We'll obviously get another hooker, just hope it's a very good one. I'll be pissed if we don't also get a decent (fast) back and a big dominant prop, but even with just a better dummy half, we'll be very competitive next year. Stimson is a very good player. We've got back-row options but he's much more mobile and, I think, has more ability than the lot. I'm backing him to start. Britt is just for depth and I doubt will play NRL except to cover injuries. We definitely need to work out how to score points and, because we can't rely on Foran's fitness, will rely heavily on impact off the bench, Renouf and RFM especially. If Foran miraculously stays fit, I reckon we'll be fine scoring points.
I don't believe for one second we won't be competitive in the player market or that players won't want to come here. I understand where the sentiment comes from (fans who think Dean Pay is a shit coach and are sick of losing for so long - fair enough!), but Ramien wanted to go back to the Sharks and got more money to do so, and Api went back to his old club with his old coach and also got more money. They are just not examples of us not being competitive. They are evidence though that we aren't paying overs for average or unproven players, so I doubt we overpaid on Stimson.
In the end, whether we're a chance of playing finals depends on whether we can score more points, and our first half-dozen games (and a lot on Foran's fitness unfortunately).
Things I'm really looking forward to are how Renouf goes with more experience and game time, and Brandon Wakeham making a mark in the NRL.