So with Haas all but guaranteed to be leaving in the off-season, and it being on the public court record that his salary in 2023/2024 is 800k/850 we effectively have that money free to go to market.
If you believe the rumours, Cobbo is all but signed before the release news, so his upgrade was already factored in, as has Herbie's 1 year deal.
These are the players off contract, available for next year.
Adam Elliott
Ryan Sutton
Raymond Faitala-Mariner
Matt Moylan
Briton NIkora
Royce Hunt
Jarrod Wallace
Martin Taupau
Dunamis Liu
Anthony Milford (lol)
Josh McGuire (lol)
Jordan McLean
Ryan Matterson
Tom Opacic
Hayze Perham
James Tamou
Nikora is a gun and Matterson is pretty good but I can't see us signing a backrower.
The off contract list is pretty shit, so I don't see how we're going to spend it, so I seriously think we might look at a Super League player for a 2 year deal.
Walsh is obviously a maybe given the rumours about him wanting out but I don't think the club will go there.
So what does the club do if we have 800k to spend? You have to spend 95% of your cap.
We really don't need to sign anyone major.
Our spine leading into the 2023 finals:
1. Cobbo
6. Mam
7. Reynolds
9. Mozer
Realistically, this might not be strong enough to knock over Penrith in 2023, but it's the foundation we're building.
Depth, we have:
Martin (1, 6, 7)
Walters (6, 7, 9)
Paix (6, 7, 9)
Gamble (6, 7)
If I were Kevvie, I'd be polishing Billy's CV and shipping him to the ESL, maybe Catalans. His time here is ticking out.
Centres:
3. Staggs
4. Farnworth
Wings:
2. Oates
5. ?
Moving Cobbo to fullback opens up a wing. Currently signed candidates:
Lee
Mariner
Niu
Arthars
Pereira
Plenty of options there. If Mariner takes Herbie's centre, then Herbie takes the wing. Great result. Otherwise, it might be the other way around. Tesi is only depth now. He should be let go.
Forwards, we seem okay to me. I don't see us lacking in any position, but a gun ball playing lock wouldn't go wasted.
We could use a 6 or 9, of Adam's standard. But do we really need to throw in a stopgap in front of Blake and Ezra? I think no.
I would keep my eye on the younger grades for outside backs. We will need a winger to replace Oates, and they tend to blossom young.