Dolphins chief executive Terry Reader is adamant his club aren’t in a “bidding war” to sign Jack Wighton and revealed he is “confident” they’ll win the contract battle.
Three clubs have pitched their offers to Wighton — the Rabbitohs, Dolphins and Raiders — after he opted against taking up his option for 2024 with Canberra.
The Raiders have reportedly tabled a four-year $4.4 million contract, while the Dolphins offer is said to be around $1 million-per-season.
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Meanwhile, South Sydney can’t compete with their rival’s hefty salary packages, but have a number of Wighton’s closest friends in their squad including Latrell Mitchell and Cody Walker.
Wayne Bennett’s side missed out on several marquee players ahead of their debut NRL season but have shocked the world with five wins in eight games.
While the Dolphins have cap space to burn, Reader made it clear his club won’t offer overs for players just to secure a million-dollar player.
“I think the key there is we are not in a bidding war, our team has always been about, if you like, we didn’t want to get carried away with any player,” Reader said on SENZ.
“We set up our team, our structure and the people we brought in, it wasn’t about getting carried away because if you get it wrong with the salary cap and everything that’s happened.
“We think we’re in a good position because we didn’t get carried away paying more than we needed to for any player and I think Jack is a good example of that.
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Will Wighton shake up Souths side? | 02:43
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“We’ve been able to put a pitch to him, we did meet with him last week and we’ve put what we think is fair, he had a way to look at it now because he can touch and feel it now that he’s seen it.”
Reader also believes Wighton’s tour of the club was a huge positive in their vid to secure the NSW and Australia gun.
The Dolphins didn’t hurt their chances of securing Wighton’s signature with a huge win over the Titans, coming back from 26-0 to win 26-28.
“I think you’ll see we’ll just have to sit there now and wait; he’ll make a decision but we’re pretty confident about what we put in front of him,” Reader added.
“More importantly, he’s had a chance to look at things, now we just have to wait, there’s no bidding war, we put that (offer) in front of him and we’ll see what happens.
“We’re always confident and I think what happened yesterday proves that.”
