Jack Wighton signs four-year extension with Canberra Raiders

[reptar]

If Cody Walker is reported to be offered $900K + then Jack should be on a Million


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If Shannon Boyd is being paid 600k then Papalii is worth 2 Million...

Where's the like button?

[Raiders_Pat]

Re: Bateman and Leilua, I think we only really risk losing Leilua... and that depends on whether he's able to snag a better deal from another club. People aren't paying big money for centres these days... he might weigh up his options and stay with us after testing the market considering his chances at a premiership here would likely be higher than they would be elsewhere. He does give us a lot of go forward and is definitely one of if not the best centre in the comp, can't say I wouldn't be upset if we lost him.

[Botman]

Haha yeah, no one is sacrificing BJ AND Bateman for Jack, and that scenario isn’t realistic

So the hypothetical doesn’t stand up to reality.

More realistic... you’re looking at maybe a two for two, for 1mil of cap space you can have Jack Wighton and that Shields kid in the top 30, or you can spend 1m on Beej and Sam Williams

[Neeeegz]

Fact is, it didn't take Bateman or Wighton long to stick their hand out publicly for more money for actually DOING WHAT THEY ARE PAID FOR. And I think it's piss poor form from both of them.

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[Neeeegz]

Keary is also playing in one of the glamour clubs, and probably knows he can leave for more coin, at the expense of premierships and success.
I would say he’s a $1m player, cashing in $300k to be in a successful side

He signed that deal a few years ago, no?
Before he took a leap into being one of the games best, if not THE best play maker?

He's going to be getting a new deal soon too. And id bet he and his team arent too displeased about this Jack Wighton situation either. Because when Jack gets his new deal, that'll be the starting point of their negotiations.

Yet you don't hear guys like keary throw a tantrum and want more money after 1 good year.

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[Northern Raider]

Keary is also playing in one of the glamour clubs, and probably knows he can leave for more coin, at the expense of premierships and success.
I would say he’s a $1m player, cashing in $300k to be in a successful side

He signed that deal a few years ago, no?
Before he took a leap into being one of the games best, if not THE best play maker?

He's going to be getting a new deal soon too. And id bet he and his team arent too displeased about this Jack Wighton situation either. Because when Jack gets his new deal, that'll be the starting point of their negotiations.

Yet you don't hear guys like keary throw a tantrum and want more money after 1 good year.

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Nobody is throwing a tanty. Wighton is simply not taking up his option on the last year of his contract. He's not breaking any deals.

[Botman]

Exactly NR
He’s exercising his contractual rights

Keary has no contractual rights to opt out, if he did, I’d bet my life he’d have done so

Our club feels like one that leans a little more into these options, but that could just be because I don’t follow other clubs contractual issues the way I do us, so very unreliable anecdotal evidence haha, but that’s how it feels to me

[yeh raiders]

The more I see and hear, the more confident I am that we have to go all in next season and the year after to win a comp.

[Botman]

The more I see and hear, the more confident I am that we have to go all in next season and the year after to win a comp.

The window feels to me like its well and truly open. We'll see how quickly it stays open... it may have already closed and we dont even **** know it.

but on paper, George Williams should be an upgrade on Sezer, and if we can figure out a way to hang on to Beej for one more season... given the roosters should take a little step back without Cronk, the storm might take a little step back if Smith retires... we're RIGHT there in the money spot

[Northern Raider]

The more I see and hear, the more confident I am that we have to go all in next season and the year after to win a comp.

The window feels to me like its well and truly open. We'll see how quickly it stays open... it may have already closed and we dont even **** know it.

but on paper, George Williams should be an upgrade on Sezer, and if we can figure out a way to hang on to Beej for one more season... given the roosters should take a little step back without Cronk, the storm might take a little step back if Smith retires... we're RIGHT there in the money spot

Yep, I buying into this theory. It's all looking positive for 2020 so let's not get too distracted by building rosters for the seasons following.

