NRL Transfer News 2023: Dolphins, Tigers, Eels eye Jack Wighton after transfer bombshell
Jack Wighton dropped a bombshell on the Raiders by informing the club he is placing himself on the open market — and rival clubs are ready to pounce on the Dally M Winner.
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The Dolphins, Wests Tigers and Parramatta have emerged as the most potent threat to Canberra’s hopes of keeping Jack Wighton.
The former Dally M winner has dropped a bombshell on the Raiders by informing the club he is placing himself on the open market for the first time in 14 years.
Fox Sports’ James Hooper revealed Wighton has already spoken to Dolphins officials about the prospect of joining the NRL’s 17th team in 2024.
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.
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 The Daily Telegraph.
“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 Mitchell 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.
Key for the Tigers is, their salary cap has flexibility with only one member of their spine contracted beyond next year, which is 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.
For Parramatta, Wighton represents the ‘X factor” they have flagged as a matter of interest for the club.
No doubt, they would need to make some big recruitment calls to create salary cap space for Wighton.
However, the Eels have Bryce Cartwright, Waqa Blake and Mitch Rein off-contract this year.
They also have players with mutual options in their contracts, including Josh Hodgson and Bailey Simonsson.
At the very least, it means Parramatta have the wiggle room to investigate making a play for Wighton.
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, he 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 that many of his rival halves have recently achieved, most notably Eels playmaker Mitchell Moses re-signing for an estimated $1.2 million.
It’s possible that a rival suitor would need to go above $1.1 million to pull Wighton out of Canberra.
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Originally published as NRL Transfer News 2023: Dolphins, Tigers, Eels eye Jack Wighton after transfer bombshell
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