NRL Rumour Mill Thread (Spoilers)

St George Illawarra has confirmed the signing of former New Zealand captain Benji Marshall after the Cronulla Sharks announced they had pulled out of the race for his signature.

Late on Friday afternoon, the Dragons announced Marshall's arrival at the club on a contract until the end of the 2016 season.

Marshall met the media and expressed his delight at signing with the Dragons.

"It's obviously taken a bit of time to get it sorted," he said.

"I'm just pretty happy to be back in the NRL and pretty stoked to be at a club with a history such as the Dragons."

Marshall says the Dragons are the ideal fit for his return to the NRL following an unsuccessful stint in Super Rugby with the Auckland-based Blues.

"I was thinking about the decision that was going to be best for me," he said.

"There is no denying their back three is one of the best in the competition. Their forwards are solid and up-and-coming and I think, as a whole, the club is on the way up again.

"It's something I really want to be a part of."

Marshall is set to link up with Gareth Widdop in the halves and Dragons coach Steve Price feels there will not be any adjustment needed to accommodate both playmakers.

"The way we play is irrelevant," he said.

"We play both sides with Gareth and I've had a few dealings with Benji over the week, and he is a great man, humble and doing it for the right reasons.

"I'm excited he is in the red and white

Marshall made himself available to NRL clubs after gaining an early release from his Blues contract last month.

He was released by the Blues by mutual agreement after failing to secure a spot in their starting XV.

The Dragons, Sharks and Melbourne had all expressed interest in securing the service of the experienced Marshall, who played 12 seasons with the Tigers before his brief stint in Super Rugby.

Melbourne was the first to drop out of the race for Marshall before the Sharks announced this afternoon they had missed out on securing the former Tigers playmaker.

Sharks chief executive Steve Noyce thought his club had a strong chance of luring Marshall due to a number of former Tigers players now in the Shire, including Beau Ryan, Andrew Fifita and Chris Heighington.

"We have strong values surrounding mateship here at the Sharks and with a collection of his good friends at the club thought that may have swayed him," he said.

"As it turned out that obviously wasn’t the priority for him with his final decision. We can accept that and we wish him well.”

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