BY DAN

The Canberra Raiders roster build for next year continues with word emerging they are making a move to bring Simi Sasagi from the Newcastle Knights to the club. Update: this is now being reported as a done deal for 2024 with a possible early release. Update to the update: now announced by the club.

The Canberra Times is reporting that Raiders are trying to bring Sasagi on board to provide depth as a utility, providing support and depth mostly as part of the middle rotation at 13 and for the backrow. This is an intriguing change of role. Sasagi has come through the Knights system as a half, and mostly played as a centre for the Knights in Cup footy. In the opportunities he’s got in first grade have mostly been as a bench utility, and outside back depth. But if you squint you can see the logic. He’s a big body and a strong runner, and has the ball-playing experience through his development that suggests he may have sufficient skills already to play the role.

Can he handle the defence? That’s always a question with positional shifts like this. The difference between defending on the edge and at 13 is dramatic, and requires a different set of skills and body shape. Sasagi has played at lock in Cup footy, and would at least have an entire pre-season to bulk and prepare. As we said he already has the frame to manage it. It would be more about putting in the work.

It speaks to the club seeking to solve a problem that has plagued them this year. Elliott Whitehead is getting older, Corey Harawira-Naera’s had his awful incident, and Hudson Young has been picked in rep footy. It’s put a tremendous strain on the club as they’ve desperately needed someone that could provide emergency coverage on the edge, and it’s shown in their often feeble defence. I’d hope this wouldn’t preclude them from getting in the market for a certified starter, but like the dual-track chase in the halves market, it would provide certitude that the cupboard wasn’t bare.

The depth at key position would be vital but Sasagi could also be a part of a solution to expand the stylistic horizons of the Milk. Canberra have been stuck playing ‘big’ in the middle this season because they had no other option. Early in the year they often brought Harawira-Naera on and shifted Whitehead to the middle. Later he came on through the middle rotation to provide a bit of pace, agility and second-phase play. In each the intent was to add more mobility and agility at backrow and in the middle. More recently it’s big or bust as the options to utilise personnel changes to alter tempo or style. There’s no guarantee Coach Stuart would use it, but the ability to inject mobility and ball-play through the middle of the ground while also covering edge depth is one they’ve missed this year.

Given a deal will likely be relatively team-friendly it’s an understandable gamble. Backrowers aren’t in plentiful supply, and Canberra has had a hard time locking one down on the open market. The best way to filling this position may be to see what others haven’t been willing to, and manufacture the depth yourself. There’s unquestionably a risk to this but given the outlay is likely minor, the worst-case outcome is a roster spot wasted on someone who can’t crack it at centre or forward.

The insistence of the club that he would be used as in a ‘Connor Watson’ style role at 13 or back-row raises questions about what they see for other people already at the club. Hohepa Puru is young and still growing but his skills are perfectly suited to a ball-playing 13. If he’s physically ready next year he should be in first grade relatively consistently. Puru’s talent is of such magnitude that I wouldn’t think a make-shift 13 would stand in his way, but you can never tell with Sticky. The potential to use Sasagi on an edge also makes me wonder whether Clay Webb’s progress has stalled to the point that the club don’t think he’ll be ready for first grade next year. Only time will tell.

There has also been rumours floating around that this is part of a player swap that would make my heart sink. We’ll deal with that if it occurs. As this stage all we have as a fact is that the Raiders are chasing Sasagi to make a transition to the forward pack. Safe to say there’s no one on the 30 man roster the Raiders should be giving up willingly for a project like this. (Update: player swap was a request by Newcastle for Trey Mooney. The club, rightly, said fuck off).

The clock is still ticking on finding a solution for their biggest problem next season. This signing is more about making sure that the problems of this season don’t also carry over. Sasagi may not be a sure thing, but at least the club is making sure they won’t be bereft of options come next season.

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