Ethan Strange re-signs with Raiders to end 2028

[zim]

Maybe in 2026 when he'll still be only 21 years old.

[-PJ-]

We are looking great.

[Bluesbrother]

Great news ! The NSW Five Eighth spot is one of the most open in years. Cody hasn't had a good start. Luai hasn't really played well in SOO, and Brooks is unsuited as his defence is suspect. And Wighton has retired right ?

Strange has a chance to partner Cleary. Metcalf would be another bolter

Mate, you're kidding yourself. This season is no hope of that happening. Very likely in his future though from what I've seen.

[Botman]

Yeah we need to settle down a bit there

Let’s let strange keep finding his feet at FG before chucking him in at origin level

[Ben & Sev Love Milk]

Beautiful

[greeneyed]

Canberra Raiders close in on re-signing young gun Ethan Strange

The Canberra Raiders are on the verge of upgrading and locking in Ethan Strange to a long term deal. Discussions are progressing well and they could be finalised early next week. The Raiders have also opened talks with James Schiller and Nick Cotric.

"I think I'm just feeling more and more comfortable every game," Strange said. "The video and stuff I do with the coaches is helping me a ton. The support I've got from the older group - it's good. It's definitely a step up from what I'm used to, but I'm just getting more comfortable every week."

Read more: https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/ ... /?cs=14280

[MJY]

Schiller is great and cotric is fine....
But is there any news on a Mooney extension?
These young backs will need a forward to lead for a decade if this is the plan

[IBG]

The Raiders have also opened talks with Nick Cotric.

[Dylan’s Raiders]

Terrific about Schiller but we cannot fit Cotric after promoting Asomua - poor squad management imo

[Colk]

Terrific about Schiller but we cannot fit Cotric after promoting Asomua - poor squad management imo

Really strange about Cotric. I hope against hope that he is somehow going to go back to that player that came into first grade but too much time has gone past now

I’d much rather go Mooney

[Colk]

Yeah we need to settle down a bit there

Let’s let strange keep finding his feet at FG before chucking him in at origin level

It is typical though. He has played very well thus far and it is fine to be positive about his future but seriously Origin this year is over the top

[dubby]

Yeah we need to settle down a bit there

Let’s let strange keep finding his feet at FG before chucking him in at origin level

Things escalated quickly

[Rickmando]

Awesome news. Plenty of credit to the club for identifying him, and for getting this done to lock him in.

They get docked a few points however by only having the money to do this because Jack spurned their desperate offer to give him the bag.

Imagine if we had simple Jack spudding it up for another 4 years on big overs, all the while blocking Strange’s path to the #6 jumper. I feel ill just imagining that alternative timeline…

[Neeeegz]

I shudder to think what could of happened to our club if he actually re signed, thanks Jack, at least you'll win something this year with the spoon

[Old School Green]

Really pleased with this. He has started well and if he continues to be consistent as he becomes more experienced, we have a cracker on our hands.

With all that said…I always shudder a little at these 5 year contracts…Scarred by the campo experience!

[greeneyed]

Billy Slater lauds Jack Wighton's Raiders replacement, claims star's exit was 'a blessing in disguise'

Queensland Maroons coach Billy Slater says Jack Wighton's departure from the Raiders was "a blessing in disguise" for Canberra due to the sudden unexpected rise of young five-eighth Ethan Strange.

"It looked like last year that when Jack Wighton decided to leave the club that, it's the end thing, you know, we can't see past that," Slater said. "But sometimes when things happen at your club and players move on, and you think you can't replace them, something else happens and all of a sudden it's a blessing in disguise.

Read more: https://wwos.nine.com.au/nrl/news-2024- ... 3b22548a97

[BoneRick]

no just the ch9 dills couldn't see how stunted we were with constantly expecting jack to do it all

Sent from my SM-S911B using Tapatalk

[The Nickman]

I reckon if Strange has a good season and knuckles down, he might be Australian captain by the end of the year

[Wiki Special]

I reckon if Strange has a good season and knuckles down, he might be Australian captain by the end of the year

Don't sell him short, Captain/Coach is surely in play.

