Canberra Raiders move to take Horsburgh and Hudson off the market
The Canberra Raiders have moved to take three gun forwards off the market, why the Wests Tigers best player in 2022 was punted to the NSW Cup and more in Sport Confidential.
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While much of the focus on the Raiders rightly centres around star five-eighth Jack Wighton the club have been busily locking down some of the game’s best young forwards.
First will be prop Emre Guler who has agreed to a new three year deal. The club will now shift their focus to locking in fellow forwards Corey Horsburgh and Hudson Young to long-term contracts.
Those within the club believe both are close to remaining at the Raiders with the trio to be the cornerstone of their forward pack for years to come.
Of the three, only Guler was off-contract at the end of the season.
The Raiders are now fairly settled in their forward pack long-term when Horsburgh and Young recommit.
They will join Joseph Tapine – who recently re-signed until at least the end of 2027 – as the big men for Canberra who are well advanced in preparing for the retirement of club great Josh Papalii. Papalii and the club have a mutual option for the 2025 season. Fellow forward Corey Harawira-Naera has an option in his favour 2026.
Guler, at just 25 has already played 64 matches including the club’s 2019 grand final loss. While Young and Horsburgh are now on the cusp of representative honours.
Already Horsburgh has been touted as a Maroons player for this year’s Origin series after Queensland coach Billy Slater said he was on his radar while Young went close to making the Australian World Cup touring party at the end of last year.
Horsburgh and the club have a mutual option for 2025 while Young is off-contract at the end of next year.
Both are 25 this year and about to head into the prime of their careers.
While the forward pack is shaping up strong long-term the club is still waiting on an answer from Wighton who will make his return from suspension this week against the Dragons. The Dolphins are circling Wighton.
The Raiders also have Tom Starling, Jarrod Croker, Matt Frawley and Jordan Rapana off-contract at the end of this season.
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TIGER’S HONEST ADMISSION OVER POOR FORM
Just last year Joe Ofahengaue was the Tigers player of the year. Four games into the season he found himself languishing in reserve grade prompting rival clubs to inquire about his services.
Ofahengaue said it was easy to pinpoint why he started the year so poorly.
“I didn’t have the best pre-season,” Ofahengaue said. “Being injured I didn’t get to run with the boys until February. It just wasn’t up to standard. The coaches saw that and had a word to me. I went back down to get through some work and get my fitness back
“I knew if I got my fitness back I could play the way I wanted and do the stuff on the field for the team. It’s the best thing for the team and myself. I was playing 20 minutes off the bench. You don’t get anything out of 20 minutes. I wasn’t myself and it looked like that.”
Ofahengaue played 65 minutes in each of his two games before returning to the top grade last week.
If the Tigers are any hope of getting their season back on track the likes of the Maroons player need to be at their best.
“You have your ups and downs,” Ofahengaue said. “This year’s pre-season was my downfall. I already respected pre-season so much but I respect it even more now. I know what it takes to have a good pre-season and start strong but I just wasn’t up to standard.
“I didn’t have the best preparation. It’s not excuse. I thought my experience could get me over the line but it just wasn’t happening and the coaches saw that.”
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Manly have been locked in talks with signing Tigers outside back Tommy Talau on a deal to join the club immediately.
Manly’s outside backs have taken a significant blow in recent weeks with Christian Tuipulotu and Tolutau Koula (both knee) sidelined.
Reuben Garrick (concussion) will miss this week while utility Ben Trbojevic (hamstring) is also sidelined.
That has tested the club’s depth and led them to trying to secure Talau before June 30.
The Sea Eagles have roster spots after allowing young forwards Alec Tuitavake and Viliame Fifita to St George Illawarra last month. The filled one spot as part of a swap with the Dragons for veteran forward Aaron Woods.
Talau is off-contract at season’s end. If the Tigers refuse to let him go early the Sea Eagles are still in the box seat to secure him for 2024 and beyond.
Current Manly centres Brad Parker and Morgan Harper have their deals expiring at the end of the season with Harper unlikely to be retained. They also want to upgrade and extend youngster Koula ahead of a potential approach from rugby union.
Talau has had his own injury concerns, missing the entire last season after tearing his ACL at the end of 2021. He is due to make his return next week from the broken nose he suffered in round two.
An injury to Brent Naden may stifle the chance of getting Talau in the short-term. Naden will miss between two to four weeks with a shoulder injury. Adam Doueihi’s season ending knee injury also weakens their backline depth.
The Tigers will need to make a few big decisions of their own shortly. Luke Brooks, Daine Laurie and Charlie Staines remain unsigned beyond this year.
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FORMER Raiders halfback George Williams has knocked back an opportunity to return to the NRL with the English star inking a long-term deal to remain at Warrington.
Williams was on the hit-list of a number of clubs with the Tigers and the Bulldogs most likely to pursue the 28-year-old.
He had sounded out the potential of an NRL return in 2024 and clubs were lining up to have a crack at Williams. The Tigers were expected to be the most likely to chase Williams as they look to solve their halves dilemma.
That won’t eventuate now with Williams re-signing until the end of 2026.