[Neeeegz]

Keary is also playing in one of the glamour clubs, and probably knows he can leave for more coin, at the expense of premierships and success.
I would say he’s a $1m player, cashing in $300k to be in a successful side

He signed that deal a few years ago, no?
Before he took a leap into being one of the games best, if not THE best play maker?

He's going to be getting a new deal soon too. And id bet he and his team arent too displeased about this Jack Wighton situation either. Because when Jack gets his new deal, that'll be the starting point of their negotiations.

Yet you don't hear guys like keary throw a tantrum and want more money after 1 good year.

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Nobody is throwing a tanty. Wighton is simply not taking up his option on the last year of his contract. He's not breaking any deals.

Yep 2 seasons out from it. Good on him. But he isn't that good yet.

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[greeneyed]

The more I see and hear, the more confident I am that we have to go all in next season and the year after to win a comp.

The window feels to me like its well and truly open. We'll see how quickly it stays open... it may have already closed and we dont even **** know it.

but on paper, George Williams should be an upgrade on Sezer, and if we can figure out a way to hang on to Beej for one more season... given the roosters should take a little step back without Cronk, the storm might take a little step back if Smith retires... we're RIGHT there in the money spot

At the rate things are going, it is definitely going to be closed by 2021.

Players need to sacrifice a bit if they're to stay together and win premierships... Successful players and teams recognise it.

[Botman]

I dont think that stuff honestly matters as much to players as we fans would like to think it does
My thoughts on whether it should are on record already... i am a torn man on this, classic heart vs head.

[greeneyed]

It seems to matter for teams that are consistently successful.

[Botman]

But we're not consistently successful... it feels like a chicken or the egg for us, but it wasnt for others... one came before the other
Success came before the sacrifice

You put together a system that produces sustained, reliable success, and it makes asking players to sacrifice for the greater good much easier, because they know it is a worthy gamble. The juice for gambling on the Raiders is still too high.

edit: i have renewed hope, we have a foot in he doorway, we need to stack seasons like this one back to back, and back to back to back, and back to back to back to back. We've got to establish ourselves as stayers.

[Billy Walker]

It seems to matter for teams that are consistently successful.

Maybe, but I suspect lifestyle comes into a lot as well. I love Canberra but I can understand how players might prefer Bondi, Gold Coast, Newcastle or Manly as a location to do recovery sessions in the surf or sip coffees. Melbourne would be a great escape if you didn’t crave the profile. Canberra is training in the cold, playing in the cold and not the bright lights young men might crave. In the AFL Sydney teams get a higher cap supposedly because the cost of living is higher. I’d say there is a good argument we should have a larger cap in recognition it’s hard to compete against clubs in warmer environments.

[greeneyed]

But we're not consistently successful... it feels like a chicken or the egg for us, but it wasnt for others... one came before the other
Success came before the sacrifice

You put together a system that produces sustained, reliable success, and it makes asking players to sacrifice for the greater good much easier, because they know it is a worthy gamble. The juice for gambling on the Raiders is still too high.

edit: i have renewed hope, we have a foot in he doorway, we need to stack seasons like this one back to back, and back to back to back, and back to back to back to back. We've got to establish ourselves as stayers.

At some point, players have to buy in to make a difference. Mal Meninga bought in... and so did a heap of players... and they made a difference. Will the current crop of players buy in and make a difference? I think it is a fair and reasonable question.

[Northern Raider]

Keary is also playing in one of the glamour clubs, and probably knows he can leave for more coin, at the expense of premierships and success.
I would say he’s a $1m player, cashing in $300k to be in a successful side

He signed that deal a few years ago, no?
Before he took a leap into being one of the games best, if not THE best play maker?

He's going to be getting a new deal soon too. And id bet he and his team arent too displeased about this Jack Wighton situation either. Because when Jack gets his new deal, that'll be the starting point of their negotiations.

Yet you don't hear guys like keary throw a tantrum and want more money after 1 good year.

