Sometimes, risky plays in the transfer market can just work out for the best.
That could be the exact situation the Manly Sea Eagles find themselves in with both Josh Schuster and Luke Brooks on their books for the 2024 season and beyond.
Brooks officially made the switch to the Sea Eagles at the start of this week, ending his 11-year tenure without a single finals appearance at the Tigers.
Schuster, on the other hand, after much speculation and conjecture over his future, elected to re-sign with the Sea Eagles, reportedly for less than what he was worth elsewhere, on a long-term deal.
While it's tough to speculate, both players are likely on less than what they were with their last deals, given Schuster's form over the last 18 months, and the fact that Brooks was on a million dollars a season at the Tigers, who are understood to be "disappointed" at Brooks jumping ship.
Why they would be is anyone's guess - for both parties, it was the move that had to happen. No matter how much talent Brooks has, the baggage and issues at the Tigers meant he was never going to realise it at Concord.
Schuster is a gun. He has proven it at NRL level, no matter how bad his form has been since the start of the 2022 season with Manly floundering.
What Schuster showed in his rookie 2021 season as Manly marched all the way to the preliminary finals was enough to suggest he will have a long and successful career.
The moves ultimately mean Manly have two players for far less than their previous deals, but, at their best, could be worth far more than what they will ultimately be paid over the coming seasons.
That is smart roster and salary cap management to start with, but there is more to these moves than that alone.
It most certainly is something of a gamble from Anthony Seibold and his recruitment staff. Is Luke Brooks ever going to hit his potential? Can Josh Schuster get back to his best and become fit?
The short answer realistically should be yes if they both commit and have the proper coaching, support structures and staff around them to do it.
While Schuster spent his 2021 season with most calling for a move to the halves the following campaign, it was never going to be that easy.
It seems to be an admission he has made by re-signing with Manly too following the acquisition of Brooks, who will join Daly Cherry-Evans in the halves.
He has ball-playing ability, but the forwards are where he belongs. He spent a mix of time at both the second-row and five-eighth during his junior days, but it always appeared that he played his best football in the second-row.
That was evident when he captained the NSW under-18 side from the number 12 jersey in 2019. This was a team that has other captaincy options too, with Tyrell Sloan, both Feagai brothers, Bradman Best, Jayden Sullivan, Sione Fainu and Jackson Topine all named.
Schuster was rated so highly as a second-rower that he was handed the starting jumper ahead of Ben Trbojevic, who some good judges had ahead of both brothers Tom and Jake for skill at the same age.
Despite the Blues getting blown out of the water by a Sam Walker-led Queensland side in that junior Origin, Schuster was one of the standouts for the Blues.
That said, it was no surprise when he burst onto the scene with an incredible 2021 season. Ultimately, it was the year that Manly benefited more than any other club from rule changes as Tom Trbojevic put on one of the greatest seasons of all time.
Regardless, Schuster played 21 games that year, laying on nine try assists, putting up a solid tackle efficiency of 93 per cent and running for almost 80 metres per game. He had 21 offloads and was a constant danger in terms of breaking the line.
It's that tackle efficiency which is most notable though.
We all know what the 22-year-old can do in attack. It's his defence and fitness that has come under the microscope though. Some of his missed tackles in the halves, to go with the defensive reads that led to them, have been a horror show.
But 2021 proved he can defend at an NRL-capable level. 93 per cent is an excellent efficiency for a second-rower.
In a study earlier this year into Jeremiah Nanai, Zero Tackle revealed the tackle efficiency in 2022 of every main name second-rower in the competition.
Only 11 second-rowers were north of 93 per cent.
So if Schuster can become as fit as he was in 2021 and commit to his craft, there is no reason at all why defence should ultimately be what holds him back from achieving as a second-rower in the NRL.
His best position, at this stage of his career, is on the edge. That's not to say he won't one day become a half again, but his re-signing seems to indicate he knows it too.
When Daly Cherry-Evans retires, that will be a separate conversation over who plays seven, and who plays six.
I have more than a sneaking suspicion that Schuster could become a long-term second-rower though, with the Sea Eagles going in another direction that moving the former junior Blue back to the six, even if Luke Brooks does shuffle across and take the seven.
Schuster's move back to the edge being facilitated by the arrival of Brooks seems like it could, or even should, be smart business for the Sea Eagles.
Brooks has undoubtedly been through the wringer throughout his career. Some of it has been entirely fair, and some of it just hasn't been.
I wrote earlier this year that the Tigers had to let go of Brooks. For his sake. For the club's sake.
As at the point of publishing that story in late April, coming after Jahream Bula became the 144th Tiger to play for the club since they last played finals football, Brooks has played 196 games - more than anyone else by a significant margin during that period.
That number has only increased since, with the half battling an injury at the moment, but going past 200 games in recent times.
His service to the club, and his dedication, has been unwavering in the face of adversity, but the bottom line is, the Tigers have tried everything in the last 11 years, bar playing without Brooks.
So it was the move that had to happen.
Brooks is a far better player than he has shown though during his time at the Tigers. There have been glimpses of it every now and again, but the pressure of being the one to stand up and deliver each and every week has got to him big time.
But he doesn't have to be that at Manly.
He can be the running, free-flowing half that he was always supposed to be. He won't be wearing the number seven jumper and controlling the team, because that is the role Daly Cherry-Evans will play.
Brooks, who had a magical debut at the Sydney Cricket Ground against the St George Illawarra Dragons way back in 2013, basically hasn't played as well since. A lot of that can be put down to the pressure he has been under to perform and control the team, and some of it could also be put down to the simple fact that he hasn't ever had a set structure alongside him in the halves with an experienced player to control things.
With that now at the Tigers, Brooks will be able to play his natural game, shake the pressure and become more of an unnoticed quantity, which will mean good things for his career.
What he will learn of Cherry-Evans can't be understated either.
It's a fresh start that's as good for Brooks as it is for the Sea Eagles though, and may only take Cherry-Evans - who has one of the NRL's best-kicking games - to another level as well with a solid option in the six alongside him.
They get two players on cut-price deals, to play in their original positions with plenty to prove.
Don't sleep on Manly in 2024.