Some clubs held out hope that he would play in Australia next year but the stumbling block was his deal at Warrington did not expire until the end of next season but the door was ajar about a potential move.
Williams will now play out his career England despite the prospect of a seven figure payday if he returned to Australia. His new deal at Warrington is expected to make him the highest paid Super League player.
Williams had an impressive 18 months at the Raiders but split from the club in controversial style midway through 2021.
Warrington are flying led by Williams and former St George Illawarra duo Matt Dufty and Paul Vaughan.
The Wolves are unbeaten from their opening eight games. Vaughan has also extended his time at the club until 2025.
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The biggest tournament to be held on these shores in recent memory is set to be bereft of the country’s golfing powerbrokers.
Sport Confidential can reveal that Golf Australian chief executive James Sutherland and PGA of Australia boss Gavin Kirkman will both be overseas while Greg Norman’s Saudi-backed LIV Golf bring some of the biggest stars in the sport to Adelaide.
The timing has saved Sutherland and Kirkman from a difficult decision. Given the quality of the tournament and the profile of the players taking part – Cameron Smith, Marc Leishman, and Masters runners-up Phil Mickelson and Brooks Koepka headline the field – it would have been logical for Sutherland and Kirkman to be in attendance.
Yet both organisations have strong ties to the US PGA Tour and more particularly the DP World Tour – the Open and PGA are both co-sanctioned by the DP World Tour, which has been locked in a high-profile court battle with LIV Golf.
While most Australian golf fans are seemingly ambivalent about golf’s civil war, there would no doubt have been an expectation overseas for Sutherland and Kirkman to show their loyalty to the PGA and DP World Tours.
It is understood that GA accepts it is a great opportunity for golf fans to see elite players. However, Sutherland will be at a global golf participation conference with the R and A, and Kirkman will be in Japan and Korea exploring co-sanctioning opportunities.
The players, meanwhile, can’t wait to hit The Grange golf course.
“I know when I was home over Christmas … I live a six hour drive from Adelaide and the buzz about the event was crazy already,” said.
“I think they’ve released more tickets since then and they sold. I’m really excited that we can get down there [and] play in front of home crowds.
“I haven’t been home during the year, apart from Christmas, for 16 years so it will be nice to be able to play in front of home crowds in Adelaide which is a really cool city – they love their sport and certainly excited to get down there and showcase what we’ve got with LIV.”
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TEAM list Tuesday is about to become team list Wednesday … well for one week anyway. Teams will delay announcing their round nine teams by 24 hours because of the late finish of the annual Anzac Day fixtures.
The Dragons and Roosters and the Storm and Warriors play on Tuesday. All teams will announce their sides on Wednesday April 26 at 4pm.
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The last time Harold Varner III was in Australia, he was spending his days defending the Australian PGA and his nights celebrating at the casino.
Don’t expect things to change on his return. Varner III, fresh from playing at the US Masters, will leave America on Sunday bound for Adelaide and the latest event on the LIV Tour.
He plans to sneak in a few trips to the casino again in between entertaining the sold-out crowds in Adelaide.
“I’ll leave Sunday, get there Tuesday,” Varner III said.
“I’m pumped. I don’t think I’ve been down since I defended. Obviously it’s not in the Gold Coast, but I really enjoy that country.”
Asked whether he knew much about Adelaide, Varner III said: “I hope there’s another casino there. I’ll hit it again.”
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FORGET golf’s Miracle at Medinah, Sports Confidential has uncovered the Miracle at the Masters. Well-travelled AAP reporter Darren Walton made his debut at this year’s tournament and things didn’t go precisely to plan.
Within hours of landing in Atlanta, Walton had lost his passport in a hire car mix-up. To say Walton was devastated was an understatement.
The poor bloke spent more than 24 hours hammering the Australian consulates in Washington and Los Angeles as he chased a replacement passport.
There were fears he may be stranded in America, only for his fortunes to dramatically turn in a stunning 24-hour period.
Out of the blue, a punter named Peniel Jean – a former Wisconsin Badger football star and now a scout for the Atlanta Falcons – contacted Walton on social media to let him know he had located his passport in the hire car, which he had driven to Florida.
Walton’s stocks were on the up but they skyrocketed 72 hours later when his name was drawn in the media lottery to play Augusta.
To say Walton was on cloud nine was another understatement. With his passport tucked safely in his back pocket, Walton shot the lights out at Augusta National.
He had par at the famous par five 13th, making a mockery of Rae’s Creek – take note Jason Day – and signed for a 97 including four pars and a quadruple bogey 9 on the 15th.
“It was the scariest and hairiest 28 hours of my working life,” Walton said. “But the golfing Gods smiled on me in the end.”
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CLASSIC Sportswear has returned as the official apparel partner of the Australian Kangaroos and Jillaroos team as well as the Australian Prime Ministers XIII, NRL Indigenous All Stars, NRL Māori All Stars and Junior Kangaroos.
They have agreed to partner with the NRL until at least the end of 2025.
“Classic have been part of Rugby League for many years and we welcome their investment and partnership with the Kangaroos and Jillaroos brands,” NRL boss Andrew Abdo said.
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Originally published as Canberra Raiders move to take Horsburgh and Hudson off the market
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