NRL: Inu's Warriors career comes to an end

Krisnan Inu was today given a release by the Warriors to join the Bulldogs and is already in Sydney preparing for their match with the Roosters on Monday. Photo / Getty Images.

Last week Krisnan Inu wondered when he might play his 100th NRL match because his chances with the Warriors seemed slim but the milestone could come as early as Monday after the 25-year-old signed with the Bulldogs until the end of 2015.

Inu was today given a release by the Warriors to join the Bulldogs and is already in Sydney preparing for their match with the Roosters on Monday. He was unveiled by the Bulldogs this afternoon soon after a video session with the rest of the players.

The end of Inu's Warriors career came mercifully quickly and is a good result for both the club and player.

The Warriors get a player who was earning more than $200,000 a season off their books and Inu gets a fresh start because it's debatable he would have got many more at the Warriors.

He joined from Parramatta in 2011 and played only 21 NRL games, scoring 12 tries, and seemed confined to spending the rest of the year with the Auckland Vulcans.

One of those tries in particular will be remembered for some time - the spectacular winner he scored against the Wests Tigers last year to continue the Warriors' march to the grand final - but he will also be remembered for errors like the ones he made against Melbourne last month that effectively spelled the end of his Warriors career.

Inu is one of the most naturally talented players in the NRL, and can do things few others can, but he can also leave many wondering why he doesn't show it more often.

His work ethic is usually at the centre of that. Modern centres and wingers are often tasked with hitting the ball up early in the tackle count as the forwards make their way back into position but Inu often went missing. He was also strangely absent from the shoulders of forwards looking for an offload when playing in the No 1 jersey - one of the things expected of fullbacks.

"The Bulldogs are excited to have a player of Krisnan Inu's pedigree join the club," Bulldogs coach Des Hasler said. "Krisnan is an international player and his arrival comes off the back of an horrific run of injuries in our outside backs, numbering five in total. We certainly think that Krisnan's arrival will help fill that void."

The Bulldogs had already been sniffing around Inu and were planning on adding him to their squad in 2013 but stepped up their interest after their injury crisis deepened on Monday night.

"It's a win-win for everyone," Warriors chief executive Wayne Scurrah said. "He's a great guy to have around the club but he was here to play football. He had his moments, and some of them were pretty good, but there were also some that weren't so good."

Inu's departure doesn't change much for the Warriors. They had already signed Melbourne centre Dane Nielsen and have Jerome Ropati, Konrad Hurrell and Ben Henry as options in the centres and, with a number of promising youngsters on their books, need to find room in the salary cap to upgrade a few contracts.

Recruitment manager Dean Bell is in the UK looking for possibilities and talking with clubs and agents but Warriors fans shouldn't expect any high-profile additions.

The length of Inu's contract is a surprise. Three-and-a-half years is a big gamble on a player who hasn't really produced since his early days at the Eels. But it gives Inu security and a fresh chance. The Warriors had only hoped they were the ones to benefit from that.