[reptar]

When he grows up, he could be a principal. Or a caterpillar

[Finchy]

I don’t think it’s too much to suggest he’s a good shot at being named the next Immortal

[-PJ-]

Small steps people.

Let’s name him captain today.

[Billy Walker]

Billy Slater lauds Jack Wighton's Raiders replacement, claims star's exit was 'a blessing in disguise'

Queensland Maroons coach Billy Slater says Jack Wighton's departure from the Raiders was "a blessing in disguise" for Canberra due to the sudden unexpected rise of young five-eighth Ethan Strange.

"It looked like last year that when Jack Wighton decided to leave the club that, it's the end thing, you know, we can't see past that," Slater said. "But sometimes when things happen at your club and players move on, and you think you can't replace them, something else happens and all of a sudden it's a blessing in disguise.

Read more: https://wwos.nine.com.au/nrl/news-2024- ... 3b22548a97

Has autocorrect changed Walker to Slater, or are we saying this has the double Billy approval?

ck Wighton was a great raider and I’m not as down on him as others. I still hope he has a good run at south’s and I appreciate everything he did for us.

When his contract came up I acknowledged he was close to our best player but questioned whether you keep doing the same thing hoping for a different result. I thought it was a fair counter argument from some that there wasn’t a ready made replacement on the market. I have no doubt if it was up to the club we would have kept Jack and the supporters would be happy with that outcome. I also know that would mean we could not have obtained all three of Stewart, Sanders and Strange if we kept Jack.

No disrespect to Jack, but we are in a very exciting position as a club and much better than where we were 12 months ago. The avid fans like GE who watch the juniors may have had these 3 kids on the radar but I suspect most of us hadn’t heard much about these lads.

We need to learn that nobody is irreplaceable and there is always talent coming through. We put a huge value on longevity and loyalty, and madly celebrate players who run out 300 times with little consideration for what success they brought over that very long period. We defend their selection by saying “there is nobody obviously better on the market”.

[Billy Walker]

The Raiders have also opened talks with Nick Cotric.

I’m very happy for the club to be opening talks and negotiations with Cotric. Just so long as they are similar talks to the ones Manly are having with Schuster.

[Billy Walker]

The Raiders have also opened talks with Nick Cotric.

Perhaps we are trying to move him sideways?

[Seiffert82]

Billy Slater lauds Jack Wighton's Raiders replacement, claims star's exit was 'a blessing in disguise'

Queensland Maroons coach Billy Slater says Jack Wighton's departure from the Raiders was "a blessing in disguise" for Canberra due to the sudden unexpected rise of young five-eighth Ethan Strange.

"It looked like last year that when Jack Wighton decided to leave the club that, it's the end thing, you know, we can't see past that," Slater said. "But sometimes when things happen at your club and players move on, and you think you can't replace them, something else happens and all of a sudden it's a blessing in disguise.

Read more: https://wwos.nine.com.au/nrl/news-2024- ... 3b22548a97

No idea what **** disguise he's referring to.

Honestly, did anyone of these idiots actually watch Wighton play over the previous two seasons?

Sent from my CPH2021 using Tapatalk

[Dr Zaius]

I reckon if Strange has a good season and knuckles down, he might be Australian captain by the end of the year

Don't sell him short, Captain/Coach is surely in play.

Meninga has clearly seen the writing on the wall and has opened negotiations with Souths

[Mickey_Raider]

Billy Slater lauds Jack Wighton's Raiders replacement, claims star's exit was 'a blessing in disguise'

Queensland Maroons coach Billy Slater says Jack Wighton's departure from the Raiders was "a blessing in disguise" for Canberra due to the sudden unexpected rise of young five-eighth Ethan Strange.

"It looked like last year that when Jack Wighton decided to leave the club that, it's the end thing, you know, we can't see past that," Slater said. "But sometimes when things happen at your club and players move on, and you think you can't replace them, something else happens and all of a sudden it's a blessing in disguise.

