Canberra Raiders roster analysis: Ricky Stuart building NRL’s most stable roster, planning for life after Josh Papalii
Ricky Stuart is building off the back of the Raiders’ minor premiership-winning season, tabling new deals for a number of players and planning for life after Josh Papalii. See every Raider’s contract analysed.
Canberra’s forward pack succession plan is in full-swing.
The club is looking at life after prop Josh Papalii, who signed a one-year deal to remain in Canberra for 2026, making long-term offers to Ata Mariota and Englishman Morgan Smithies.
Both will officially become free agents from November 1 but the Raiders have moved to ensure they remain at the club long term.
Mariota, 23, enjoyed a breakout season in 2025, and the club is hopeful the Samoan international will agree to terms in coming weeks.
Smithies is currently in England for the Ashes tour but the club is expecting his future to be finalised on his return to Canberra next month.
Further down the forward ranks, and continuing coach Ricky Stuart’s youth policy, a number of rising prospects, in Myles Martin and Vena Patuki-Case have been locked in until at least the end of 2027.
Jed Stuart, the son of coach Ricky Stuart, is one of four players to be elevated into the top 30 for 2026.
It leaves coach Stuart with just three roster spots to fill for next season.
The November 1 deadline won’t create too much upheaval for coach Stuart but the next 12 months is a different story.
At least 11 players, including Hudson Young, Joe Tapine and Xavier Savage, will be able to test the market and field offers from rivals, if they are not locked before November 1, 2026.
IN LIMBO
Ata Mariota
Age: 23
Contract Status: Signed until the end of 2026
Had his best season to date and has been rewarded with a three-year extension to remain in Canberra until the end of 2029. Yet to sign on the dotted line.
Chevy Stewart
Age: 20
Contract Status: Signed until the end of 2026
Stewart has an option for 2027 but that won’t be taken up after the Raiders gave the rookie permission to speak to other clubs. The fullback had interest from the Dragons, as a successor to Clint Gutherson, and Cronulla, who are yet to re-sign Will Kennedy. The Raiders are open to an early release. He was charged with malicious damage by police after an incident at Cronulla’s Northies.
Josh Papalii
Age: 33
Contract Status: Signed until the end of 2026
Papalii had one foot out the door before receiving a one-year extension for 2026. Retirement will be on the cards next year but he’ll have options in new franchise, the Bears, and the Super League, where he had a two-year deal from St Helens. Papalii is believed to have taken a significant pay cut on his $750,000 a season to stay in Canberra.
Matt Timoko
Age: 25
Contract Status: Signed until the end of 2026
The speedy centre has an option in his deal for both seasons 2027 and 2028 but looks set to head to the market from November 1, with neither option yet taken by the club.
Michael Asomua
Age: 22
Contract Status: Signed until the end of 2026
A highly-rated outside back, Asomua made his NRL debut this year. The arrival of Dragons winger Sione Finau could see him squeezed out of the club.
Morgan Smithies
Age: 24
Contract Status: Signed until the end of 2026
Smithies won’t re-sign before the November 1 deadline but only due to his Ashes commitments for England. Has been offered a three-year extension, which he is likely to sign.
Jed Stuart
Age: 24
Contract Status: Signed until the end of 2026
Locked down a wing spot midway through the season and has been rewarded with a top-30 spot for 2026. But with the Raiders stacked in the outside backs, he might seek an opportunity elsewhere
Jake Clydsdale
Age: 21
Contract Status: Signed until the of 2026
A rising forward, Clydsdale is seen as a long-term prop prospect at the club. He’ll join the top 30 in 2026 and his retention won’t break the bank.
FREE AGENTS
Corey Harawira-Naera
Age: 30
Contract Status: Unsigned
Harawira-Naera hasn’t played since suffering a seizure on the field in May 2023. Has been given the medical green light to return to the field but has no deal for 2026 but linked with a train-and-trial deal at the Bulldogs.
Dani Levi
Age: 29
Contract Status: Unsigned
Who’s hiring? Levi asked in an Instagram post in September as he continues to look for a new club in 2026. The hooker is close to a Super League switch to join Leeds Rhinos.
Jordan Martin
Age: 25
Contract Status: Unsigned
Arrived in Canberra as a teenager in 2018 but has been able to lock down an NRL spot after playing a single game in 2024.
LONG TERM
Corey Horsburgh
Age: 27
Contract Status: Signed until the end of 2027
Looked to be headed for the exit door 12 months ago but has overcome a rocky patch with his relationship with coach Ricky Stuart to return as a mainstay in the NRL side in 2025.
Ethan Strange
Age: 21
Contract Status: Signed until the end of 2028
The five-eighth is a long-term retention priority for coach Ricky Stuart. He’s already locked in until the end of 2028 but is on the trajectory of being a $1 million playmaker.