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Nobody is throwing a tanty. Wighton is simply not taking up his option on the last year of his contract. He's not breaking any deals.

Yep 2 seasons out from it. Good on him. But he isn't that good yet.

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It's only 1 season, not 2. Also because of the dumbass NRL rule about contracts being signed 12 months in advance he's almost compelled to make the call early.

[afgtnk]

Hypothetical. Would you pay jack 900k if it meant we lost bateman and bj? I would personally prefer that we let wighton walk, if that is what hes after, keep sezer and williams as our halves and use the residual to sign bateman and bj long term

I wouldn't if it came down to losing those two as a consequence, but I don't think we would be risking losing them both with a salary cap just short of $10mil in 2021. Whatever the case, I stated earlier in the season that we may go all the way to the GF but wouldn't win a premiership with Sezer at halfback, which turned out to be true... and I still maintain that position. I think we need to move on from Sezer and it looks like the club agrees with that position.

I think Wighton's value in 2022 (which we need to remember is three seasons away from now) is at around the $850k mark and paying him $900k in that year would only be slight overs. This is of course all based on reports of other players' salaries quoted in the media, with no true idea of what players are getting paid in reality and how much room we actually have to work with under the cap.

Our club knew that players would be in for upgrades if we were successful this year and I'm sure they've accounted for this somewhat... I'd be surprised if there was no planning done around this scenario. The best outcome for us is if Sezer and Rapana manage to find good enough offers elsewhere... if we're stuck with them on their current salaries it's going to make things near impossible for us to hold on to the guys mentioned.

I think Croker needs to be added to that list with Sezer and Rapana at some point, whether that's now or next season, as much as his staunch supporters don't want to hear it. That's three players easily identified who are on decent coin, yet could be replaced without much effect. We've done this already to the forwards but haven't touched the backs yet.

I can't recall his salary being bandied around in any reports but I'd gather having played and been extended multiple times through an era when we were trash and losing stars regularly, the guy's probably earning a lot more than we could be paying him or another centre of equal ability.

[FROG]

Hypothetical. Would you pay jack 900k if it meant we lost bateman and bj? I would personally prefer that we let wighton walk, if that is what hes after, keep sezer and williams as our halves and use the residual to sign bateman and bj long term

I can't play that hypothetical as I don't see how upgrading Jack by $150k would see you lose both BJ and Bateman. That kind of upgrade equates to replacing a guy on less than $300k with one on minimum.

You beat me to the punch haha

Lads, the scenario is that you are saving circa 400k when you compare wightons contract with sezers. Bj apparently wants what he is currently on which is reported to be 650k. My point is that bj represents better value at that price vs wighton at 900k and we could use the 400k saving to increase batemans salary to where it ought to be...

[Seiffert82]

I think the following players would be potential to walk out on there current deal to come to Canberra to win a premiership

Shaun Johnson
Adam Reynolds
Anthony Milford
Mitchell Pearce
Cody Walker

Almost all good halves who crave a premiership would become available if Jack left IMO

I think exactly none of the players you have listed here will ever step foot in Raiders HQ to sign a contract.

[Billy Walker]

Hypothetical. Would you pay jack 900k if it meant we lost bateman and bj? I would personally prefer that we let wighton walk, if that is what hes after, keep sezer and williams as our halves and use the residual to sign bateman and bj long term

I wouldn't if it came down to losing those two as a consequence, but I don't think we would be risking losing them both with a salary cap just short of $10mil in 2021. Whatever the case, I stated earlier in the season that we may go all the way to the GF but wouldn't win a premiership with Sezer at halfback, which turned out to be true... and I still maintain that position. I think we need to move on from Sezer and it looks like the club agrees with that position.

I think Wighton's value in 2022 (which we need to remember is three seasons away from now) is at around the $850k mark and paying him $900k in that year would only be slight overs. This is of course all based on reports of other players' salaries quoted in the media, with no true idea of what players are getting paid in reality and how much room we actually have to work with under the cap.

