Cameron Murray – not Latrell Mitchell or Cody Walker – has emerged as the surprise trump card in South Sydney’s pursuit of Jack Wighton.
The Raiders ace will make a call this week on whether to accept a four-year $4.4 million deal to stay in Canberra, join Wayne Bennett’s Dolphins revolution on a four-year deal worth close to $4 million, or take even less to join Souths for a shot at winning an NRL title.
While much has been made of his strong Indigenous connection to Mitchell and Walker, few people know how close Wighton is to the Souths skipper.
They were roommates in previous NSW Origin camps, and that friendship grew stronger at the World Cup with the Kangaroos at the end of last year.
Since the Herald revealed during the week Souths were a genuine chance of recruiting Wighton as a centre for the next four years, Murray has made it clear to management why the club needs to pull out all the stops to ensure Wighton wears red and green.
After he attended the John Sattler tribute at Redfern Oval on Friday, Murray told the Herald: “Jack is a class player, he’s a class person, so he ticks both boxes in terms of what it means to be a South Sydney man. He’d fit in so well here. He’d bring class and talent to what I believe is already a world-class roster.”
Cameron Murray is hoping to convince Jack Wighton to switch to Souths.Credit: NRL Photos
Those comments were not lost on Souths chief executive Blake Solly, who said on Saturday: “I’m not surprised to hear Cameron say that about Jack. Cameron is a great leader and a quality person who valued his experience at the World Cup highly.
“For him to talk about Jack like that speaks volumes about his character and what he would bring to the Rabbitohs, if we were fortunate enough to sign him.”
Wighton met Souths officials on Friday, and was given a tour of the new Heffron Park facilities. The Souths deal is worth about $750,000 in 2024 and 2025, with that figure expected to rise significantly during the final two years of the contract.
Walker and Damien Cook are off-contract at the end of 2025, as is Murray who has been on Eddie Jones’ Rugby Australia radar.
Harry Grant, Jack Wighton and Cameron Murray at the World Cup.Credit: Getty Images
Souths have saved money in their salary cap because a string of players do not have ratchet clauses in their contracts, which were only made mandatory by the NRL after the pandemic. Some of that money will have to be used this season to comply with NRL rules that require clubs to spend at least 95 per cent of their salary cap every year.
Wighton met Bennett on Thursday, with some believing his partner and family’s preference is to relocate to south-east Queensland.
Souths officials, meanwhile, will on Monday ramp up negotiations with Campbell Graham, Keaon Koloamatangi and Tevita Tatola. The trio are Souths juniors and off-contract at the end of 2024, but the club has made them a retention priority.
Jai Arrow is off-contract in 2025 but is also a player Souths will make sure stays off the open market.
The Raiders made their Wighton offer public to ensure any rival club’s offer was on par, and not beefed up by third-party agreements that sit outside the salary cap.
Wighton will return to training on Tuesday with the Raiders, Souths and the Dolphins hopeful the recently retired representative player will make a call on his next move before the weekend.
