St George Illawarra have added some grunt to their forward stocks next season in the form of former Rabbitohs and Tigers bookend Zane Musgrove, with the club has also confirming the release George Burgess.
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Burgess joined the Dragons on a two-year deal ahead of last season on the path back from revolutionary surgery on a degenerative hip injury that looked to have ended his career.
His time at the Dragons amounted to just four NRL games and was plagued by off-field dramas, with police charging the 30-year-old with sexual touching without consent following an alleged incident in March this year.
Burgess has pleaded no guilty and is due to appear in court over the matter again in February.
He was not subjected to the NRL's no-fault stand-down policy and subsequently played three further games for the Dragons before checking into rehab for reported mental health and gambling issues in June.
He did return for the Dragons at NSW Cup level in August but will not don the Red V again after being released from the second year of his contract with the club.
His time with the Dragons got off to an ignominious start when he was charged with malicious damage after destroying a man's phone in a road rage incident in the Wollongong CBD in August last year.
He subsequently pleaded guilty to the charge but escaped conviction, instead being placed on a good behaviour bond.
"The Dragons thank George for his contribution to St George Illawarra and wish him all the best in his future endeavours," the club said in a statement.
Musgrove has played 62 NRL games for Souths and the Tigers since 2016 and was granted a release by the latter to link with the Dragons after making a career-high 24 appearances last season.
The Samoan International brings a checkered past, having been subject to the NRL's no-fault stand-down policy after being charged with indecent assault over an alleged incident at a Sydney pub in November 2018.
It saw him miss the entire 2019 season before the NRL cleared him to begin training with the Tigers ahead of 2020 after two of three charges were withdrawn in November 2019.
He ultimately played 36 games for the Tigers, 24 of them last season, before shifting to Wollongong.
"Zane is an established NRL player with a strong physical presence and will be a great addition to our forward pack," Dragons general manager of football Ben Haran said of the signing.
"We've been looking to build our forward pack and we're excited to see Zane join the Dragons."
The 26-year-old joins fellow former Tiger Jacob Liddle in making the shift from Concord to Wollongong ahead of next season.
It's been a tumultuous off-season for the club despite the celebrated re-signing of skipper Ben Hunt, with young guns Tyrell Sloan and Jayden Sullivan both officially requesting releases from their respective deals; both denied.
The fact just three top 30 players attended the club's presentation evening has been seen to point to a disgruntled playing group, with chairman Craig Young told News Corp the club's culture "needs working on."
It doesn't bode well for under-pressure coach Anthony Griffin, who needs early wins next season to remain in the role.
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Mitch Jennings
Sports writer. Sport is my passion, rugby league my first love.
Sports writer. Sport is my passion, rugby league my first love.
