So this is what people like about Manly huh?

After being released by South Sydney Rabbitohs, it was assumed that Dylan Walker would join Manly Sea Eagles and partner Daly Cherry Evans in the halves. That was made official late last week which caps off an excellent recruitment extravaganza for Manly, countering some big losses by signing the likes of Walker, Nate Myles, Lewis Brown, Apisai Koroisau and Martin Taupau.

Many NRL clubs simply can't do what Manly are doing as they have brought in a large group of players who won't just start a new era in Manly, they'll ensure that Manly only spend a season languishing in the bottom eight.

Walker's signing is the icing on the cake. Taupau and Myles will give Manly's pack that tough edge again - don't forget that they will be joining Jake Trbojevic who is the best young prop in the NRL - while Walker offers the flair or attacking nous that has been a signature of Manly's style. Ponder to yourself how Manly have recruited in the two areas (toughness and flair) that are their hallmarks of how the club has played in the past decade.

Expected to waltz into the no.6 jersey, Walker is as close as you are going to get as a like-for-like replacement for Kieran Foran.

As close as you are going to get because Foran's really good, Walker's not too far behind though. Most importantly, they share the ability to get their eyes up, pick out a weakness or an opportunity to run and they run. Foran does this thanks to super-human toughness while Walker is more of a stepper who is quick off the mark and will make defenders miss.

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A lot of this depends on how coach Trent Barrett plays his halves. Under Geoff Toovey we saw Daly Cherry Evans run the right side while Foran ran the left, which is a trendy way to play in the NRL but I would say that not many teams play this way as good as the Sea Eagles. Trying to predict what Barrett will do is difficult as he's a new coach with new ideas and Manly have made Cherry Evans their king/king of the NRL so confining him to merely the right side may not be getting your money's worth.

Another reason why I'm not sure how Manly's halves will play is that over the past three or four seasons, Walker hasn't shown that his kicking game is up their with Foran's. Walker has played in the halves for Souths, usually alongside a dominant half like Adam Reynolds so we don't know if Walker can execute the range of kicks needed at a Foran-like level.

That's the beauty of Foran as he'll put in a few big hits, take tough carries, throw a lovely pass and land a long or short kick on a dime #Kiwis.

If Manly give each half a side of the field to run, then I expect Walker to sit on the left. Again, I'm not sold on this though as Walker was a right-centre so I think I'm going to settle on Manly completely switching things up, making Cherry Evans the go-to guy while Walker plays like a more typical no.6. Throwing another spanner in the works is the departure of Andrew Johns who worked with Manly's halves and established their signature style, as he's gone we could see something different.

This would be a drastic change, although Manly as a club has only experienced drastic change recently so I guess it makes sense. Cherry Evans has showed himself to be amongst the NRL's very best halves while not quite showing that he can play the dominant hand as a halfback, which suits his combination with Walker as Walker has the skill-set to be the perfect foil for Cherry Evans.

They are both quick-footed so they'll pose a threat when they run the footy and they both have great hands so they'll be running all sorts of plays with Brett Stewart lurking around the footy. I'm excited to see how Walker impacts Manly, I have a feeling that for all the new signings it's Walker who could be the most influential as he's the bloke who can take Manly's unique attacking prowess to a different level.

Last week we also heard that Russell Packer was free to stay in Australia and free to play in the NRL with St George Dragons. While we have seen Packer running around the training paddock in a Dragons shirt for what feels like a few years now, Packer is effectively a new signing for the Dragons and within that context, it's a great bonus for the Dragons' forward pack.

I loved watching the Dragons this season thanks to a workman-like pack of forwards who simply did their jobs, not something special. Guys like Leeson Ah Mau, Mike Cooper, Jack De Belin and Ben Creagh were excellent in making metres and covering each other on defence with an intensity almost unmatched in the NRL. For 2016, the Dragons have added Packer, Mose Masoe, Dunamis Lui and Sebastine Ikahihifo who are capable of buying into this sound defensive system while also adding their own spice to the 2016 Dragons.

Not many people will have the Dragons up there as title contenders but they now have a forward pack that can not only hold their own against the NRL's best - which got them pretty far this season - they can now look to over-run opposition forward packs. There's size, footwork, skill and intimidation in that forward pack which opposition teams will make a note off very early next season.