BY DAN

In one sense the Canberra Raiders search for a Jack Wighton replacement appears to have hit a lull. Luke Brooks is going to Manly. Ben Hunt is going…somewhere that isn’t Canberra but is definitely not Kogarah. Lachlan Lam remains in England for some reason. Brad Schneider might be heading over there to join him. The Raiders are either being super patient or are unimpressed by (or unattractive to) the remaining options.

This lack of clarity has created space for anything to happen, and from what we can tell this is leading the Raiders down a two-track path. With no established options available they are both waiting for someone to shake out of a comfortable position, while potentially looking for low risk options. This was most noticeable and abrupt in Coach Stuart’s revelation to the Canberra Times that he thought Seb Kris could be an option at six.

You hear people talk about players and they say he’s a footballer. Well, Sebby is. Sebby’s played centre, he’s played fullback. Sebby could probably handle playing five-eighth – he’s got that skill level.

Sticky to the Canberra Times

It doesn’t take a genius to see this as the coach seeing his success in turning Jack Wighton from a fullback to a ball-playing, Dally-M winning, flawed genius, and translating it to Seb. Those claims about someone being a ‘footballer’ is an apt description of Jack Wighton. He’s never been the best at any particular aspect of rugby league – at least not in the sense of a traditional five-eighth – but the transition to six got him the ball more often, and afforded him more opportunities to be brilliant. While we may equivocate about whether he was actually an elite six, he is definitely an elite footballer. And that made the transition a success. This is evidently the path that Stuart sees for Kris. Call it a heat check.

Whether or not Seb Kris can play five-eighth is something that only Sticky could possibly know. There’s been nothing in his play so far that would suggest it would be possible. As a centre he only cemented his position last year. As a fullback he has been easing into a role as a secondary creator on sweeping movements, and while he’s had moments he’s hardly been a knock-down decision maker in that regard. He’s a strong runner, but not as Hulk-like powerful as Wighton. If he’s kicked a ball in top line footy I don’t remember it, which means if he does transition to six either Andrew Bishop is going to have a new pet project, or Jamal Fogarty is going to be the sole kicker in the side. I’ve not doubt he could defend there, and perhaps that’s what appeals the most. It certainly was a big part of Wigton’s initial appeal at six.

It’s worth remembering Jack Wighton was first tried at six by Stuart in 2014. A less than perfect output there led to him returning to fullback for the next few years, until Blake Austin’s departure at the end of 2018 opened up a spot for him in the front-line. In the intervening years Wighton was a devastating attacking option at fullback, operating as a secondary creator outside the half, using a simplified decision tree to helm a left-edge that was electrifying. When he shifted to five-eighth the main change was getting the ball one pass earlier. His decision tree didn’t really change, and he was given plenty of time and support to grow into the role. He had a veteran roster with two other established playmakers in the spine, and two experienced creators around him that he’d forged connections with over the preceeding five years.

Kris has had none of those things. He’s not had a chance to develop these skills in any significant fashion at fullback. With Jarrod Croker entering a different phase of his career he won’t have the connections outside him, and while Hudson Young is unquestionably amazing and handsome, he’s not played literal years alongside Kris as Whitehead had with Wighton. Seb would be asked to take on the role as a front-line creator in a team with a proven halfback and little else of assurety in the spine. It’s hardly the functional unit that Wighton walked into.

To be fair I was somewhat sceptical of the Wighton move to six too. At the time I had written the way it would work would be by duplicating the fullback role but at six, using the same short-long-run decisions that are made as the second man on shift movements. Kris hasn’t had many opportunities to show his talents in those regards. And that’s part of the problem. An imperfect ball-player as a chief playmaker has held back Canberra’s attack over recent years, and they’ve never found the elite unit they had in 2016. Perhaps this is coincidence, personnel related or otherwise, but I’ve always assumed it was partly driven by a simplified offensive structure designed to suit an developing five-eighth. Perhaps Stuart’s utopia only exists with the talent of Jack Wighton or Laurie Daley at the helm. In which case good luck Seb.

There’s no evidence it will work. In the absence of tape a contrary opinion can also say ‘we don’t know because we haven’t seen it, and so we won’t know until it is tried’. A similar assertion can be made by the Coach in the vein of his appeal to authority earlier in the season (the infamous ‘muppets’ argument). He knows because he is the talent scout. It’s his job on the line. He’s the one that’s been in the game our entire lives. We don’t because we’re clowns typing at 11 o’clock at night with cheap whisky and McKinley Dixon in our ears.

But that appeal to authority frames this move entirely as a test of Stuart’s judgment. When it didn’t work out in 2014 he was operating with a huge amount of political capital that could be spent shifting a player into a critical position on a hunch. In 2024 it’s hard to think that it will be as easily received. It’s hard to assess a mood based on social media and your own networks but rightly or wrongly it feels like there’s a fair chunk of frustration with how Stuart is strategizing and managing this team. If it went wrong it would be a test of the fan-base’s trust in Stuart. In fact it may have already gone wrong. That’s why Brad Schneider, someone once considered a first grade worthy talent, is heading to England. It’s apparently a loan but he currently has no deal with Canberra to return to.

If there’s a positive spin it’s that Canberra are considering all options. Kris may be one. Schneider may be another. A further chase that is reportedly underway is that of future superstar Ethan Sanders, but like Chevy Stewart that’s more likely a solution for years beyond 2024. It seems like Canberra are overturning every rock and this push for Kris may just be the latest chance we get to admire the bugs underneath.

I won’t be panicking but I hope there’s more in the kitty than this plan. Even if Sticky *knows* that Kris can make the transition it seems a substantial risk. It cannot be the only plan. In 2014 the option post Wighton was to return to Josh McCrone and Terry Campese’s cartilage-less knees. If Stuart intends to pursue this option he’ll need a better backup plan than Matt Frawley if he thinks he’s doing anything other than wasting the last years of Josh Papalii and Joe Tapine’s prime. Perhaps Schneider is that option. Maybe it’s Lachlan Lam.

This thought-bubble should remain just that until all other options are exhausted. Canberra’s plan appears to be pursue a range of options below the radar while they hope for something to fall into their lap. It’s not unwise – I’d rather they hope for two miracles (one signed, one home-made) than bank on one. There’s safety to out there. The search continues.

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