IT'S relative - in these times very, very relative - but the news of Tyson Frizell's departure is a disaster for the Dragons.
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Losing your best forward, a Test and Origin one, is a practical disaster for any club but the circumstances of Frizell's departure make it a PR nightmare as much as anything else.
The uncertain times for the game amid a once-in-a-century global health pandemic provides a measure of insulation. Without it those drums would be beating even louder.
The timing of the announcement is curious to say the least. A cynic might even call it a smother of sorts. The announcement from the Dragons, quoting recruitment chief Ian Millward, had a certain saltiness about it. It also showed a consciousness of the PR factor.
"Tyson Frizell received one of the most substantial offers in St George Illawarra history to remain at the club beyond the 2020 season," it read.
"We made responsible decisions when determining Tyson's value and contract extension," it added.
The Knights are reportedly "filthy" on the Dragons for leaking the news to Sydney media and, on the balance of probabilities, it'd be hard to talk them out of that assumption.
Millward and the Dragons have copped their share of criticism for recruitment decisions in the past but this was the first time a player they desperately wanted to keep got away.
There are some similarities to Trent Merrin's initial departure from the club in 2015. It came with the same sort of narrative around it, the club made media well aware of the fact that the deal it offered Merrin was the richest for a forward in the joint-venture's history.
It was the first illustration of Millward's firm policy of determining a player's value and not budging on it. He didn't want to get caught up in bidding wars or be beholden to player managers.
He took the same approach to Brett Morris, Mitch Rein - then seemingly on the fringe of Origin selection - and Josh Dugan who wanted 'fullback money'.
Merrin's now back at the club and all but admitted he wouldn't have left at all if he had his time again. It's not to knock them but, since leaving, Rein has been in and out of first grade, while Morris was not the regular rep player he was prior.
The club could well feel they dodged a bullet on Dugan in particular, given he can't lock down a spot at Cronulla despite being on near 900k and battling career-threatening injury.
Similarly, the club refused to play moneyball on Jack Bird before he'd played in the NRL. He enjoyed early success but has had a bumpy ride since - through no fault of his own.
You can debate the merits of all of the aforementioned decisions but the club took a clear stand on all of them. The club would have happily kept them all, but they weren't willing to go to war over them.
It's a different story on Frizell. They wanted him and they lost him.
Loyalty is dead in rugby league. Clubs and players demand it without showing it. Debate over where any measure of it should lie is a question of balance.
If the question is whether Frizell was 'entitled' to look elsewhere, the answer is yes. Had you asked that question two seasons ago it might have been different.
There's no doubt his career had gone to new heights since Paul McGregor's ascension to the head-coaching role. Before that he was playing as undersized front-rower, poorly utilised and undervalued.
In 2015 McGregor shifted him to the edge where he played all of his 21 games that season. He made his first Origin camp with the Blues that season. The next year he made his debut for the Blues.
He's been a regular at Origin and Test level ever since. he never rushed to market, signing extensions with the club in that time. He may well have felt indebted to McGregor and the club for where he career had risen to.
However, by 2020, things have swung the other way. He couldn't have given any more to the Dragons on the field, often through crippling injuries that would have sidelined most players.
For all his achievements, for how comfortably he sits in the top handful of forwards in the competition, he's made just three finals appearances in 150-plus games.
In comments made prior to the start of the season he said chasing premierships and finals matches would be his motivation. That's where it starts to look awful for the Dragons.
From all reports, the financial difference in the deals offered by both clubs was negligible. That Frizell feels the Knights - who've claimed three wooden spoons in the last six seasons without going within a bull's roar of the finals - provide a surer route to those ambitions is a huge vote of no confidence. It's impossible to spin it any other way.
Like everything else, it's a situation complicated further by the coronavirus crisis that's seen the NRL put a freeze on registering new contracts.
Even if it hadn't, most recruitment managers are on leave and, without knowing what the salary cap or their own club's finances will look like, can't do a whole lot anyway.
In normal circumstances, the Dragons would have been in a somewhat favourable position in the market given the club has 13 players of contract.
The contracts of Ben Hunt and Corey Norman prevent it being a genuine 'war chest' but, with Frizell moving on, the Dragons would have had some coin to throw around.
It does leave the club with less contracts to honour beyond this season, providing some wriggle room to work towards what will inevitably be a reduced cap for next season and beyond.
Frizell will be gone though. Between you and me - if the COVID-19 saga keeps his Knights deal in limbo - don't be surprised to see the Roosters or Rabbitohs make a play at him.
As we said from the top, Frizell's departure is a disaster. It's now on the Dragons to ensure it is not an unmitigated one.