Our club knew that players would be in for upgrades if we were successful this year and I'm sure they've accounted for this somewhat... I'd be surprised if there was no planning done around this scenario. The best outcome for us is if Sezer and Rapana manage to find good enough offers elsewhere... if we're stuck with them on their current salaries it's going to make things near impossible for us to hold on to the guys mentioned.

I think Croker needs to be added to that list with Sezer and Rapana at some point, whether that's now or next season, as much as his staunch supporters don't want to hear it. That's three players easily identified who are on decent coin, yet could be replaced without much effect. We've done this already to the forwards but haven't touched the backs yet.

I can't recall his salary being bandied around in any reports but I'd gather having played and been extended multiple times through an era when we were trash and losing stars regularly, the guy's probably earning a lot more than we could be paying him or another centre of equal ability.

Won’t you be unpopular for suggesting the co-captain is replaceable but I couldn’t agree more. I’ve no doubts we can significantly upgrade that position for less coin if we try.

[-TW-]

Our window is next year, as our cap will self combust in 2021

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[afgtnk]

We'll self impode only if we don't take stock by identifying who and what exactly has made us tick this season, and instead try to keep everyone thinking that they're all necessary. That's the sure fire way to lose key players and break the window completely.

Players who are non-essential to the side at peak performance, yet on decent money, are the ones we simply must be ruthless with wage wise. Ask yourself this: when we were at our absolute best this season, or when it came to critical games, who were the players that regularly stood up and were amongst our best? You might have 3,4,5 names, and it'll probably be pretty consistent across the fanbase. Quite franky the rest are disposable - might be harsh, but this isn't the time nor place for emotion and sentiment.

[-TW-]

1. CNK
2. <>
3. <>/Croker on a reduced deal
4. Cotric
5. Simonsson
6. Wighton
7. G Williams
8. Papalli
9. Hodgson
10. Sutton
11. Bateman
12. Whitehead
13. Tapine

14. <>
15. Guler
16. Horsburgh
17. <>

Realistically there's 3 or 4 spots I'd be looking at. Considering things like Sia retiring, BJ moving on, whether Rapa re signs.

Croker won't be going anywhere, and that's said with a realistic mindset. He was probably paid massive overs from our sewer years so I wouldn't be surprised to see him take a cut to stay, based on the type of guy he is.

I'd move Lui on, as his input just isn't good enough and give Sutton a (last) chance as he was a much better starter than bench prop.

A wing is freed up where you can put someone like Smith-Shields for cheap, unless we can get Lomax, leaving 14 and 17. Hudson Young would be a good candidate for one if he stops being a **** grub, leaving the utility spot up for grabs

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[Lui_Bon]

Hypothetical. Would you pay jack 900k if it meant we lost bateman and bj? I would personally prefer that we let wighton walk, if that is what hes after, keep sezer and williams as our halves and use the residual to sign bateman and bj long term

I can't play that hypothetical as I don't see how upgrading Jack by $150k would see you lose both BJ and Bateman. That kind of upgrade equates to replacing a guy on less than $300k with one on minimum.

You beat me to the punch haha

Lads, the scenario is that you are saving circa 400k when you compare wightons contract with sezers. Bj apparently wants what he is currently on which is reported to be 650k. My point is that bj represents better value at that price vs wighton at 900k and we could use the 400k saving to increase batemans salary to where it ought to be...

I'm pretty sure your numbers are wrong. I also doubt the coach is making the same calculations on relative value. That said, there might be some value elsewhere. Or we may just have to wait and see.

[yeh raiders]

The more I see and hear, the more confident I am that we have to go all in next season and the year after to win a comp.

The window feels to me like its well and truly open. We'll see how quickly it stays open... it may have already closed and we dont even **** know it.

but on paper, George Williams should be an upgrade on Sezer, and if we can figure out a way to hang on to Beej for one more season... given the roosters should take a little step back without Cronk, the storm might take a little step back if Smith retires... we're RIGHT there in the money spot

Yep that’s exactly what I’ve been saying, it’s not just about us, it’s about how well our opponents will present themselves next year.

