Adam MacDougall has potential to be a good buy for Souths (if he stays fit).
Whether he is worth $200,000+ on a 12 month contract after his time out with injuries remains to be seen and could be taken as an indication of the standing of Souths.
The only problem i see is similiar to Chris Walker in that he is more of a "Try Scorer" than a "Try Creator". Without a team going forward and creating opportunities i doubt Souths will get their money's worth out of MacDougall.
Another forward or two, if possible some experience in the halves, a player if not to lead the team around the park but to give the players some 'sense' on the field - those would of been better for Souths to pick up.
But, as it is just a 12 month contract, Souths can use this part of the salary cap to plan for 2005.
Good luck to Souths in 2004, hopefully they can improve enough to let Manly fall bellow them for the Spoon ;-)
Hopefully they can avoid the 'Gold Coast' syndrome and keep most of the players they develop.
