coast?

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And who could forget the sinking ship that was St George Illawarra before Benji popped by to steady the season. They’d be dropping down the ladder. They’d be in crisis. That is, if it wasn’t for the miracle of the mid-year transfers.

But now that the June 30 deadline has passed, what will Cronulla do to replace the sacked Todd Carney.

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