There’s always a couple of surprises but a LOT of teams are rebuilding and IMO the Roosters and Storm will decline to some degree.

[Seiffert82]

I'm not sure that's what he's on - it's what the extension option was, and I think it was a raise on what he's currently on.

I'm pretty sure the club has been roundly bagged over the past few seasons for the type of money they were paying him to play fullback. Those were the numbers bandied around. Marquee dollars for ordinary performances etc etc.

Yeah, that's what the criticism was based on. Assuming the number is accurate then some of the criticism would be justified as he would have been in the top tier of fullbacks on contract value but not on performance. In contrast his work at 5/8 this year has been far superior to what he'd done previously at fullback. I think this has shown he was simply a very good player being played out of position.

This is where I probably differ from most. IMO he was one of the outstanding fullbacks in the comp in the first half of th season, before he got suspended. He was really starting to find his feet on a consistent basis.

Ultimately, Stuart always saw him as a 5/8 though. As most remember, he tried him there for half a season in 2014 before the pressure became too much and the coach pushed him out to centre and then finally fullback, to utilise his running game and develop his reading of the game.

Then we had our run in 2016, where Wighton developed his ball playing skills and was involved in a huge percentage of our try scoring movements from fullback. People forget that, because he dropped a couple of bombs.

Anyway, Stuart clearly earmarked him as a 5/8 and payed him accordingly. The only thing that surprised me about Wighton this season was his kicking game - which seemed to improve every week, until it was one of the best in the comp.

Wighton was an awful fullback. Granted he is dangerous with the ball in hand and an excellent defender but his positioning at the back was not first grade standard imo. He rarely caught the ball on the full which is massive for momentum. Its an area that CNK excels at and is one of the major reasons we had the year that we did. Wighton has potential to be an awesome 6 but needs to be more consistent to be spoken about as a 1m player

Well, he was leading our fans vote POTY contest in 2018 before he was suspended after Round 14, so a few people must have thought he was doing OK.

[FROG]

Ok then. What was to POTY leaderboard this year. Id be surprised if jack is in the top 3 or 4 players. Id have had CNK, papa, hodgo and bateman in front of him. Thats not the hallmark of a 1m player. Im not saying he isnt a good player and good luck to him if he wants to test the market, but i think that 750k is spot on in terms of what hes worth and i wouldnt be breaking the bank to keep him cause i reckon the club could be successful without him.

[Old School Green]

This premiership window stuff is interesting. BJ is contracted until end 2021. I wouldn't of thought he will go anywhere next year now. You would think based on the Lomax rumours the club see that as a straight swap end of 2020. If BJ plays house down next year and Lomax stuff falls through though maybe we do re sign him?
I don't think any club is rushing to sign him November 1, after the year he has had for 600k. Surely they will watch how he starts next year etc.
Bateman is a flat out just wants more money and fair enough. The English players seem quite loyal (listen to how he talks about Bradford/Wigan etc/Hodgo with his handshake Hull deals) Given his relationship with Sticky and his apparent club patriotism....i don't see him going anywhere and he will be offered more cash here.
Wighton....seriously his Mr 3% wouldn't be doing his job if he didn't do exactly what he has done. After the finish to this year his profile has never been higher. Clearly that's when you seek maximum dollars. Again, i don't see him leaving the club that has been his home since 16 and basically the reason he still plays NRL after going into bat for him so they will revise an offer, incentive based again i hope and he re-signs here you would think. Stick loves and always has he won't lose him.

Side note: is Shannon Boyd's deal at Titans not just about the worst deal a club has made in the history of anything anywhere????

[The Nickman]

Successful clubs keep their premiership windows open by continually turning over their roster and keeping it fresh as players get too expensive. What makes teams like the Storm and yes, even the Roosters so good is that every season they shed top players and bring new ones into the system so they can keep the guys they need, the key players. The Storm in particular is absolutely brilliant at bringing new guys through Queensland Cup, building them into their system and then releasing older stars as they get too expensive while maintaining their core. Neither of those clubs bitch and moan and say “oh well, our premiership window is only this year and next”, they get on with the job.

