A good signing yes. Bird's a quality player and on the reported numbers the two-year extension is pretty dead-on as far as value; no small feat given where the saga looked be heading.

Done good played strong. Look a little deeper though, and the signing's a very significant one as far as the club's broader roster management is concerned.

Bird is one of several players initially brought to Wollongong on a deal heavily subsidised by a former club. Andrew McCullough, Josh McGuire and Moses Mbye were all acquired in the same circumstances.

Bird's the first to be re-signed entirely out of the Dragons pocket. It'll be very interesting to see if the club follows suit with the others. Fans will certainly watch with interest.

McCullough and Mbye's deals run to the end of next year while McGuire is off-contract this season.

If some or all are re-signed, it will shine a diffrent light on the decision to knock back requests from Cam McInnes and Tariq Sims to extend their time with the Dragons.

McInnes has been an outstanding aquistion for Cronulla, through both on and off-field attributes, while Sims is odds on to retain his spot for NSW for the looming Origin series.

Read more: Mbye preparing for hostile reception at Belmore

Those decisions, and far less controversial calls like shitfting the 800k weight of Corey Norman and Paul Vaughan's contracts, are all aimed at creating cap space.

Such a task is often pitched in 'short-term pain, long-term gain' terms. How that space is subsequently utilised is the trickier task. Done right, it balances the pursuit of immediate success with building a platform for ultimate success down the track.

In that vein, youngsters Cody Ramsey, Mat and Max Feagai and Tyrell Sloan have all been extended until the end of 2024 since Anthony Griffin arrived.

Recruits Francis Molo, Jaydn Su'A and Moses Suli are also signed until the end of 2024, while Jayden Sullivan and Zac Lomax are on the books for 2025.

Most significantly, Ben Hunt's $1.1 million salary comes off the cap after next season given he's all but certain to take up his player option on a sixth season in the Red V in 2023.

He's been linked to a return to Queensland beyond that, but has also expressed a desire to remain with the Dragons beyond his current contract. That's likely to depend on whether the club also extends Griffin's stay beyond next season.

Where would that leave Amone and Sullivan? The desired outcome, certainly among fans, is for them to be the club's long-term halves pairing. A succession plan that brings it about is the ideal scenario, but it's far from simple.

Amone's signed until the end of 2023, but he'll be free to negotiate with other clubs from November this year and has reportedly attracted interest from the Dolphins.

Sullivan's deal running until the end of 2025 gives the illusion of time, but he'll be free to look elsewhere from November 2024. If Hunt extends his deal prior, who knows how that may play out.

It's a delicate balance. The Rabbitohs call on Adam Reynolds shows how embarrassing it can be when clubs get it wrong - though Hunt is two years older than the former Rabbitohs skipper.

Would Hunt consider extending on a series of one-year deals a la Benji Marshall? Perhaps.

To offer up something more intiguing - would he entertain a late-career shift to hooker, allowing Amone and Sullivan to combine in the halves? Just about every Dragons fan Kickoff speaks to expresses some desire to see that play out.

It's food for thought. There's a very compelling argument that Hunt, as brilliant as he is as a No. 7, is even better at dummy-half. It's where his best performances have come in the rep arena.

It seems unlikely. Hunt has unquestionably been the Dragons best player over the past two seasons due in no small part to Griffin backing his captain as a pure No. 7.

Either way, how the club manages the juggling act will determine if the slow build has been worth it, or if it will once again need to be knocked down and built again from scratch.

When sitting on a generational crop of potential it's often said "you can't keep them all" because it's true. Play your cards wrong though, and you can easily lose them all.

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