I’ve been through the best value free agents of 2022.
Today I look at the next level down: the players who’ll fill out benches and squads and who can do a decent job in the starting 13, if needed.
There’s value here. It’s just more the contingency variety than the sort you rush to acquire. Here are the ten best options on the market.
1. Tom Opacic, Parramatta
Opacic nailed down a starting place at Parramatta in 2021, but this was a first for him. The Broncos and Cowboys never really trusted him.
It’s easy to see why. He’s doesn’t have a clear weakness. Nor does he have a compelling strength. Parramatta will probably go with Waqa Blake and Will Penisini next season.
If you need a back-up centre who won’t let you down too much, Opacic’s your man. He’s from Redcliffe, by the way.
2. Matt Dufty, Canterbury
Dufty’s an elite attacking fullback with some notable weaknesses and without a market. Wests, Newcastle and Brisbane could use him, but probably won’t.
Prediction: Matt Burton is Canterbury’s fullback in 2023 and Dufty wins the Super League Man of Steel award.
(Photo by Matt King/Getty Images)
3. Albert Kelly, Brisbane
Kelly’s only 30 and, unlike Dufty, occupies a seller’s market.
He’s essentially Braydon Trindall: a guy who isn’t out of place at halfback but who you’re not going to build a team around.
Everybody would like to have a Kelly in reserve. Brisbane doesn’t have a better option.
4. Jeremy Marshall-King, Canterbury
I might be the only member of the Jeremy Marshall-King fan club not actually related to him. I’ve always liked him. He’s a modern Mark Soden or Nathan Fien.
Canterbury has given Marshall-King a player option for 2023, so chances are he’ll remain at Belmore.
St George Illawarra, Canberra and Cronulla should all consider joining the Marshall-King fan club. The membership fee won’t be too high.
5. Blake Lawrie, St George Illawarra
Lawrie’s been around long enough now for the word potential to be redundant. He is what he is, and that’s a solid bench player on a good team.
It looks like the Dragons have also reached this conclusion. If Lawrie doesn’t stick around, he’d make sense for Parramatta or Cronulla.
6. Sauaso Sue, Newcastle
Speaking of bench props, Sauaso Sue’s a good one. A strong defender and decent ball carrier, he’ll give you 30 strong minutes in the middle and won’t cost much.
He’s experienced and sufficiently versatile to do a decent job as an edge back-rower.
Parramatta and New Zealand have been getting limited value from their benches and could use a player like Sue.
(Photo by Albert Perez/Getty Images)
7. George Jennings, Melbourne
Jennings was a pretty good metre-eater for Melbourne in 2021, made few mistakes and crossed for 11 tries.
Even so, it seems like Melbourne is looking to upgrade with the acquisitions of Xavier Coates and William Warbrick.
Jennings would be a handy player for clubs like Brisbane, North Queensland and Newcastle to have around.
8. Luke Garner, Wests Tigers
Garner’s not really good enough to hold down a starting spot on a strong roster.
He’s been linked with Manly on multiple occasions and would do a good job backing up Josh Schuster and Haumole Olakau’atu.
9. Mitchell Dunn, North Queensland
Dunn’s a hard-working back-rower who gets through lots of defensive work but has a limited impact with the ball in hand.
He’s the sort of player teams like New Zealand or Canberra could use toward the back end of halves.
10. Matt Eisenhuth, Penrith
We’re starting to scrape the bottom of the bargain bin. Eisenhuth can come off the bench and hold his own for 30-35 minutes.
He won’t make much impact, either good or bad, but he’s handy depth and did a serviceable job for Penrith in 2021.
Redcap
Roar Guru
Kind of a deluxe Caleb Aekins or Michael Oldfield. I reckon he'll take the super league coin, sooner or later.
KenW
Roar Rookie
Wouldn't be surprised if the rest of Dufty's NRL career is made up of short contracts for teams that need a quick fix. If you have a hole in your roster, his ability to crack a defence with his feet or throw a sublime pass will be attractive. Long term though there's the inescapable fact that fullback is a critical position and he doesn't have the all-round game to be a regular #1 in a successful team.
andrew
Roar Rookie
He killed it in a game against the Broncos this year and that was it .
