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It’s silly season. We’ve gone through the finals, the World Cup and the November 1 deadline after which, NRL players who are out of contract for 2024 can discuss terms with other clubs. With that in mind, we’re launching Smart Signings, our new series on who NRL clubs should be targeting to address their biggest weaknesses, using the players that are actually available to them.
St George Illawarra ended up finishing 10th last year, despite being nowhere near the 10th best team in the NRL.
They were aided, largely, by the total collapse of Manly at the end of the season and the determination of the Bulldogs to be rubbish at rugby league until 10 weeks in.
The Dragons were dreadful – both bad and boring at the same time – but were repeatedly rescued by having Ben Hunt, one of the best players in the world, and by relying on other teams to fall over in front of them.
I went deep last year on why they should fire Anthony Griffin as soon as possible, which you can read here, but the elevator pitch is this: they’re bad to watch, they get rescued by individual talent, they get blown apart by anyone half decent and he’s holding them back from doing anything different.
Smart Signings is predicated on the idea that a team has an idea how they are going to play, and, certainly, you couldn’t accuse Hook of not having an idea. They play incredibly conservatively, with a man-oriented defensive system and an attack that requires the other team to be crap or Ben Hunt to create from nothing to score points.
Frequently, the other team aren’t crap and thus Hunt can’t create anything, but enough times last year it worked for Griffin to stay in a job, for now at least.
Hunt has been re-signed again, so that part of the system will continue, but other parts are either vastly under-utilised or simply not good enough.
They have let Andrew McCullough and George Burgess retire, punted Josh McGuire into semi-retirement in the Super League and allowed Jack Gosiewski and Jackson Ford to leave, along with Tariq Sims.
All this is good, because none of those – Sims aside – really added anything to their team.
Hook’s dollar dazzler policy has provided Jacob Liddle as a McCullough replacement at 9 and Zane Musgrove in for McGuire. When you sign guys that the Wests Tigers were happy to let leave, you’re onto a winner.
Even assuming that the coach, the actual biggest weakness, stays, then there’s still a few glaring roster holes – starting with the forwards.
It will be very worrying that the Dragons were in the basement group for run metres and that, in particular, that their forwards contributed so little.
They didn’t have a forward in the top 35 in the NRL for running metres, with Blake Lawrie their best, and he only made it because he takes so many hit ups, which isn’t really sustainable.
Their second best was Francis Molo, who barely cracked the top 100, while it was hard to work out what Aaron Woods is doing on the field given that he averaged 60m per game.
Lucky for them, there are options out there that can help. Griffin has already added Nick Lui-Toso, prop of the year in the Q Cup, which is a start.
If they have the room, doubtless Luke Thompson could be tempted out of the Bulldogs given their widely known cap issues. He has been on the market pretty much since he signed and the Dragons just ditched the big wages that McGuire and McCullough were on.
Marty Taupau actually lives fairly close to Kogarah and – though I’ve pitched him to Parramatta – you’d have to think he would also be open to a late career closer to home.
Spencer Leniu is off contract in 2024, Matt Lodge is currently running around at the Roosters on a grand a week, waiting for an offer, and the pathway of Super League middles into the NRL is pretty successful at this stage, with lots of young talent available.
Part of me wishes someone would offer one year, no frills deal to the definitely not young Alex Walmsley to prove the point I’ve been making for years that’s one of the best props in the world (never mind anybody else!) but that ship has sailed.
More realistically, Morgan Knowles is proven at Test level and Mikolaj Oledzki just made the England World Cup squad and would be a lot of fun out here. If you’re looking to improve the Dragons, start there.
But wait, there’s more. Cody Ramsey is out for the foreseeable with a nasty illness and will be very unlikely to start the season at fullback, which would require either Moses Mbye, a stopgap at best, or Tyrell Sloan, whom Griffin absolutely does not trust, to fill in.
I would love Sloan to get a chance and for it to come off. If not, Lachie Miller is currently third choice at the Sharks, behind Will Kennedy and Kade Dykes, so one would think that a deal could be done. There’s your expedient move, at least until the long-term situation with Ramsey is known.
Daine Laurie, too, is rumoured to be available from the Tigers and would represent an immediate upgrade on what St George Illawarra have.
I would love, love, and triple love someone to give Tommy Makinson a swing at the NRL, given that he has achieved everything possible in the Super League and is one of the best yardage fullbacks around.
Elsewhere, they are quite settled. A backline of AN Other fullback, Mikaele Ravalawa and Mat Feagai on the wing, Zac Lomax and Mosese Suli in the centres (with a now-fit Max Feagai for depth) and a halves pairing of Junior Amone and Hunt isn’t bad.
I still have reservations about the 9, with Liddle not a clear upgrade on McCullough, who was already quite bad. Jayden Sullivan might get first run, but it’s hard to think that he wouldn’t be better utilised elsewhere.
The Jacks, de Belin and Bird, are competent enough though probably on too much cash and Tyrell Fuimaono and Mugrave do a job.
Looking forward to their draw, however, might be the biggest factor. The Dragons have a pretty soft start to the year, playing only three of last year’s top eight in the first two months, so will need to bank points early on.
If they don’t, then they might be looking at a new coach anyway.