#KiwiNRL Player Market Update
Don't expect Kevin Locke to be starting for Manly come round one.
Having a #KiwiNRL perspective offers a slightly different angle to what is going down in the NRL player market. With this in mind, I've been watching on with interest as Cronulla Sharks went about recruiting a replacement for Michael Ennis in the past few weeks as they had already signed our lad Manaia Cherrington from Wests Tigers.
For a while there it looked as though Cherrington would suffer a weird twist of fate as the Sharks chased the signature of Robbie Farah. Cherrington had been stuck behind Farah at the Tigers, not getting much of a run as Farah can still roll through 80 minutes and when Farah was out of favour it was Dene Halatau who did a basic job with Jordan Rankin filling in from the wing. Cherrington was left to simmer away in reserve grade having signed with Cronulla.
My #KiwiNRL bias has me leaning towards giving Cherrington the starting dummy half jersey, especially as the Sharks have a strong group of leaders to support Cherrington and a forward pack that would allow Cherrington to develop nicely. Understandably though, the Sharks instead appear to want a more experienced dummy half to lead the way with Cherrington coming off the bench, competing with youngster Jayden Brailey.
This week the Sharks signed Daniel Mortimer and the Australian media labeled him as the replacement for Ennis. Mortimer has been unable to hold down a consistent spot in the NRL, instead used as a utility with immense value as he can cover numerous positions but there's still every opportunity that Cherrington can push his case to leap-frog Mortimer in the depth chart. Over summer, this will be a very interesting #KiwiNRL narrative to keep an eye on and I'll be rootin' for Cherrington to get the starting dummy half spot as it would be great to see him get a decent crack with consistent footy.
Manly Sea Eagles have given Kevin Locke an opportunity to snap up an NRL contract and in a similar sort of deal Canberra Raiders gave Dave Taylor, it's all up to Locke now to put his best foot forward and make the most of this opportunity. Manly are a great team for Locke to join as they are chasing value for money and unlike Newcastle - who are in a similar position - Manly want value for money and to be competitive right now.
Where Locke could get a look in is interesting. Manly have Tom Trbojevic as their fullback and recently signed Akuila Uate, they are apparently trying to offload Jorge Taufua which could open the door for Locke to play wing and Locke's the ideal wing candidate because he's not costing a whole lot of money. Locke's best chance is one of those wing spots but if Taufua stays with Manly, Locke would likely have to sit in behind Uate and Taufua as there's no room for Locke at fullback or in the halves.
The key thing here though is that the responsibility is all on Locke. If Locke wants to further his NRL career, now is his chance.
Manly were also rumoured to be in the hunt for Dean Whare and Dallin Watene-Zelezniak, both of whom currently play for Penrith. The Watene-Zelezniak play was ambitious from Manly as he forms a fantastic back-three at Penrith with Matt Moylan and Josh Mansour, however the return of Whare to Manly did make a bit of sense.
Whare has battled injury in 2016 and his price-tag with Penrith reflects his standing as one of the better cenres in the NRL. This season the Panthers played mainly with Tyrone Peachey and Waqa Blake, two dynamic ball-runners who did a great job and this could have made Penrith ponder a release for Whare. This rumour appears to have fizzled though and I hope Whare stays with Penrith as it'd keep the Maori Panthers in tact with Whare joined by fellow Maori Watene-Zelezniak, Peta Hiku, James Fisher-Harris, Te Maire Martin, Zach Docker-Clay and Sam McKendry.
A few low key signings to finish with as Parramatta Eels have signed Warriors back-rower Marata Niukore and South Sydney re-signed Zane Musgrove.
Niukore has consistently been a classy edge forward for the Warriors, whether for the Juniors or in reserve grade and I reckon the Eels have done an excellent piece of business here. There's a chance that Niukore could get some NRL game time next year off the bench as Manu Ma'u and Kenny Edwards will likely hold down starting spots, while the Warriors clearly prefer Bunty Afoa as back up to Bodene Thompson and Ryan Hoffman.
Musgrove's season was hindered by injury, but he started and finished the year playing prop for the Bunnies. The Mangere East junior is a big lad who fits the Rabbitohs style as they rely on their big boppers in the middle led by the Burgess bros and Greg Inglis to attack the ruck area. Coach Michael Maguire obviously likes Musgrove as he had him playing in round one this season and has now re-signed him so he'll be one to watch early next season.