NRL: Imports - good value or just so-so?

James Maloney has been back-up to Cooper Cronk at the Storm. Photo / Getty Images

Whatever else you can say about the Warriors and their rather awful 2009 season, at least they are trying to fix it.

Just about every league fan and every media commentator worth their salt have offered their 50c worth on the Warriors' woes this year - and the most common complaint is that the Warriors have never fixed the problem in the halves.

The catch-cry is consistent: Good teams have good halves.

Hard on the heels of Brett Seymour's capture came the news that the Warriors had signed James Maloney, back-up to Cooper Cronk at the Melbourne Storm and described with that intriguing adjective in the official Warriors' press release as "promising".

If anyone thinks it has been easy finding good halves - and let's not forget, the jury is still out - the tale of Seymour is illustrative.

Disgraced after some highly publicised bouts of alcohol-fuelled bad behaviour, Seymour had been working as a brickie's labourer until the Warriors' calling card arrived.

"I have been working as a brickie's labourer and I guess it is a bit of a look at life without football," Seymour told Sydney's Daily Telegraph. "Basically my girlfriend said 'go out and work"'.

"It is good work. Hard work, but good work. I have a new respect for those blokes who do it every day."

Once labelled as the next Allan Langer, Seymour has been leaping out of bed at 6am every day, heading off to a building site, working long hours and earning scars on his hands from working with cement.

After work, according to the Telegraph, he has been content sitting in the Miranda Hotel for an hour or so with his building boss Jimmy Mundell after a hard day on the tools and then heading back home.

"Brett has had a couple of schooners after a hard day's work, but that is it," Mundell told the Telegraph. "He is a real good kid and someone who deserves another chance. He has really been getting stuck into the work, mixing mud by hand and carrying the bricks.

"I don't know if he is used to a hard day's work, but he is getting no special treatment. No one gets special treatment on a building site.

"He didn't cop that much because everyone was happy to see him having a go. They all know he is putting in to rebuild his life."

But if Seymour is well known - even if courtesy of his shenanigans at the Broncos and then the Sharks - Maloney isn't.

A goalkicking playmaker who can turn out at 6 or 7, Maloney may be a sound buy, especially if Seymour, whose talent is undisputed, cannot shuck his demons when he returns to the NRL.

But that begs the question: in the Ivan Cleary era of the Warriors, how many of the imports from Australia have actually 'done the business'?

Cleary came on board in 2006 and the Warriors' horse-trading since that time has been only a qualified success. Cleary, of course, is not the only person involved with player identification and pursuit but, as coach, it is he who bears the ultimate responsibility.

Their buying has not always been sharp and, if the Warriors haven't always been able to afford marquee players, they have often invested in players they thought they could grow with the club.

Their success rate so far? Pretty 50-50 with some undecided as yet. Key signings like Steve Price and Ruben Wiki are outside the scope of this analysis as both were technically on board in 2005.

If you had to characterise the Warriors' foreign signings (this does not include New Zealand-born players) from 2006-2009, most measures would have them evenly divided with another even division to the "not yet decided" bracket.

GOOD BUYS

Todd Byrne

"Skinny" Byrne was a winger with legs that looked like two noodles on holiday and a running style that suggested he'd be no threat to anyone. But he scored some important tries for the Warriors, led the try-scoring stats one year and always seemed to give of his string-bean best. Will always be remembered for being the unfortunate recipient of that famous Scott Sattler tackle in the 2003 NRL grand final. Still and all, a successful signing. Currently at Hull in England, recovering from knee reconstruction surgery.

Nathan Fien

Many Warriors fans are still wondering why he was culled, particularly after he joined Wayne Bennett's Dragons and came on as an interchange player in an emphatic Dragons win against the Warriors. Hailed originally as "the future" of the Warriors, Fien never quite filled that bill, flitting between hooker and the halves and displaying a kicking game that, while perfectly competent, didn't rock the world. Overall, however, a popular player and a success...

