Warrington Wolves are set to land a new signing who has been dropped for the last six games as head coach Daryl Powell plans a major overhaul of his squad.
Having been increasingly active in the transfer market in recent weeks and months, Powell has brought in the likes of Thomas Mikaele from Wests Tigers in the NRL as well as Kyle Amor from St Helens, Jake Wardle from Huddersfield Giants and Matty Nicholson from Wigan Warriors.
On the flipside, there have also been a number of exits out of the Halliwell Jones Stadium including Josh Charnley, Ellis Robson, Eribe Doro and Toby King whilst Mike Cooper, Jason Clark, Matt Davis and Gareth Widdop are all leaving at the end of 2022.
One of those new recruits expected through the doors for Powell is Canterbury Bulldogs livewire Matt Dufty who has been under fire in recent seasons for some abject defensive displays – particularly at former club St George Illawarra Dragons.
And, sure enough, both Trent Barrett and interim coach Mick Potter have seen enough to drop Dufty from the starting line-up, with the 26-year-old having not played since round 12 in the NRL.
Bearing in mind that round 18 is this upcoming weekend, that is over six weeks without a first-team game as the fullback languishes in the reserves waiting for an opportunity that may not come again in the elite competition in 2022.
When analysing Dufty’s statistics, it is obvious to see why his attacking game will suit Warrington: he has only one try in 12 games, but six assists, 52 tackle breaks and four linebreaks.
Defensively, however, it is another story with Dufty’s tackle success sitting just under 75% with 19 missed tackles from an attempted 75.
Whether or not this defensive frailty can be coached is another argument altogether, but it will be interesting to see how Powell will shape the Australian upon his move to the Cheshire club.