Read more: https://wwos.nine.com.au/nrl/news-2024- ... 3b22548a97

No idea what **** disguise he's referring to.

Honestly, did anyone of these idiots actually watch Wighton play over the previous two seasons?

Sent from my CPH2021 using Tapatalk

The commentary about Wightons exit and its impact on our prospects was so revealing about the pathetically shallow level of NRL punditry that exists.

[Andymachine]

Thrilled about keeping Strange around for 5 more years.

On the other hand, we almost need a new thread to discuss why oh why the club is opening extension talks with an overpaid, underperforming winger who's just been dropped to reserves and overtaken in the pecking order. As a winger, Cotric is now behind Savage, Hoppa and Schiller. He's probably still ahead of Asomua in the coaches eyes but give that another 6 months. There's absolutely no need to be going off early on this - give him half/most of the season and then decide.

Unfortunately, after showing so much promise early in his career, I feel Cotric would be a dud re-signing and I can't see him ever getting his mojo back.

[zim]

I really don't think it's that strange. Fans of other clubs are generally not watching every game, nor are they keeping up with our NSW cup side.
Our options for replacing him were Kaeo Weekes (who Manly fans were certain had nothing to offer at 5/8) and a young kid who played centre for u19s NSW and "got a bath" from the Storm playing in that position.

Even if you're on the ball we've essentially "discovered plutonium by accident" this year. We could have just as easily ended up with a year of tough initiations before coming good as they learned how to be first graders and reloaded for a good 2025.
Ethan excelled with power running, defense and a clunky kicking game in cup. You usually see physical cup players (especially young ones) take time to dominate physically in grade. His so far limited kicking game looks far smoother than it did even in the trials. It's clear how hard he's working off the park and the coaching is getting results.
I think the biggest thing he has over Wighton on the field is how calm he's playing. That calmness really raises the level of how bad his worst plays/games are.

There's another player in the squad that has been improving at similar speeds and that's Chevy. You could see him have a big hole in his game in cup and then 3 weeks later there's a permanent change and he looks like a different player.
Exciting times.

[Botman]

The Cotric news is pretty surprising
Though it probably shouldn’t be. We’ve re-signed a few hookers and a front rower who were players I’d consider perfect examples of roster spots to be turned over

Cotric is another. Savage, Schiller and Asomua are the future for our wing spots right now, anyone outside of those 3 are players we should be looking to turn over to freshen up the squad imo

[BJ]

Cotric I presume would be a low tier offer.

I personally think Cotric needs to reinvent himself as a second rower. He’s just too slow for a modern day winger and seems unable to get himself into space.

[Andymachine]

Cotric I presume would be a low tier offer.

I personally think Cotric needs to reinvent himself as a second rower. He’s just too slow for a modern day winger and seems unable to get himself into space.

He's got the build for it. If you stood him next to Angus Crighton I reckon they look pretty damn similar, but the problem is that there's not really anything in his game that looks to me like he can successfully make that transition to second row. I can't see him running lines and hitting holes at pace and I can't see him having the physicality to make 30 tackles a game. If he had more of a passing game I'd say centre might be his spot but he's never looked any good playing in the centres either.

I feel that this might just be based on him being a Canberra junior. I think that holds a fair bit of weight in Ricky's books. I don't like it but if he has to be re-signed, his current $600k deal had better be slashed in half at the very least.

[Botman]

It’d have to be a very significant pay cut
Given he is no longer a first choice player for us and has multiple players in front of him with more on its way. Like 60% at least

Again I think it makes more sense for each side to go their separate ways

[NoMan]

Hard to be critical on Cotric when you don't know what he is going to get paid or the expectations around how he is going to be used. I know he hasn't set the world on fire but I still think he would be a great 4th winger for a couple of years because at the least he is solid defensively and nobody above him in the depth chart will get complacent. He did actually look decent at center for the first time on the weekend as well.

Someone who has seen a lot of Flegg or Ball would be able to say whether he is roadblocking genuine prospects but a 2 year deal probably wouldn't do that anyway.