Signing news: Dragons finally land replacement for Jack de Belin

The Dragons have been searching to add some forward depth to for weeks after Jack de Belin was unsuccessful in his bid to overthrow the NRL’s no-fault stand-down rule in the federal court.

Patrick Kaufusi will join the Dragons from Melbourne Storm. Picture: AAP

St George Illawarra have finally landed a replacement for the suspended Jack de Belin with Melbourne’s Patrick Kaufusi set to join the club.

The Dragons have been searching to add some forward depth to the club for weeks after de Belin was unsuccessful in his bid to overthrow the NRL’s no-fault standdown rule in the federal court.

St George Illawarra have signed Kaufusi with the prop joining the club this week. The deal is for the rest of the season.

The Dragons had made a play to bring premiership winner Trent Merrin back to the club but his rich multi-year deal in Leeds made in virtually impossible for him to give up that contract. The Dragons also tried to sign Canterbury’s Raymond Faitala-Mariner.

Jack De Belin failed in his bid to overthrow the NRL’s no-fault stand-down rule in the federal court. Picture: AAP

The Dragons confirmed Kaufusi’s signing after the Daily Telegraph broke the story.

“Patrick is a welcomed addition to our roster for 2019, he’s a quality person from a tremendous squad and system,” Dragons director of rugby league pathways and list management Ian Millward said.

“He’s a player capable of playing in the middle and back row, who is keen and willing to play first grade.”

St George Illawarra have been hamstrung by the NRL’s rules put in surrounding replacing players who are stood-down under the no-fault policy. The Dragons only have $239,000 salary cap dispensation for this year. They will need to re-apply for the dispensation again next year if de Belin is unable to return to the field. The Dragons have little room in their salary cap for 2020.

“You don’t replace a player of Jack de Belin’s calibre with ease, particularly midway through the season,” Millward said.

“This entire process and circumstance has been extremely complex. It is complicated by not only the rules and regulations but also by the existing injury toll across the competition. This means clubs are unwilling to release players, as the representative period is back in full swing too.

“There has also been no clarity over salary cap dispensation for 2020 or when a determination of Jack’s matters will be reached, which makes it very difficult to both accurately plan as a club and offer prospective players any certainty beyond 2019 – particularly with 23 players already under contract for next year.”

Patrick Kaufusi in action for Storm’s feeder club Brisbane Easts. Picture: AAP

Kaufusi, 25, is the brother of Felise who will play for the Maroons on Sunday night. He has featured in just 25 top grade games and played one game for the Storm this year.

Kaufusi’s Storm contract was to expire at the end of this year. His addition is timely for the Dragons who are without prop James Graham for at least another month plus will have forwards Tariq Sims, Tyson Frizell and Paul Vaughan playing in Origin as well as Ben Hunt.

The Storm are close to securing unwanted Warriors centre Solomone Kata which could see Scott Drinkwater granted an immediate release to join the Cowboys.

Melbourne had also agreed to sign Gold Coast prop Max King before the Titans backflipped on releasing King because of an injury to Jai Arrow.

That deal looks like it will go ahead again after the Titans changed their mind on Friday.

The Storm have three roster spots to fill before June 30.

Originally published as Signing news: Dragons finally land replacement for Jack de Belin