BY DAN

In the wake of Elliott Whitehead confirming his retirement at the end of the season, the Canberra Raiders have confirmed what we all know: they desperately need a back rower.

List manager Joel Carbone told The Canberra Times:

We’re looking for a back-rower. It’s pretty clear – we had a big crack at Fifita. “We’re looking for a back-rower that has a point of difference.

Joel Carbone to the Canberra Times

We’ve outlined the reasons here before. The short version is Smell is retiring, and there’s no one on the roster that’s a clear option to replace him. They’ve been in the market for years, and chased, to differing degrees: David Fifita, Keaon Koloamatangi, Teig Wilton and Eli Katoa. Whitehead’s impending retirement only makes it more desperate. They don’t have clear options behind him. Corey Harawira-Naera is still not cleared for footy according to the Times. Even healthy he routinely felt out of favour with coach Stuart, presumably because of his penchant for lapses of judgement at edge defender, and the fact that even on his best day he’s not the Winston Wolf that Stuart’s system requires of his backrowers. Lord knows that his focus is on being healthy right now, so banking on him to be an 80 minute edge backrower from March next year feels naive at best, damaging at worst.

But he’s still the best non-Smell option in the current squad. Simi Sasagi is a depth option and a bit of a gamble on the club’s ability to manufacture a man to fit the role. Clay Webb’s position at the club is unclear: if he’s in the top 30 for 2024 it’s not mentioned anywhere. In confirming the club is still looking to fill the role, he has effectively confirmed our pipe dreams of Morgan Smithies potentially being another manufactured solution is just that. Ah well, it was a fun few weeks.

So Canberra’s priority today is the same priority it’s had for the best part of 12-18 months. There are plenty of options on the free market (again, we outlined them here, and the Times chucked a few in their article too), and more are available now 1 November has come and put everyone who’s deal expires at the end of 2024 on the market. But there’s not really any clarity about who that might be.

Carbone’s insistence on finding a ‘point of difference’ backrower is an intriguing one. That suggests to me that the Raiders intention is at the top-end of the market. One would think they have the cap space to make that work, but then that’s never felt like it was the problem. They offered Fifita more than he took at the Titans. They’ll offer Koloamatangi more than he’ll take to stay at Souths. It’s the challenge and the curse of recruitment to Canberra. People just don’t realise how hard is to sell people on sunshine and the Kambah pools.

But yet Carbone is in the paper, which is unusual enough to make one raise the most suspiciously hopeful eyebrow yet. It’d be impressive to see how this works. The Raiders have somewhere between 1-2 spaces in their top 30, depending on who you believe, and is presumably saving a space for Ethan Sanders. There’s plenty of ways to be flexible to fit Sanders in at the right time should a big name come.

Most likely Carbone’s intent was just to hose down any hope of a star five-eighth coming to the club. He did note the Raiders would dance with who they have next season, meaning its Strange or Weekes at six, which sounds like an 80s current affairs show. They’ll be no saviour here, just the promise of youth and the hope that flows from the unlimited possibility that comes with nothing being proven…yet.

It’s going to be a myopic tale over the next few months as Canberra look for a single recruit to finalise their roster for 2024. Indeed, now that we’ve clicked over to 1 November it feels like something that even if resolved, won’t impact the Milk until the 2025 season (though, that can always change with a hearty release request and an offer of a player swap).

Regardless Canberra need to get something done. Elliott Whitehead’s clock has been ticking for a while and the Raiders have lucked out repeatedly in search of a replacement. It would have been good for this to have been solved yesterday. Tomorrow is the next best time.

I promise I’ll have something on Smell retiring this week. If you’d like to encourage me to write that, like the page on Facebook, follow me on Twitter, or share this on social media because it fires up the creative juices. Don’t hesitate to send us feedback (dan@sportress.org) or comment below if you think we are stupid. Or if we’re not.