Nat
Roar Guru
Kerr would go ahead quickly learning off JFH. Dunno about Laurie v Dufty. IMO Dufty wins due to his experience. Laurie is small but goes into the contact in attack and D. Give him another 50 games and he might be special in a Blacklock kind of way.
Hard Yards
Roar Rookie
Dufty isn't given the credit he is due as an attacking player. About 3 seasons back I think, I saw him run 80 meters against the Roosters at the SCG to score. Propping, jinking, breaking tackles, dummies, the fend, showing the ball, goose step, change of acceleration - everything. I can honestly say it's the best individual try I have ever seen by any player in any jersey.
Redcap
Roar Guru
Good points, Nat, I was thinking of Dufty as a bench player at the Broncos, a starter at Wests (for all his faults, he's better than Laurie) and a starter at Newcastle when/if Ponga moves to 6. Fair point about Eisenhuth - there are plenty of bench props around and I'm sure Penrith has somebody coming through who can do a job off the bench.
Tony
Roar Guru
They've certainly assembled some interesting characters. And that's just the coaches.
Hard Yards
Roar Rookie
ha. Yeah I was giving him the benefit of the doubt in the mental health stakes. I'd like to be a fly on the wall - anyway - at Belmore this year. It's going to be very entertaining
Hard Yards
Roar Rookie
Bad new for the native wildlife here though.
Tony
Roar Guru
And I'm still waiting for him to score his first try
Nat
Roar Guru
There are a few decent names in this list. Ones I would describe as Melbourne projects - good in a good system. You make a fair point about Opacic and Redcliffe. He is exactly the L center that Bennett goes for. He won't win or lose you the game but he is always in position. Like a slow Brent Tate. You might be under selling Eisenhuth. He is not a starting star but in a 17man game and he plays an important role. I reckon it will be to Penrith's detriment to keep losing these B+ players. Even Burton may have had that moniker a bit when they lost him but after a full season they are much more aware of what they have lost. Kikau (now reported to going to the Dogs) isn't an 80min player so their bench has to be deep and versatile. I hope Dufty isn't on the Broncos radar. There's a couple of 18yo that I already have more faith in. I'll be interested to see what shape Kelly comes back in. He was carrying 5yrs of Super League fitness last season. Kevvie have brought back conditioning coach Chopper Burgess. He is hard and very old school. Take 5kg off Kelly and he would be an asset in the way Benji was - off the bench to straighten things up.
Redcap
Roar Guru
Hi HY, He's got super league written all over him. Defence is optional for a lot of SL clubs. There aren't any kookaburra's in the UK or France so he should be safe. :happy:
Redcap
Roar Guru
Hi John, I've been eagerly waiting for him to break out, but it seems unlikely to happen at this point. I think he'll be at another club in 2023.
KenW
Roar Rookie
I thought it was pretty fair. I do suspect that he will be a bench player for Saints this year, especially with the rumour that JdB will be in the front row, and guys like Molo, Burgess & Woods will all be competing for the other starting prop spot (likely in that order). He'll need a breakout year if he wants to be near the head of that line, but he's 4 seasons and 80 games into his career, it's unlikely that he's got too much more up his sleeve.
andrew
Roar Rookie
I'll be watching Dufty to see how he goes HY. Apparently he disobeyed Griffin's instructions hence he was shown the door. He's always been a liability in defence but has made up for it in attack.
Tony
Roar Guru
:laughing: :laughing: What do you mean "bit of"? He and Gould are going to have some interesting conversations involving words like "tackle" and "catch".
John Shaw
Roar Rookie
That's a bit hard on Blake Lawrie. He was one of our best forwards last year. He will get better. 2022 might be his breakout year.
Hard Yards
Roar Rookie
Dufty might be a bit of a mental case, but he scores tries. He can be electric. He seems quite slight and sometimes has a problem in defence. Probably most vulnerable in Spring when he is in danger of being taken by a Kookaburra.