I've said it before and I will continue to repeat it - recruitment drives can make or break seasons.
We've seen the Bulldogs transform from competition also-rans to Finals competitors mainly due to a season upon season recruitment drive.
Meanwhile the Tigers signed a host of players over the past three seasons and finished last on all three ocassions.
Today we're here to run a look over nine of the 17 NRL teams and their recruitment decisions for 2025.
Some teams will attract average grades due to a lack of activity. Keep in mind that not all teams need to go out and sign five quality players.
That said, below are recruitment grades for the remaining eight teams heading into 2025:
In: Euan Aitken, Lewis Dodd, Lachlan Hubner, Jamie Humphreys=, Josh Schuster
Out: Thomas Burgess, Damien Cook, Jacob Gagai, Dean Hawkins, Lachlan Ilias, Taane Milne
Re-signed: Jye Gray, Ben Lovett, Peter Mamouzelos, Shaquai Mitchell, Isaiah Tass
The Bunnies season may rest on Lewis Dodd's ability to hit the ground running. If he lives up to his potential as South Sydney halfback, this could be a masterstroke.
Euan Atiken is a brilliant pickup and will continue to thrive under Wayne Bennett. Josh Schuster is a no risk, high upside, pickup and I love it!
Losing Damien Cook will hurt, there's no sugarcoating that. I'm nore sure the re-signed Peter Mamouzelos is in the same class. We shall see. Thomas Burgess is a big loss despite getting up there in age.
Truthfully I don't really know what to make of this recruitment drive from Souths. They've signed one potential exciting star in Dodd, a very handy player in Aitken and a couple of potential stars.
They haven't really lost much after moving on from Ilias. Cook faded last year and needed a fresh start. Jye Gray is a super talent and has a huge future. That is a brilliant re-signing.
This, again, feels like a year that will be dictated by Latrell Mitchell and Cody Walker. So not a lot has changed.
Wayne Bennett's return should breathe new life into a squad that feels stale and not a whole lot different to the team who massively underachieved last year.
Grading: C
