St George Illawarra have locked in their replacement for stood-down star Jack de Belin, bringing Storm prop Patrick Kaufusi to the club.
The 25-year-old will take de Belin's place in the Dragons top 30 but is not a like-for-like replacement, with the club granted just $239,000 in salary cap relief.
Bulldogs pair Rhys Martin and Raymond Faitala-Mariner had both been linked to a move to the Dragons before recruitment chief Millward opted to bring Kaufusi - the younger brother of Queensland star Felise - to Wollongong.
The club had also been linked to former star Trent Merrin but his rich four-year deal with UK club Leeds made a transfer unworkable given de Belin's hopes of returning to action next season.
"You don't replace a player of Jack de Belin's calibre with ease, particularly midway through the season," Millward said.
"This entire process and circumstance has been extremely complex. It is complicated by not only the rules and regulations but also by the existing injury toll across the competition.
"This means clubs are unwilling to release players, as the representative period is back in full swing too.
"There has also been no clarity over salary cap dispensation for 2020 or when a determination of Jack's matters will be reached, which makes it very difficult to both accurately plan as a club and offer prospective players any certainty beyond 2019 - particularly with 23 players already under contract for next year."
Kaufusi, who's made 25 first grade appearances in four NRL seasons with North Queensland and Melbourne, will join the club prior to the June 30 signing deadline and remain contracted until the end of the current season.
"Patrick is a welcome addition to our roster for 2019, he's a quality person from a tremendous squad and system," Millward said.
"He's a player capable of playing in the middle and back row, who is keen and willing to play first grade. With the current spate of injuries in the team, it's a good opportunity for Patrick to see what impact he can bring to the playing squad. From there, we can consider our options with him for the 2020 season."