Micheal Luck

An unqualified tick for the man whose parents couldn't spell 'Michael'. Every team, no matter what the code, needs a player like Luck. All heart and tackling technique, this bloke goes out every week and heads the tackling stats, not only for the Warriors but also for the NRL. In April, he unforgettably broke the record for the number of tackles in a game - 74 against the Storm in an extra time draw, 14-14. The previous record was held by Nathan Hindmarsh of the Parramatta Eels who made 69 tackles in a match in 2007.

Wade McKinnon

His debut season was brilliant. McKinnon seemed to have pace, the ability to beat a man, and the gift of good timing. He regularly made runs out of defence, was one of the Warriors' principal weapons when it came to line breaks and he looked one of the most dangerous players in the NRL in 2007. Since then, not so good. His injury in 2008 cost him most of the season and he has not looked the same player since. Has given way to Kevin Locke for today's match against the Titans.

Brent Tate

Could easily be in the "undecided" section of this analysis because of injury woes if it wasn't for the fact that he is so obviously a class player. The Warriors have looked the worse for his absence, even if his 2009 season ended in round three with another horror ligament injury following on from his season-ending 2007 version of the same thing. Was one of the players of the season in 2008 and his impact next year is eagerly awaited.

GOODBYES

Grant Rovelli

Bought from the Roosters, a similar buy to Maloney in that he was an undeveloped player the Warriors were going to develop. Sharp on the break and with a kicking game that varied between good and hmmm, Rovelli had some good matches for the Warriors but had mixed form and eventually faded out of calculations. Now with the Cowboys - for whom he played as a junior - Rovelli has played nine games this season behind marquee player Johnathon Thurston.

George Gatis

The man who left rugby league to go back to his fish and chip shop played for two seasons without ever really cracking the first team. Impressed on occasions with his running play from dummy half but eventually left for Huddersfield before returning to Australia to play a few games for the Cowboys before heading back to 'shark and taties' at his Simply Tops shop in Townsville.

Michael Crockett

Sprightly winger with real pace who looked good for a few games before falling into a bit of a hole. Played 14 games in his debut 2007 season before life with the Warriors came unstuck when he was accused of sexual assault after a match in Australia. The charges were later dismissed but Crockett played only eight games for the club in 2008 and did not find employment with an NRL club this year.

Michael Witt

If he was to be rated on goalkicking alone, Witt would be in the "good buy" section of this analysis. Now with the Otago rugby team, Witt's kicking was almost flawless in the 2007 season. His unbroken run of successful goals in the NRL reached 28, only a few short of the record set by Bulldogs winger Hazem El Masri, after just missing a tough conversion from out wide. He broke Daryl Halligan's record for successful goalkicking that year (92.5 per cent; 62 goals from 67 attempts - Halligan's record was 81 per cent). However, there were always questions marks about his defence and his ability to 'run' a game. Many of the Warriors fans feel Witt, Rovelli and Fien were let go prematurely. There are also plenty who still feel that Witt would have been a better option this year than the man who was chosen to replace him, Joel Moon.

Denan Kemp

A try-scoring winger and a good goalkicker who has produced precious little of either commodity for the Warriors and has dropped right out of calculations after kicking a sideline conversion to win the game against Manly in round two. Undeniably talented - he led the try-scoring for the Broncos in 2008 - Kemp has not yet lived up to that promise.

UNDECIDED

Aidan Kirk

Journeyman footballer so far, yet to make a real claim on a first-team spot for the Warriors.

Ian Henderson

Has had some good games for the Warriors with his direct play out of dummy half but many feel that today's debut at hooker by Lewis Brown will spell the end for Henderson.

Joel Moon

For a five-eighth, he's made a good fist of the centres. Signed by the Warriors to help solve the club's halves woes, Moon was initially impressive this season but then dropped out of the team after some poor form. Came back when required at centre after Jerome Ropati's game went off and scored four tries in that bizarre match against the Panthers last weekend.

Jacob Lillyman

Another who is strong on the tackle and has a high workrate but is no matchwinner, this hard-working player has yet to secure a consistent foothold in the first team.