NRL Market Watch: Wayne Bennett confirms Dolpins are in the hunt for Jack Wighton
Wayne Bennett has broken his silence on the Dolphins pursuit of Jack Wighton, declaring he will make moves to bring the NSW Origin ace to Queensland.
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Dolphins super coach Wayne Bennett has declared he wants Jack Wighton and will make moves to set up a formal meeting in a bid to bring the NSW Origin ace to Queensland.
Breaking his silence on the Dolphins’ rumoured pursuit of Wighton, Bennett confirmed his interest in the Canberra dynamo and is ready to open negotiations to bring some firepower to the new expansion franchise’s backline.
But Bennett will not break the bank to complete a capital raid on Wighton.
News Corp understands the Dolphins do not regard Wighton as a $1 million player and while Bennett has great respect for his talent, Redcliffe chiefs will maintain a disciplined approach with their salary-cap management.
Bennett said if Wighton is chasing the challenge of turning the Dolphins into an NRL force - not just money - he would relish having Australia’s World Cup winner on his roster next season.
“I haven’t spoken to Jack yet, we haven’t been near him, but if he is now going on the market, yes, I want to talk to him,” Bennett said ahead of the Dolphins road trip to face the Dragons on Saturday at WIN Stadium.
“Whenever a quality player comes on the market you have to consider it and I am keen to talk to Jack.
“I need to speak to Jack and see if he is interested in coming here.
“I don’t know how keen he is, so we haven’t made that approach, but he is a class player and he would be very good for our backline.”
While 10 clubs have registered interest in Wighton since his decision on Tuesday to test his value on the open market, there is no guarantee the 30-year-old will clinch a bigger pay day at an NRL rival.
The former Dally M Medallist is on around $850,000 at Canberra this season and for all his versatility - Wighton is adept at fullback, centre and five-eighth - clubs may baulk at a $1 million deal given his advancing years.
The Dolphins are a genuine option for Wighton. While the NRL’s 17th team boast a star-studded forward pack, their backline lacks class, speed and match-winning brilliance and it’s why Bennett is ready to do some serious negotiating with Wighton.
“Jack had a great World Cup campaign (last year) and can play several positions,” Bennett said.
“A lot will depend on our salary-cap position, too, and what we can afford to pay him.
“We have been very disciplined with our salary cap and the type of player we want to bring here.”
Dolphins flyer Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow has been a revelation at fullback, while Bennett’s scrumbase trio are Anthony Milford, rookie Isaiya Katoa and halfback Sean O’Sullivan, who is sidelined for at least three months with a pectoral injury.
The Dolphins have signed Broncos sensation Herbie Farnworth for next season and the British Test ace could forge a lethal centre partnership with Wighton.
Former NSW Origin and Test playmaker Braith Anasta is not convinced Wighton, a veteran of 224 NRL games, is in the $1 million category.
“Jack is a high quality player,” Anasta said on Fox’s NRL 360 program.
“But is he in the category of a match-winner who can carry a team to a premiership?
“That’s a $1 million player.”
RICKY BREAKS SILENCE ON WIGHTON SAGA AS SOUTHS ENTER RACE
By Brent Read, David Riccio and Peter Badel
South Sydney superstar Latrell Mitchell has laid out the welcome mat for Jack Wighton, revealing he would love to see the Canberra five-eighth at the Rabbitohs next season but conceding the club may need a salary cap sombrero to make it happen.
The bold claim has emerged as Raiders coach Ricky Stuart broke his silence on the contract saga that has engulfed the Green Machine.
Stuart said he was comfortable the club has done everything within their power to retain their marquee man.
“Jack’s got to make a decision and that’s where it’s at,’’ Stuart said.
“I’ve got a football team to run here and we’re looking for our next win, so that’s what my main focus is at the moment.
“Jack knows I want him here.
“That’s the most important thing for me, he knows my feelings about him as a person and as a football player and I want him to be a Raider.
“But that decision has been taken out of my hands.
“It’s up to Jack now to make that decision.
“We look after Jack and his family very well here, so I’m at ease with it.’’
Mitchell was joined by Rabbitohs teammate Cody Walker in extending an open invitation to Wighton, who has told the Raiders he wants to go to market to see what interest he can generate on the open market.
As many as 10 clubs are believed to have expressed an interest in Wighton since the news broke. It was unclear whether Souths were among them, although Mitchell and Walker insisted he would be welcome at Redfern with open arms.
“I would love him at Souths,” Mitchell said.
“I would love Jack outside me. It would be another element. But we don’t have a sombrero. I want Jack to make his own decision and do it for his kids and his partner.
“That’s all that matters – to be happy. I would love him there. We would go to that next level. We’re doing alright at the moment but like I said, Jack will make his decision.
“I have met Ricky (Stuart) and he is a genuine bloke. I think they will work something out. Canberra is a really good club.
“That’s good for Jackie but also Jackie has to do what is good for him. I think we would suit him and work around him. Me and Jackie are similar blokes. “You have to let him do his thing and let him make a decision on his own.”
Mitchell and Wighton are good mates and were inseparable on last year’s World Cup tour. At the time, Mitchell conceded Wighton helped him overcome homesickness as the pair played pivotal roles in Australia winning the World Cup.
