By Dan

An intriguing announcement out of Raiders HQ came this morning, with news that Simi Sasagi had signed on for a further two one year.

Sasagi has always been a fascinating experiment. An outside back with halves ability by trade, he came to the club as a project. The end result was ideally to turn him into a backrower.

The project, as you’d expect has been patchy. Simi has looked above the grade in NSW Cup, forming a formidable right edge combination with Adam Cook. He’s looked damaging and quick on the edge, and held up defensively in that arena.

But the outputs when he’s transitioned to first grade have been less consistent. He’s often been found out of position or de-linked from the structure around him. In the three games he played as starting backrower last year he missed 19 tackles, including ten against the Sharks in round 8. That’s expected for a guy less than twelve months into one of the most important and most difficult defensive jobs on the field. And the improvement between the Sharks game and his next start (round 27 against the Dragons) was noteworthy.

We’ve not seen a lot of Simi this year but it’s evident that Coach Stuart values his utility. As he noted in the post game conference after round one, he strongly values Simi’s expansive capacities:

Simi Sasagi, he handles a number of positions. That’s why I gave him the bench spot. From outside back to halves, to lock to backrow. He’s got great utility value.

It’s a sentiment mirrored by list manager Joel Carbone

Simi has been a great addition to our squad, with his talent and versatility giving us a player who can cover several positions

It’s safe the say the versatility is appreciated and why the club wants to keep him around. With Hudson Young, Zac Hosking and Matty Nicolson as immediate options, and Noah Martin and Joe Roddy in the pipeline the second row depth is less of an issue. Sasagi’s utility is his utility, and the peace of mind that offers Coach Stuart in a game that can be disproportionately swung by injuries to critical defensive positions.

Simi is also just 23. That’s not to say utility will be his future. He may grow into something more, or simply continue on this “jack of all” vibe. Given the pace of change he’s had to adjust to, and his relative success in doing so, it makes sense for the club to make a presumably small bet that he will continue on this trajectory. He’s got plenty of time to find exactly what he is. And right now he is evidently providing something the club values.

If there is a downside it’s that given the Raiders dwindling top 30 spots for 2026, the opportunity cost for Simi is substantial. Taking Simi may mean losing Starling (who they may have already lost, or may have lost when they signed Jayden Brailey). It may mean losing a Bert Hopoate. It may mean not being able to offer Josh Papalii another year, should he want it. There’s too much fluidity in those numbers at this stage of the year to get too caught up in that. But it’s something to keep under the lid.

For now though we are happy for Simi to get another contract, and hopeful that he can continue his development.

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