Cameron McInnes would actually be a decent option as 9, would also allow us to use Hands as the 14 and he could still fill in the middle.
I think one of the Sharks fans on LU mentioned him the other day actually.
He is on way to much and as a middle he is rubbish. Couldn't crush a butterfly wing. As for playing 9, sure he may be still up to it, but then again he may not.
I've been watch Pheonix Crossland for the Knights this season and he is slowly progressing into a very handy Dummy Half. He is only 22 years old, 183cm, 86kgs and can tackle very well. He came through the juniors (captain of their SG Ball) as a half and can play anywhere in the backline from 7 to 1 as the Knights have been using him as a utility to fill different roles since he was graded in 2019.
I believe he is currently the best utility in the game and improving all the time. He is currently contracted to the Knights for 2024, so we can offer him a contract in November for 2025. But seeing that the Knight have Brailey to come back from injury next season, I think we can convince him that Parra is his best option for consistent NRL if he wants to make the 9 his own.
I can see him becoming quite a decent 9 once he trains solely for that role and isn't stuffed around with other positions all the time. He has had 45 NRL games and so there is plenty of improvement left in him.
The bonus of having him in the 17 also, is he is a genuine 80 mins player(currently averages 70+ mins as a DH and been making in excess of 40-50 tackles) if left out there and not small, but if anything did happen to our 6 or 7 he could slot in and take charge. He would not be overawed by the situation. We could also keep someone like Hands on the bench too if we so pleased as insurance and not need to keep Jake Arthur anymore, since Crossland can cover 1-7 and 9.
This then also frees us up in recruitment and retention to be able to cut most if not all the dead wood that we want including JA and focus on bringing in only players that we are in desperate need of like outside backs and props. We would still have two NRL quality DH's in Crossland and Hands, but in that a utility that can play anywhere in the backline if needed. Not many squads have more then two NRL DH's in their squad, so we are covered there while also waiting for Matthew Arthur to develop or not or whoever else we may bring along in years to come and we are also covered in the backs by Crossland.
Pretty good situation to be in that will not break the bank at all and very good quality. He does his job more then adequately and I think we can get him for no more then what that geriatric is on now. I don't think the Knights would match that since they have good money tide up in Brailey. But long term I think this guy will turn out to be a quality DH without all the injuries (touch wood) that the smaller DH Brailey is having.
Now unless someone else can come up with a better solution that is what I would be doing, But what I suspect Potato Head and Co to do is maintain the status quo at DH and focus on recruiting more park level back rowers and center/wingers.
