Raiders sign a second veteran from England
Rugby league By Peter Fitzgerald
Tuesday, 27 July 2004
The Canberra Raiders' player jigsaw puzzle is almost complete, with the signing yesterday of former Kangaroo forward Matt Adamson.
Adamson, 31, has spent the past two seasons with English Super League club Leeds, after playing 11 seasons in the Australian competition with Parramatta (1991/92) and Penrith (1993-2001).
Three weeks ago, the Raiders' playing book was looking thin after Ruben Wiki, Joel Monaghan, Luke Davico and Brad Drew confirmed they would be leaving the club at the end of the year.
But since then, recruitment staff at Raiders headquarters have been working overtime, signing Craig Frawley (Broncos), Michael and David Howell (Dragons), Jermaine Ale (Roosters), Bronx Goodwin (Sharks) and now Adamson.
Furner admitted that while the past two months had been "testing", he refused to call the period a failure.
"We've always said you can't judge recruitment until after it's happened," he said.
"There was a bit of soul searching around the place a few weeks back but I know the coaching staff feel a lot more confident now after making these signings."
The latest signature of Adamson has helped fill the large void left by Wiki and Davico's imminent departures.
Teenager Michael Weyman showed during Sunday's match against the Warriors that when fit, he could become one of the leading forwards in the competition. Having Adamson as a versatile front and second-rower will give the Raiders more options in attack.
But even Furner realises the multiple former New South Wales and Australian representative is no Ruben Wiki.
"There's only one Ruben. He's obviously been a great asset to our club over the past decade and I think it's fair to say he's somewhat irreplaceable," Furner said.
"But [Adamson] has been recommended very highly. He's very keen to play another year in the NRL and will do a very good job for us."
Adamson signed with the Raiders on a one-year contract which will see him end his football career in the lime green jersey.
The hard-working forward has spent the past two-and-a-half seasons with Leeds after a successful career with the Panthers.
Adamson played two Origin matches in 2001, one Super League Tri-series match for the Blues in 1997 and five Super League Tests in the same year. In total, he has played 158 games in Australia.
Furner believes Adamson's presence at the Raiders next year will go a long way to making them a formidable outfit.
"People have been saying that the Raiders will have nobody next year, but over the past week or two we've been one of the leading clubs on the signings front," he said.
"At times, [signings] all happen in a row.
"For us it was all players leaving one week then signing a lot the next. It's just the way it can work. You can't control that a lot of the time."
