The Raiders have withdrawn their four-year, $4.4 million contract offer to Hudson Young. The PNG Chiefs have offered him a tax-free deal of $900,000 a season, which is financially better. The Chiefs said they could not fit him under their salary cap at the $1.1 million a season figure set by the NRL. The Raiders had wanted to sign Young long term and felt they had to act before the November 1 deadline, when players with expiring contracts can negotiate with rival clubs.
NRL executive chairman Peter V'landys has defended the integrity of the salary cap as the PNG Chiefs prepare for the November 1 player market. V'landys said the NRL will not allow any club to manipulate the cap and that the Chiefs must pay full market value. The NRL salary cap auditor rejected the Chiefs' original offer to Canberra Raiders forward Hudson Young, which was judged below his assessed market value. V'landys said no case-by-case submission to revise that value had yet been made by Young's management.
Time is running out for NRL clubs to lock down off-contract players for 2028 and beyond, with November 1 just over a week away. Nathan Cleary is ranked the biggest off-contract player, with the PNG Chiefs reportedly preparing a tax-free offer of up to $1.5 million a year. Sam Walker has indicated he wants a deal done before November 1, with the Roosters offering around $1.3 million a season. Hudson Young is wanted by both Canberra and the Chiefs, who have reportedly been working to build their inaugural squad.
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Wests Tigers have signed star back rower Samuela Fainu to a two-year contract extension that keeps him at the club until at least the end of 2029. The 22-year-old has become one of the club's most important forwards, and head coach Benji Marshall saw securing him as critical. The new deal takes him off the market on November 1, out of reach of rivals including the PNG Chiefs. Code Sports reports the contract is worth around $800,000 a season, with ratchet clauses that could lift it past $1 million from 2028.
St Kilda has made few moves this offseason, with Rowan Marshall's move to Geelong its only major signing. Commentator Tom Morris says the club should offer picks 10 and 16 to Collingwood for Jordan De Goey and Dan Houston, whose futures are uncertain. He says the club's salary cap may be tight. The writer doubts Collingwood would accept, noting the club has added Jesse Hogan and Lachie Neale and is aiming for another premiership.
Dolphins outside back Jack Bostock is close to re-signing with the club beyond 2027, according to reports in The Daily Telegraph. He is off contract on November 1 but says the deal should be finished during the World Cup campaign. Early fears that salary cap pressures could push him out of the squad have eased. The future of centre partner Herbie Farnworth, who is linked with a move to the Sydney Roosters, is less certain. Several other Dolphins players have recently been extended, adding to the cap pressure.
