BY DAN

Reporting emerged this week that Kaeo Weekes is in the sights of the Canberra Raiders. Weekes is touring Raiders HQ this week, presumably the same scintillating tour that nearly won over David Fifita and Matt Dufty. But is he here as the long-sort after replacement for Jack Wighton as suggested by journalist Brent Read? Or to solve a problem at fullback?

Canberra’s recruitment at the moment faces an interesting problem. They’re currently stuck between two generations. The elder version is on its way out, leaving with Jarrod Croker, Jack Wighton and what will likely be reduced roles for players like Elliott Whitehead and Josh Papalii going forward (I’d include Jordan Rapana here but he may play until he’s 64, he’s got the energy for it). The next generation, players like Ethan Strange, Xavier Savage, Chevy Stewart, Adrian Trevilyan and Hohepa Puru are really young, and lacking first grade experience. Add to that the coming brilliance of Ethan Sanders and you have a massively talented generation coming through.

But it’s a risk to put all that youth in the one unit, especially in such critical positions. Many dreams of young teams have been spoiled by ‘future stars’ learning bad habits off each other without proper guidance, or the ability to make mistakes in the relative private of Cup footy, rather than in the cauldron of the NRL. It’s a risk the Raiders are seeking to navigate. It’s why for so much of hte process of trying to find a replacement for Jack Wighton has centered around the idea of an established half, or at least one with decent first grade experience. You’ll remember Ben Hunt and Luke Brooks being bandied about. Lachlan Lam is the other (48 professional games, 31 in the NRL).

Which is what makes Weekes such a curious solution. He’s 21, with just 12 first grade positions at a host of positions. In what he’s shown in first grade (and it what I’ve seen of him in Cup footy) his best skills are those we typically associate with the fullback position – a quality secondary creator on shift movements, with quick feet and decent pace. He’s not a big body (90kgs would make him lighter than Jarrod Croker and the same weight as Xavier Savage) which would make him a curious development option in the front line of the defence. It’s hard to see how he’s much less of a risk than someone like Ethan Strange.

Indeed one can’t help but wonder if this is less about finding a solution at six and instead finding another option at fullback, or alternatively for both. For much of the year the Raiders have been cycling non-Xavier Savage options at fullback, but neither Seb Kris nor Jordan Rapana project to be long-term fullbacks. Chevy Stewart is the future of the position at the club, but he’s almost a literal child. Putting him in at fullback next season would be a road that would come with bumps, and the Raiders may be looking for someone to fill that role instead of forcing Rapana or Kris back there until Stewart is ready (or depth in support of the more rocky road that comes with non-linear development).

If there’s a takeaway from this interest it’s the almost complete confirmation that the club sees Xavier Savage as a long-term winger rather than fullback. Combined with the reluctance to give him a go at that position in 2023, and the coming of Chevy Stewart, its hard to come to another conclusion. That’s not a bad thing – Savage will likely make a difference maker on the wing, the spiritual successor to Jordan Rapana’s tendency to see something in the game that others don’t (if not the mania or power with which he plays). Combined with a rare clip of speed that Canberra haven’t had and desperately needed for a while and it could be the best way forward for everyone.

At the right price and in the right role Weekes makes a lot of sense, a useful double dip in both position and potential. Certainty and depth at fullback, combined with another flyer at six. Sometimes you need to take punts at the edges of your top 30 list, and this would be a good one. But that’s all this is. There’s no guarantee it would be the long-sought solution to the departure of Jack Wighton.

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