Dragons coach Paul McGregor isn't banking on a white knight boosting his side's 2020 fortunes despite being linked to Raiders star John Bateman and wantaway Cowboy John Asiata.
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Bateman, and new manager Issac Moses, have found themselves at the centre of a media storm this week following confirmation the English star will depart the capital at season's end - despite being initially contracted until the end of 2021.
With salary cap space to fill, the Dragons had shown tentative interest in the 26-year-old, though he's been more strongly linked to the Bulldogs or a return to the UK with Wigan.
The Dragons may well be in the market for more than one marquee forward, with Tyson Frizell to join Newcastle next season, while off-contract star Jack de Belin's future remains in limbo as court proceedings drag on.
The club is also on the lookout for an immediate replacement for James Graham after granting the 34-year-old an early release last week and have expressed interest in Asiata's services.
One of the craftiest forwards in the game, Asiata is currently nursing a knee injury but is exploring his options given Jason Taumololo's stranglehold on the Cowboys No. 13 jumper.
McGregor agreed both are attractive propositions, but said movement this season seems unlikely given the injury crisis being being felt across the league.
"They're both quality players and certainly we've got some room in our salary cap going forward with players leaving but, at the moment, I'm just looking at what we need to do right now for this year," McGregor said.
"It is a situation where a lot of players, if you look at the injury toll over the weekend across the NRL, it's put a bit of a full-stop in a few areas where it's hard to recruit for this season.
"Right now, clubs aren't willing to free up players because of the 18 games straight. We're only seven games into it now, eight games this weekend, and there's been a high stat of injuries over the weekend.
"[Recruitment chief] Ian [Millward] is working hard in that space, he's looking to fill another two spots in our roster for this year and beyond but right now I haven't got too much more information."
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Bateman's announced departure has brought further focus on the Raiders, who've been hit and miss since the season resumed, though McGregor isn't expecting it to affect them when they meet on Friday night in the capital.
"I'm not too worried about what Canberra are doing, I'm just looking for improvement in our game again," McGregor said.
"Canberra don't go away, regardless of what sort of form they're in, they fight to the end and that's what we're expecting tomorrow night. They're are a hard working team, they really work for one another and they were last year's grand finalists.
"We need to outwork our opposite and that's most important. You can see how hard they're working for each other and we need to make sure we're better than that."