Canberra Raiders NRL News

The Canberra Raiders plan to extend Kaeo Weekes' contract to 2029, reflecting confidence in his talent.

Zero Tackle

The Canberra Raiders are reportedly moving to extend the contract of star young fullback Kaeo Weekes out until at least the end of the 2029 NRL season.

Currently contracted until the end of 2027, it would represent a two-year extension, with a significant bump in salary expected for the talented youngster as well in an enormous show of faith, with both News Corp and The Sydney Morning Herald reporting the news.

While it took him time to break into the first-grade side in the nation's capital, he hasn't squandered his opportunities since, becoming the walk-up starter in the number one jumper.

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Former rugby player Sam Backo is hospitalized with melioidosis, a serious tropical infection, after recent heart surgery.

Wide World of Sports

Former Maroons prop Sam Backo is fighting for his life in a Cairns Hospital after contracting a potentially deadly tropical infection.

The ABC reports Backo was diagnosed with melioidosis, a soil-borne tropical disease, in April and was admitted to hospital where he remains in an intensive care unit.

It comes just two years after he survived a major heart attack and was required to undergo surgery for a quadruple bypass.

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Canberra Raiders legend Sam Backo, 64, battles melioidosis in ICU, facing serious health challenges again.

The Canberra Times

Canberra Raiders legend Sam Backo has been in a fight to survive for the second time in as many years after contracting a rare tropical disease.

The 64-year-old Queenslander has been at Cairns Hospital's intensive care unit after he was diagnosed with melioidosis in April.

It was just two years ago that Backo was in a critical condition in the same hospital following a heart attack that required quadruple bypass surgery.

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