Kickoff couldn't help but chuckle at the first comment on the Dragons Instagram post announcing the signing of Moses Mbye. Talk about brevity.

You never don't know how the red v faithful feel. In the Kogarah media box in round one, league scribes were all keeping an eye on social media to see when the first call to sack Anthony Griffin would pop-up. For the record, it came in the 32nd minute.

You can't blame them after enduring years of mediocrity. They're a passionate bunch and, when it comes to recruitment, it's hard to make head or tail of the club's strategy; hard because only time will tell if it was method or madness.

It may appear to be the latter but, look closely, and you can see the strategy. It just remains to be seen whether it's a winning one.

The Dragons have not had a genuine marquee recruit since Gareth Widdop joined the club from Melbourne. One might think Ben Hunt falls into that category, but the sheer overs the club had to pay made it more gamble than recruitment coup.

It's not a knock. At most, there's only two or three players capable of producing $1.2 million value on the park.

Paul Vaughan rose through the Origin ranks to a Test jumper in his time at the Dragons but, at the time he inked his deal, few clubs (if any) would have been rushing to match the terms that brought him to Wollongong.

The true art of recruitment is getting more than you pay for in a player. The Melbourne and Roosters' of the world do it by creating a winning environment players will take less to be a part of. It's a struggle for the others.

The Dragons have become one of those clubs that struggles to attract talent. It can pay overs, or play a longer game.

People, this columnist among them, still think it was a huge mistake to let Cam McInnes leave. The 'conflicting timelines' rationale trotted out when it dropped was rubbish, but it fit with an overall approach to the roster.

The Dragons have underachieved for years. If the best performed player in that time wasn't guaranteed a new deal, no one was. That's become apparent in the decisions that have followed.

Read more: Mbye signs with Dragons on two-year deal

Matt Dufty and Corey Norman were told in June that they weren't required beyond this year. The ability to off-load Vaughan's 800k deal was unexpected, but ultimately a bonus.

Before Tyrell Fuimaono was re-signed last week, Cody Ramsey is the only member of the roster Anthony Griffin inherited to have his deal renewed (a deal with Jack de Belin was struck before Griffin arrived).

What's clear, is that Griffin is calling the recruitment shots. Unlike Paul McGregor, who had to front committees about committees, Griffin has the firmest hand. The number of his former Broncos NYC proteges brought to the club speak to that.

It's also why the club, unfathomably, entertained the idea of signing a 32-year-old rolling PR train wreck in the form of Israel Folau.

At first glance, the signings of Andrew McCullough and Josh Maguire were head-scratchers. However, with Jack Bird also shifting from Brisbane, their combined contracts were subsidised by former clubs to the tune of almost $1 million this year.

Which brings us to Mbye. Considering the Tigers are paying at least half the freight on it, it's not as baffling as it initially seems.

Mbye was a huge burden on the Tigers cap next year. He's admitted as much and no player has ever spoken about that scenario with as much maturity and honesty as Mbye did this week when the deal was confirmed.

Like Mbye, Francis Molo and Jayd'n Su'A have played Origin. As far as players in that category, neither has broken the bank. It remains to be seen whether the hip surgery George Burgess has undergone truly proves career-saving, but his signature wasn't a cash splash.

There's plenty hoping the likes of Jayden Sullivan, Talatau Amone and Tyrell Sloan can front a new generation for the joint-venture. Recruiting players over the top of them right now would be foolhardy, particularly while Hunt is still taking up such a large chunk of the club's cap.

It keeps some powder dry for a play at a genuine marquee recruit down the track should the opportunity arise beyond Hunt's contract. For Griffin, in the midst of a two-year deal, it's a bold strategy.

The frugal approach is an attempt to buy time. For NRL coaches, nothing comes a higher price.