Canberra Raiders’ simple plan to keep Wighton, Croker and Cotric
Having watched the Latrell Mitchell contract madness from afar, Canberra are ready to move quickly to lock up Jack Wighton, Jarrod Croker and Nick Cotric for the long term.
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After watching the circus that engulfed Latrell Mitchell’s contract negotiations, Canberra will move next week to lock down star five-eighth Jack Wighton to a new deal before rival clubs even get the chance to talk to one of the NRL’s most in-demand players.
In what is shaping up as a crucial month of negotiations for the 2019 NRL grand finalists, chief executive Don Furner told The Daily Telegraph that he expected Wighton would re-sign by the end of February along with co-captain Jarrod Croker and boom winger Nick Cotric.
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“I’d be surprised if all three aren’t done before kick-off,” Furner said.
“They are all Canberra boys and we would love to get all three deals done before the start of the season.
“That is our main aim and I don’t see why it won’t happen.
“We have had a disrupted pre-season obviously (because of the bush fires) but we will all be back in Canberra next week and hopefully we can have it all tied up by the end of February.”
The Raiders will return from their pre-season training camp on the Sunshine Coast on Saturday which will be followed next week with a second round of meetings between Furner, coach Ricky Stuart and Wighton’s manager Matt Rose.
Rose, who recently took over as Mitchell’s agent to secure his deal at South Sydney, said at this point Wighton hasn’t so much as entertained the thought of leaving his beloved Raiders.
“To be honest Jack would be very sought after on the open market,” Rose said.
“I know that just from initial discussions I have had with people.
“But it wasn’t something I pushed ahead with because at this stage I feel if we get everything right I think a Raiders deal would be in the best interests of Jack.”
After a wonderful 2019 season where Wighton excelled for NSW and Australia as well as claiming the Clive Churchill Medal for best on ground in the grand final, the 26-year-old is now regarded as one of the game’s genuine stars.
As a result Wighton could easily command a $1 million a season if he choose to throw himself on the open market.
There is no doubt the Raiders will have to get close to that, probably for a term of three years, but Furner said the main priority was for all parties to work together and just make the deal happen.
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Cotric is also regarded as one of the game’s best wingers and will probably command about $550,000 a season, while Croker’s worth to Canberra is hard to put a figure on given the 29-year-old is on target to own a host of all-time Raiders’ records.
“Toots has played through some hard years for us but I think he can see now that he is a part of something special here if we all stay together,” Furner said.
“Toots is on track to break our club record for tries, goals, point scoring and number of matches, touch wood. And he is a terrific bloke, a wonderful club man and he is certainly a player we would not want to lose, or who we could see playing anywhere else.”