Their relationship has had its testy moments as well. Earlier this year, the pair were arrested after an alleged wrestle outside a Canberra nightclub following Wighton’s 30th birthday – both players have pleaded not guilty to the police charges that followed.
Walker is also mates with Wighton and echoed Mitchell’s comments.
“He’d be awesome at Souths,” Walker said.
“I’d be open to it, but if it’s realistic I’m not sure. I don’t know where the salary cap sits, but if they went after him how would you say no.
“He can play anywhere. He’s just got that grit and that will to win. Him and Trell can go to the farm and ride horses and do whatever they want.
“It’s not my cup of tea but I think the club do a very good job of allowing Trell that release when he needs it. He loves getting away to the farm and reconnecting to where he’s from.”
WIGHTON CALL SETS OFF MAD 10-CLUB SIGNING SCRAMBLE
—Peter Badel, David Riccio & Brent Read
The battle for Jack Wighton has hit overdrive with 10 NRL rivals expressing interest and ready to pay up to $1.3 million for the NSW Origin dynamo.
News Corp can reveal more than half the 17-team NRL competition has formally contacted Wighton’s management following revelations Australia’s World Cup matchwinner is putting himself on the open market.
For the first time in 14 years, the Raiders ace wants to test his value as a free agent.
Within 12 hours of Wighton’s Green Machine bombshell, at least 10 NRL rivals had contacted his management keen to open negotiations, led by Parramatta, Wests Tigers, Newcastle and New Zealand Warriors.
It is understood the Titans are watching the Wighton development closely, while the 30-year-old’s management had initially sounded out the Dolphins last year about their possible interest in the 2020 Dally M Medallist.
Wighton, currently on around $850,000 at Canberra, is said to be seeking a four-year deal from a prospective club, which would represent the final contract of his decorated career.
One club is prepared to pay $1.3 million annually, meaning a four-year package would be worth $5.2 million and see Wighton join Mitchell Moses, Nathan Cleary, Ben Hunt, Kalyn Ponga and Daly Cherry-Evans as the code’s top earners.
The Eels are on the lookout for a strike weapon to help Clint Gutherson and the signing of Wighton would give Parramatta the option of interchanging the pair between fullback and centre to complement the Moses-Dylan Brown halves alliance.
Moses last week agreed to stay at Parramatta until the end of 2028, while Brown, 22, late last year re-signed with the Eels until the end of 2031.
Wighton, 30, joined the Raiders as a teenager before developing into one of the world’s best footballers.
This is the first time since making his NRL debut with the club in 2012 that the NSW State of Origin and Kangaroos representative has gone down the path of contemplating leaving the Raiders.
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The shock decision has surprised even some of Wighton’s closest supporters, who were of the belief the star five-eighth would take up an option in his current contract that immediately triggered an extension for 2024.
The contract clause states that Wighton has until round 10 – five more rounds following this weekend – to trigger the automatic extension for 2024.
However, Wighton has told Raiders CEO Don Furner and head coach Ricky Stuart he plans to test his worth on the open market.
The Raiders are willing to fight to keep their hugely influential playmaker.
“Jack’s quite within his rights to test the market,’’ Furner told News Corp.
“He’s been incredibly loyal to us for 14 seasons, he’s never once gone out and tested the market.
“He has our full support. He knows that we’re going to do everything we can to keep him and extend him.
“But being possibly his last contract, he has to do what is right for his young family and we fully understand and appreciate that.”
Wighton’s bold decision quickly reverberated around the game on Tuesday and it’s the Dolphins, Tigers and Eels that took immediate interest in the development.
Wighton’s availability for 2024 comes after a matter of days after that the Tigers failed with their mega-offer to sign Moses from Parramatta.
They have shown they are willing to invest in an elite five-eighth with Moses’ value of around $1.3 million similar to what would be required to pull Wighton out of Canberra.
The key for the Tigers is their salary cap has flexibility with only one member of their spine contracted beyond next year in dummy-half Api Koroisau.
Both their halves Luke Brooks and Brandon Wakeham are off-contract, so too is fullback Daine Laurie, while Adam Doueihi has a one-year deal.
After initially running into stumbling blocks in terms of landing a marquee recruit, the Dolphins recently struck a double-blow against arch rivals the Brisbane Broncos by signing Queensland prop Tom Flegler and England international Herbie Farnworth for 2024.
Adding Wighton to the Dolphins roster next season would be viewed as another major coup for the NRL’s newest club.
A one-club man with 224 first-grade games, the mere thought of Wighton leaving the Raiders would seem impossible for many fans.
He sits eighth on the all-time list of most games played for the Raiders, has captained the club, won the Clive Churchill Medal in the Raiders’ 14-8 grand final loss to the Roosters in 2019 and was named the game’s best player a year later.
Despite holding down the Raiders five-eighth spot in recent seasons, Wighton has proven at Origin level he is an equally physical and skilful presence at centre.
Wighton has also proven himself as an NRL fullback during his tenure at the Raiders, which could also prove a valuable selling point.
Currently suspended for two matches following a high shot against Newcastle last weekend, Wighton’s decision to go to the open market would undeniably be influenced by the huge money many of his rival halves have recently secured.
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Originally published as NRL Market Watch: Wayne Bennett confirms Dolpins are in the hunt for Jack Wighton
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