While the likes of Sam Burgess, Adrian Morley, and James Graham have etched themselves into the folklore of their respective clubs through their toughness and consistently high level of performances, the men listed below are on the other end of that scale with their dream move to the NRL having crumbled.
2. Lee Mossop
Unfortunately for former Wigan Warrior Lee Mossop, this piece of business almost typifies the mediocrity that has become synonymous with Parramatta in the past few seasons.
Having shown plenty of promise in his 95 games for Wigan, Parramatta thought adding the 25-year old Mossop to their docile forward pack could help them climb off the bottom of the ladder.
Having also obtained the services of fellow Englishmen Gareth Hock from Wigan in the same deal, the BBC reported that Parramatta paid "significant six-figure transfer fees" for both the players.
Mossop signed a two-year deal with Parramatta, which according to the Sydney Morning Herald was worth $400,000 per season.
With Hock requesting a release from his deal prior to arriving in Australia, with the benefit of hindsight, Parramatta would have wished that Mossop would have done the same. As the twice-capped English international would miss the first half of the season due to a shoulder reconstruction, and would then go on to make a measly three appearances in 2014 before succumbing to another season-ending shoulder injury
He ended up playing just three games for the Eels prior to his second shoulder injury. The former English Test prop was granted a release from his Eels contract and returned to England the following year to resume his career with Wigan.
Just to rub salt into Parramatta’s wounds, the Mossop deal was later cited as a major factor in the salary cap breaches that saw Parramatta fined $1 million, suspended of 12 competition points, and having their Auckland Nines title stripped of them. Mossop reportedly received $50,000 in illegal payments from the Eels.
Joe Burgess has got to be the biggest dud in recent NRL history, souffffths poached him away from the Roosters mid season, thank God from and he continued to perform his dudery over in the green and smelly dead rabbit bloodied red.
It was appropriate at the time where he could play with the other four hopeless poms those four Burgess brothers Sam 🤡, George🤡 Tom 🤡and the other one was so bad I can’t even remember his name. 5 DUD Poms playing at souffffths.🤣😆😂😁😂😆🤣