The PNG Chiefs halted negotiations for Hudson Young due to salary cap concerns after Canberra's $1.1 million annual offer for him.
The PNG Chiefs have paused their pursuit of Raiders and NSW Origin star Hudson Young based on concerns that matching Canberra's record $1.1 million-a-year offer and the NRL's market valuation would warp their salary cap.
Young has become the unwitting poster boy for recent angst among rival clubs around the Chiefs' market power when he left the Raiders three-year, $3.3 million offer - the largest per annum in club history - on the table last month to explore interest from PNG.
Looking to bring the situation to a head, Canberra CEO Don Furner granted Young permission to negotiate with PNG before he comes off contract on November 1 and also tour the incoming club's Port Moresby facilities later this month.
Furner also followed up this masthead's reporting with the NRL salary cap auditor that PNG must register any contract at what head office deems to be the player's market value. That notion was reiterated by ARL Commission chair Peter V'landys in a fortnightly CEOs hook-up on Wednesday, without referencing Young specifically.