Ethan Sanders
Age: 21
Contract Status: Signed until the end of 2027
Sanders will get a shot to cement the halfback position in 2026 after Jamal Fogarty departed the club. The 2026 season will be decisive year in Sanders’ Raiders career with the club actively in the market for a halfback, having pursued Jonah Pezet, Lachlan Ilias and Sandon Smith.
Hudson Young
Age: 27
Contract Status: Signed until the end of 2027.
An Origin and Kangaroos representative, Young won’t hit the market for another 12 months but the club will work to lock him before then.
Joseph Tapine
Age: 31
Contract Status: Signed until the end of 2027
The Raiders captain will be 34 in 2028 but has been one of the side’s most durable players in recent years. Any extension or new deal will likely be the Kiwi international’s last deal.
Kaeo Weekes
Age: 23
Contract Status: Signed until the end of 2029
Weekes was already signed until the end of 2027 before agreeing to a two-year extension in July. In line for another big season after a breakout year at fullback in 2026.
Jayden Brailey
Age: 29
Contract Status: Signed until the end of 2027
The rake was signed before Tom Starling agreed to an extension. But with rising hooker Owen Pattie also in the mix, Brailey is already seen as excess to needs.
Matty Nicholson
Age: 22
Contract Status: Signed until the end of 2027
A serious ankle injury scuttled his season just when he was finding his feet in the NRL. Tough and can break the line, the young Englishman has shown he can cut it in Australia.
Myles Martin
Age: 21
Contract Status: Signed until the end of 2027
Martin joined the Raiders from Newcastle, as part of the club’s pursuit of some of the best young players in the game. The forward will be one to watch in 2026.
Noah Martin
Age: 20
Contract Status: Signed until the end of 2028
The backrower played six NRL games this year and will be looking to build on his debut season in 2026. Martin started 2025 on a development deal but will be a top 30 player in 2026.
Owen Pattie
Age: 21
Contract Status:Signed until the end of 2028
Pattie played limited minutes off the bench in 2025 and now will also have to contend with Jayden Brailey in the hooking stakes. Still seen as the club’s future in the no.9 jumper.
Savelio Tamale
Age: 20
Contract Status: Signed until the end of 2028
Tamale was on track for rookie of the year honours before a serious knee injury. Barely scratched the surface of his potential, Tamale was rewarded with a long-term extension in July.
Sebastian Kris
Age: 26
Contract Status: Signed until the end of 2027
Kris had one of his best seasons to date in the nation’s capital. His Papua New Guinean heritage will make him a target for the Chiefs in 2028.
Simi Sasagi
Age: 24
Contract Status: Signed until the end of 2028
Sasagi had a breakout season in 2025, cementing his place in the top 17, and was rewarded with a long-term extension in August.
Sione Finau
Age: 23
Contract Status: Signed until the end of 2028
Finau, like Tamale, struggled to crack a starting spot at the Dragons. The winger will need a big pre-season to snatch a starting spot over the likes of Xavier Savage.
Tom Starling
Age: 27
Contract Status: Signed until the end of 2027
Starling was one of Canberra’s best in 2025, and after being linked to a number of clubs earlier in the year signed a two-year extension in May.
Xavier Savage
Age: 23
Contract Status: Signed until the end of 2027
Still only 23, Savage is a retention priority and the club will look to lock him before he can hit the market in 12 months time.
Zac Hosking
Age: 28
Contract Status: Signed until the end of 2028
Impressed with his work ethic on and off the field, Hosking was handed a two-year extension in July.
Joe Roddy
Age: 21
Contract Status: Signed until the end of 2027
Roddy played one NRL game in 2025 and has been elevated into the top 30 for 2026. He will be behind Hudson Young, Zac Hosking and Matty Nicholson in the backrow pecking order again in 2026.
Vena Patuki-Case
Age: 21
Contract Status: Singed until the end of 2027
Part of the club’s succession plan for veteran prop Josh Papalii. Patuki-Case, a high-rated prospect in Canberra, was quietly extended for two seasons earlier this year.
ON THE MOVE
Jamal Fogarty
Age: 31
Contract Status: Signed at Manly until the end of 2028
Has joined Manly on a three-year deal worth just over $2 million dollars. Raiders wanted to keep the halfback but only offered a two-year $1.3 million deal.
Pasami Saulo
Age: 27
Contract Status: Signed at Newcastle until the end of 2027
Saulo was named the Raiders NSW Cup player of the year but only managed eight NRL games in 2025. He’ll join the Knights from next season.
Trey Mooney
Age: 23
Contract Status: Signed at Newcastle until the of 2029
Mooney only managed 25 games in four seasons in Canberra but has managed to secure his future at the Knights, where he has a chance to start the season at prop.
Albert Hopoate
Age: 24
Contract Status: Signed to Warrington Wolves until end of 2027
Hopoate only played one NRL game in 2025 after missing Round 1 in Las Vegas due to the birth of his first child, then suffering a season-ending ACL injury in NSW Cup.
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Originally published as Canberra Raiders roster analysis: Ricky Stuart building NRL’s most stable roster, planning for life after Josh Papalii
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