The Canberra Raiders face a fight to retain star five-eighth Jack Wighton amid confirmation the 30-year-old is going to the open market for the first time since joining the club.
Wighton, who is off-contract at the end of this season, has an option in his favour for 2024 and it was widely expected he would extend his stay in the nation’s capital.
But The Daily Telegraphreported on Tuesday afternoon that Wighton, who had until round 10 to trigger that automatic extension, will instead test his worth.
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Raiders CEO David Furner told The Sydney Morning Heraldthat the team will “do everything” it can to extend Wighton, who has been at Canberra since making his NRL debut back in 2012.
“We would love to see Jack finish as a one-club player and that’s certainly our aim,” Furner said.
“We’re fully prepared for this situation and he certainly deserves the chance to look around.
“He’s been with us for 14 years and been loyal to our club, he’s never been shopped around, just always came back and signed up. This is possibly his last contract, he’s got a young family to think of and we fully support that.
“That said, we’ll do everything to keep him too.”
Wighton would generate significant interest across the league, with the Tigers, Bulldogs, Dolphins, Sea Eagles and Dragons still dealing with question marks surrounding their current halves pairings.
The 30-year-old will be sidelined for the next fortnight for a high tackle on Jackson Hasting as the 16th-placed Raiders look to get their season back on track against defending premiers Penrith.
