Frawley joins the Green Machine
17:48 AEST Sat Jul 24 2004
Simon Woolford's fears Canberra would be stuck with a "second-rate" replacement for Joel Monaghan were allayed with news Brisbane winger Craig Frawley had signed a three-year deal with the Raiders.
The Broncos wanted the Raiders to delay any announcement of the deal, believed to be worth more than $500,000, until after Brisbane's match against Manly on Saturday at Suncorp Stadium.
But it was confirmed that Frawley, 23, would fill the void left by the Sydney Roosters' recruitment of the gun centre Monaghan, who is committed to a three-year contract.
"At that stage of the year I thought we were only going to find a second-rate player to fill the hole left by Joel," said Raiders skipper Simon Woolford on the eve of his side's encounter with NZ Warriors at Canberra Stadium.
"But as it turned out we got hold of Craig Frawley - who's been very, very impressive - and I'm really excited about him coming here.
"At the time I thought a lot of the good players would be signed up but obviously Craig wasn't and it's worked out very well for us."
The loss of Frawley compounds Brisbane's problems in the backs, with international centre Michael De Vere bound for England next year.
Brisbane chief executive Bruno Cullen admitted this week that the club could not hope to match the offer from Raiders officials, who met with Frawley on Tuesday.
Frawley has been in superb touch this year, scoring 10 tries from 14 first grade appearances after several injury-plagued years limited his opportunities to cement a spot in the Broncos' line-up.
Last year the robust winger was restricted to just 13 first grade matches for the meagre return of three tries.
"I was disappointed when we lost Joel and when I heard we were chasing Craig Frawley I've kept an eye on him and been very impressed by him," added Woolford, who will carry a shoulder injury into the clash with the Warriors.
"I think he more than covers the hole Joel's left."
Woolford said club doctor Justin Paoloni was happy with the return of strength to his shoulder, which he injured in Canberra's 42-8 hiding against Penrith last week - the Raiders' biggest defeat in two years.
Canberra is sitting on 20 points on the NRL ladder - equal with St George Illawarra and Cronulla, which meet on Sunday at Oki Jubilee Stadium.
"Every game is big for us now," said Woolford.
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