Shane Richardson: Luai can be for Tigers what Inglis was for Souths

When you spend the best part of three decades rebuilding broken NRL clubs, you begin to recognise opportunities that can spark change.

For Shane Richardson, those opportunities have presented themselves in the form of a key signing on three key occasions.

Having played a key role in the signing of Jarome Luai from the Penrith Panthers, Richardson says it's the kind of play that has changed clubs before - the sort that delivered a premiership at Penrith and later helped resurrect the South Sydney Rabbitohs in 2014.

Richardson has done it twice already and, speaking exclusively with Chiming In on Fanatics TV, he says it could happen again.

Campbell gamble that brought glory to Penrith

In 2003, Richardson and coach John Lang were tasked with rebuilding Penrith after the club had sunk to the bottom of the ladder.

"I got John Lang to go to Penrith and of course we took it over and we were wooden spooners," Richardson said.

"That first year was an absolute nightmare. And then we got rid of a few players and signed a few players."

The key signing, Preston Campbell from the Sharks. The dazzling playmaker was criticised by some as more of a luxury than a necessity in a premiership bid. He proved crucial, not missing a minute of football throughout the year and helping Penrith win the 2003 competition.

"Preston Campbell was the big turnaround," Richardson continued.

"It's always been in my life, you know, [like] the of signing Greg Inglis, so Preston Campbell was a huge turn around and we ended up winning the premiership from 100 to one."

Inglis' historic Redfern move

Years later, Richardson would again find himself at a club needing salvation.

When he arrived at South Sydney, the foundation club was still emerging from years of financial instability and on-field mediocrity.

Off the back of Melbourne's salary cap crisis, the opportunity to sign Greg Inglis arose and South Sydney pounced, signing the prodigious 24-year old in what is widely considered one of the biggest signings in NRL history.

Richardson said that when he was first offered Inglis by long time friend Lew Zivanovic he told him he was, 'full of sh*t'.

It wasn't until Greg Inglis' parents arrived at a dinner at the Hilton Hotel with Richardson and Nick Papas that he actually thought it was a chance of happening.

The deal was done that night and Inglis would begin his stint in Redfern in 2011, a signing Richardson has long said the signing changed everything for the Rabbitohs.

He became the centrepiece of a roster capable of ending one of the longest droughts in Australian sport, culminating in South Sydney’s breakthrough premiership in the 2014 NRL Grand Final.

Tigers’ Luai leap of faith

Those experiences shape the way Richardson now views the Tigers’ pursuit of Luai.

Luai’s arrival brings premiership nous, undeniable skill and a winning mentality that the Tigers desperately need.

But it has also come with scrutiny. His deal contains an escape clause that has unsettled rival fans and commentators, some of whom argue such provisions weaken clubs trying to rebuild.

Richardson rejects that view entirely, explaining clauses like this one are the practical reality of persuading elite players to join struggling teams.

"When you're on the bottom of the table and you're attracting a player like Luai, he's putting an enormous amount of faith in administration," Richardson said.

"I had no qualms about saying to him, 'look, sign on, then after two years if you're still not happy then we'll look at an escape clause when you come out.

"I did that for a reason because he was putting a lot of faith in me and Benji and the club."

As Richardson put it, 'there is no Bruce Springsteen concert without Bruce Springsteen,' or in other words, star players remain critical to a successful club.

Campbell at Penrith. Inglis at South Sydney. And now, possibly, Luai at the Tigers.

Whether Richardson's final gamble produces the same outcome remains to be seen, but don't be surprised if the pattern repeats.