Jack Wighton set to join South Sydney in $1m sacrifice: Report

A report has emerged that Canberra Raiders star Jack Wighton has made a massive call that could shake the NRL to its core.

Jack Wighton is on the way out by all reports. Picture: NRL Photos / Brett Costello

Canberra Raiders champion Jack Wighton is reportedly set to join the South Sydney Rabbitohs in a deal that could rock the NRL to its core.

Fox Sports’ James Hooper revealed that Wighton was expected to travel to Sydney on Friday to finalise “what is tipped to be a four-year deal with South Sydney until the end of 2026”.

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It would add more firepower to an already powerful Rabbitohs side who have made the preliminary final stage in each of the last five seasons.

Hooper revealed that the deal is expected to be worth around $3.4m over four seasons — which is a million dollars less than the Raiders’ $4.4m deal which was lodged with the NRL.

“The Rabbitohs trump card is Wighton’s great mateship with superstar fullback Latrell Mitchell, the desire to win a premiership and South Sydney’s proud Indigenous history,” Hooper reported.

He added that Mitchell was the one who alerted coach Jason Demetriou of Wighton’s interest.

A $1m sacrifice would also see Wighton shift positions to the centres as Cody Walker currently has a stranglehold on the Rabbitohs’ No. 6 jersey.

Jack Wighton and Latrell Mitchell is a scary proposition.

Speaking earlier on Wednesday, Demetriou didn’t deny the interest in the 30-year-old.

“I love Jack and I know he’s got a lot of good friends in the club through rep footy,” Demetriou said.

“We’d love to have him here if there was an opportunity to get him here, but we’re pretty full on the salary cap as well.

“He’s a fantastic footballer, there’ll be a host of clubs interested. We’ll just see how it plays out.”

He also claimed the signing may be difficult because of the salary cap restrictions.

“We’ll get all the big earners and see what they’re willing to do,” Demetriou joked.

“If Cookie’s (Damien Cook) willing to take a pay cut there’s probably something we can sit down and have a chat about.”

Earlier in the week, Wighton retired from representative football and said he’d like to have his future sorted in the next few weeks.

It comes after Wighton reportedly already rejected the Raiders’ $4.4m four-year deal, essentially signalling an end to his time in Canberra.

He had been publicly pursued by both the Raiders and Dolphins.

Originally published as Jack Wighton set to join South Sydney in $1m sacrifice: Report