At under $250,000 each, Winx and Black Caviar cost little more than a deposit on a house in Sydney.

Then there's Takeover Target, the gelding with a bung leg and dodgy joints bought for 1200 bucks by a Queanbeyan cab driver. He went on to win over $6 million in Australia and abroad.

Of course the list of flops is far longer; it's what they call it punting.

The comparison to rugby league recruitment isn't like for like, but the end game is the same; finding value beyond what meets the eye.

One can look at the Dragons recruitment approach, which has been the subject of much debate, through such a lens.

Game On offered more than two cents last year in the wake of the club's call to reject Origin incumbent Tariq Sims' request to open talks about contract extension.

The club took a similar approach to former skipper Cam McInnes, allowing the two-time club player of the year to link with Cronulla from the upcoming season.

Individual decisions will always be polarising (for the record your columnist was a critic of both calls) but there's a clear intention not to break the bank.

Looking for maximum return on modest investments is not an unwise approach for a club that's had a costly habit of paying huge overs.

It's shifted huge cap weight in not renewing Corey Norman's contract and, somewhat opportunistically, moving on Paul Vaughan.

Read more: Fullback pressure and easy carry for Sloan

Andrew McCullough, Jack Bird and Josh McGuire were all deemed surplus to requirements at their former clubs. Those clubs contributed in the vicinity of million bucks - or four Winxes - to the Dragons cap.

The likes of Aaron Woods, Moses Suli and Jack Gosiewski are in that same category. None of the 2022 recruitment class are quite in the Takeover Target mould, but there's some gambles there.

George Burgess is effectively coming out of injury-forced retirement after nursing a crippling hip complaint for several years.

Whether revolutionary surgery proves career-saving remains to be seen - though all reports are he's flying in preseason.

To summarise, the club's broader aim has been to add depth and experience without blocking the path of its exciting crop of youngsters coming through.

No recruit epitomises that approach more than Moses Mbye, who is no doubt the most intriguing pick-up.

It was another polarising decision, but no one ticks more boxes for the Dragons than the 28-year-old.

He comes cheap - the Tigers chipping in more than half the freight on his 2022 contract - he's experienced, and he covers every position in the spine.

It puts him in a unique position to be both back-up and mentor to the club's young crop. Most importantly, he arrives with that understanding.

"Going through the year everyone dips in form, you get injuries, there's a lot of moving parts to an NRL season," he told this publication prior to Christmas.

"I'll be there to support those guys when they need a rest or things aren't going their way. I think that'll naturally become my role now, especially with the calibre of juniors we've got in those positions."

Talk to the Dragons generation next and it's clear he's shown that value already.

The other primary source of guidance to the Dragons youngsters may come as a surprise.

Of all the recruits, Tautau Moga has flown most under the radar. To a man though, unprompted, Sloan, Talatau Amone, Mat and Max Feagai and Cody Ramsey all cite the 28-year-old as a chief mentor through preseason.

"Definitely Tautau Moga," Mat Feagai told this column when asked who'd taken him under their wing.

"My brother and I loved watching him play when he was coming through. He's really easy to get along with, he actually messaged us first before we'd even met him.

"As young outside backs, to Max and I who watched him, he has that aura about him that draws us in. He's a great player, he's been there and done it even though he's unfortunately had his injuries.

"We pick his brain at training and, just listening to him talk footy, it's so good learning from him."

Of course Mbye and Moga know plenty about the pressure and pitfalls that come with being a hyped-up young star.

In 2016 Canterbury great Terry Lamb publicly implored his beloved Bulldogs to do whatever it takes to lock down Mbye long-term or risk repeating the famous mistake in letting Jonathan Thurston depart.

The club listened, Mbye is now seeing out that 800k a year deal at a third club.

Moga was 'the next Israel Folau' when he came through at the Roosters. A decade, four knee reconstructions and five clubs later, he's looking to reboot on a cut-price deal in Wollongong.

It's fair to say they have some idea of the roller coaster these emerging stars have ahead of them. Sloan speaks to that fact in his glowing review of the pair.

"I think guys like [Moga] and Moey can see, given we're so young, we can probably get ahead of ourselves thinking we're better than what we are," Sloan said.

"For those guys who've been through that, on both sides of it, good and bad, it's good to see that care for us as players but people as well.

"For myself, Moey's probably been the person who's most helped me out in my short career so far.

"He's such a smart person and he's taught me a lot in the short time that he's been here. Being able to cover any position in the spine, he has a lot of knowledge.

"[Moga] was obviously a gun coming through and had some unfortunate injuries coming up.

"He's a really good communicator on and off the field. He tells me what he sees, what I can't see, we're doing extras after training. He's been really good for me."

It remains to be seen how that translates to the paddock come the season proper - the bookies hopes are low.

Still, the rookies' preseason experience is proof that value in rugby league can present itself in many different ways.

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