One of our biggest problems as a club is we try to hold on to absolutely EVERYBODY. You just can’t do that in the modern era. In my opinion, it’s key to maintain our spine and a few key players, so CNK, Wighton, G. Williams, Hodgson, Papalii and John Bateman, and absolutely everybody, EVERYBODY else is disposable.

I love the rest of the guys on our roster, but players like Leilua, Rapana, Croker, Cotric, even Elliott Whitehead need to be assessed and eventually moved on if they demand too much if we’re going to maintain any sustained success as a club.

Much as it pains me to say that, that’s the nature of this business today.

[Botman]

I think Croker needs to be added to that list with Sezer and Rapana at some point, whether that's now or next season, as much as his staunch supporters don't want to hear it. That's three players easily identified who are on decent coin, yet could be replaced without much effect. We've done this already to the forwards but haven't touched the backs yet.

I can't recall his salary being bandied around in any reports but I'd gather having played and been extended multiple times through an era when we were trash and losing stars regularly, the guy's probably earning a lot more than we could be paying him or another centre of equal ability.

The coach and CEO have made it abundantly clear how they feel about Croker, and based on those comments, he's not going anywhere
So as much as his staunch haters dont want to hear it he's part of the core of guys like Bateman, Hodgson, Wighton, Papalii who the club is just not going to let walk... so whatever anyone wants to think about that...

[Raiders_Pat]

The coach and CEO have made it abundantly clear how they feel about Croker, and based on those comments, he's not going anywhere
So as much as his staunch haters dont want to hear it he's part of the core of guys like Bateman, Hodgson, Wighton, Papalii who the club is just not going to let walk... so whatever anyone wants to think about that...

I think it's good for every club to carry a couple guys who came up through the juniors and have shown commitment and dedication to the club throughout their career. His character is also good for team culture and you need guys like him in a sport full of ****. Although admittedly I have no idea on what his contract is worth, I suspect he's not here on an overvalued contract either. My views would likely be different if I found out he was on something like $700k plus but I highly doubt that's the case.

[yeh raiders]

As far as I’m concerned, if JC’s manager is any good at his job, he’ll be milking the love the club has for him for every cent. Club captain too.

$700k would be paying BIG overs, but it probably wouldn’t surprise me.

[Northern Raider]

Successful clubs keep their premiership windows open by continually turning over their roster and keeping it fresh as players get too expensive. What makes teams like the Storm and yes, even the Roosters so good is that every season they shed top players and bring new ones into the system so they can keep the guys they need, the key players. The Storm in particular is absolutely brilliant at bringing new guys through Queensland Cup, building them into their system and then releasing older stars as they get too expensive while maintaining their core. Neither of those clubs bitch and moan and say “oh well, our premiership window is only this year and next”, they get on with the job.

One of our biggest problems as a club is we try to hold on to absolutely EVERYBODY. You just can’t do that in the modern era. In my opinion, it’s key to maintain our spine and a few key players, so CNK, Wighton, G. Williams, Hodgson, Papalii and John Bateman, and absolutely everybody, EVERYBODY else is disposable.

I love the rest of the guys on our roster, but players like Leilua, Rapana, Croker, Cotric, even Elliott Whitehead need to be assessed and eventually moved on if they demand too much if we’re going to maintain any sustained success as a club.

Much as it pains me to say that, that’s the nature of this business today.

Agree and I'd even reduce the list of "must retain" down to 3 players. Hodgo because dummy half is such an important position in the modern game and it's way to hard to find one of his calibre. Papalii because he's an elite middle forward you can build the rest of the pack around. Bateman as his win at all costs attitude seems to flow through the entire squad.

Just about everyone else is replaceable. Of course some more difficult than others.