Ricky Stuart has revealed how his remorse surrounding Anthony Milford’s Raiders departure may affect the membership’s place in a heated battle to retain famous person Jack Wighton.
The 30-year-old playmaker dropped a bombshell on the Raiders, informing the membership he could be testing the open market as a substitute of taking on his participant possibility for 2024.
Multiple golf equipment have reportedly made contact with Wighton’s administration, nevertheless a two-club race has emerged between the Raiders and Wayne Bennett’s Dolphins.
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Milford performed two seasons within the nation’s capital, agreeing to signal a two-year deal to hitch the Broncos after solely 18 NRL video games in 2013.
The present Dolphins playmaker then had months to agonise over his resolution because of the NRL’s Round 13 rule and the Raiders have been making determined bids to retain the rising star.
The Round 13 rule was scrapped in 2015 and allowed gamers to have a cooling-off interval after agreeing to hitch a brand new membership.
The rule noticed Kangaroos captain James Tedesco backflip on a three-year $1.9 million deal to hitch the Raiders and as a substitute stay on the Tigers following a change of coronary heart.
Milford maintained his resolution on the time got here purely right down to his household, having grown up in Brisbane and Canberra misplaced a participant that was seen to be the way forward for the membership.
Stuart now faces the same activity, holding a participant who might be courted by a transfer to Queensland, though the Raiders have reportedly tabled a suggestion price $4.4 million over 4 years.
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“We are doing everything we possibly can to keep Jack, Jarrod, myself, so many players, we have a very special relationship as a squad of players,” Stuart mentioned within the post-match press convention on Saturday night time.
“I have got a very special relationship with Jack from a coaching point of view, we are doing everything to keep Jack, we want to keep Jack.
“He is a Raider, but to answer your question honestly which gets me in a lot of trouble most of the time, I don’t want to lose Jack Wighton the way we lost Milford as a player, to the Broncos years and years ago.”
Wighton has been a one-club man throughout his illustrious NRL profession, taking part in 224 video games for the inexperienced machine.
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The 30-year-old made his debut in Round 2 of the 2012 season, being handed his first Raiders jersey by coach David Furner.
Since Stuart joined the membership in 2014, the pair have solid a profitable partnership, steering the Canberra membership all the best way to the 2019 grand last.
Stuart confirmed the Dolphins have been the Raiders’ greatest risk in holding their marquee star.
“Yeah, 100 per cent… we have put an offer there, we have done everything we can and that is up to Jack and his management now,”
“The way we lost Milford, I don’t want to lose him that way because it was disappointing.”
Source: www.foxsports.com.au