Canberra Raiders News

Wed, 2nd September, 2026, 22:45 AEST
PNG to hold off pursuing Hudson Young
The NRL requires the Chiefs to match the Raiders' offer for Hudson Young, hindering his potential move.
The Canberra Times
PNG will hold off pursuing Hudson Young after they were told their proposed offer for the Canberra star would not meet market value.
Just two days after Young confirmed he was attracted to the prospect of joining the Chiefs' star-studded roster, the potential move has hit a serious sticking point.
It is understood the Chiefs were looking to offer Young about $900,000 a season, if the NSW State of Origin star joined the NRL's 19th franchise for 2028.
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Wed, 2nd September, 2026, 20:47 AEST
'Waste of time': Chiefs fuming as $1.1m snag emerges in NRL's market value crackdown
Hudson Young's PNG move is uncertain as the NRL warns that unsanctioned player payments may hinder marquee signings.
Fox League
The NRL has handed the Chiefs a major stumbling block in their bid to recruit marquee players, with star back rower Hudson Young's PNG move now in major doubt.
The Raiders gun was reportedly set to travel to PNG in the coming weeks to tour the new franchise's facilities and discuss a potential contract to join the NRL's 19th team.
Canberra officials have reportedly tabled a deal worth $1.1 million to retain the NSW and Kangaroos gun, with that offer not including any ratchet clauses according to Code Sports.
However, ARLC chairman Peter V'landys reportedly informed club powerbrokers on Wednesday that PNG still have to pay players their "market value" in a league-wide meeting.
Young's potential move was reportedly used as an example, without his name being mentioned, of a contract tabled by the Chiefs that would not be registered by the NRL.
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Wed, 2nd September, 2026, 20:34 AEST
PNG halt Hudson pursuit after NRL's decisive call on $3.3m offer
The PNG Chiefs halted negotiations for Hudson Young due to salary cap concerns after Canberra's $1.1 million annual offer for him.
The Sydney Morning Herald
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.
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PNG to hold off pursuing Hudson Young

'Waste of time': Chiefs fuming as $1.1m snag emerges in NRL's market value crackdown

PNG halt Hudson pursuit after NRL's decisive call on $3.3m offer

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