BY DAN

The Canberra Raiders may soon have a very exciting piece of news to tell us.

As first revealed on the Green Machine Podcast, the Canberra Raiders may have reached agreement on an extension to keep Ethan Strange at the club through the 2028 season.

Noting that Mike, Matt, Lobby and the boys aren’t reporters we will have to wait for the club, or maybe the Canberra Times, to confirm before we get too excited (though I trust Mike more than Hoops or the Mole. So swings and roundabouts). It’s very ‘of this time’ that news is broken by a fan podcast but here we are. I was on this episode and it didn’t even register with me immediately what Mike was reporting when he reported it. Strange world? More like Strange’s world.

Safe to say if this true it is unquestionably good news. Strange is a young player with immense talent. In just four outings this year (and a couple of trial games) he’s proven he’s already capable of making an impact in first grade football. Already an impressively powerful and agile runner, he’s shown good instincts in attack, and has impressed with his still developing ball play. His defence, while still prone to the imperfections of inexperience, has proven resolute both in contact and effort.

Despite his youth he’s already shown a remarkably high ‘floor’ in his performance. Even when the Raiders have been poor his output has impressed. To an extent that’s to do with expectation. Coach Stuart has been keen to keep the game simple for him, not seeking to put too much responsibility on his plate. But everything that has been offered to him he’s succeeded at, and when oppositions have targeted him he’s proven up to the challenge. That there’s plenty more to his game than he’s shown and he’s still been impactful only speaks to the talent that the club has managed to keep. If and when the shackles are loosened there will be even more to see.

The reported wage of 700k a year (with a top up for 2024 to take the whole package to around $3m) may seem high for what he’s offering now. And to an extent that’s fair. This deal would be paying on the gamble that what we’ve seen so far is only the beginning and that much more is possible. But should he reach his potential then he’ll end up vastly outplaying the purported contract. Elite halves are on much more than 700k a year. Jack Wighton is earning that to play centre. Stephen Crichton is getting paid more than to play centre. You could look around the competition and find backrowers earning well over 700k a year. If Strange gets anywhere within shouting distance of his potential then the consumer surplus on this amount is astonishing, and would allow the Raiders to keep other talent they may not have been able to.

Of course there’s a risk it doesn’t pan out (and also that it doesn’t happen). But that’s the gamble. Canberra seem to have recognised that they can’t get on the free agent market and take other people’s stars. I don’t remember the last big name half they signed (does Matt Orford count? Does Aidan Sezer? Does George Williams?). This would be further evidence of playing in a different pond to the other clubs, getting players they think they can turn into stars. Get them before they’re big, let them take over the game but most significant domino in that plan (depending on how you feel about last year’s Chevy Stewart’s extension until 2027).

It’s hard not to consider this in light of Jack Wighton’s departure, both financially and emotionally. Wighton left an offer of close to $1.2m on the table and a hole in Canberra’s heart to take 700k to win a chip elsewhere. The Raiders have taken a million bucks and a roster position and potentially turned it into an extension for what they consider a future star who could fill the gap that Wighton left both literally and spiritually. The difference in what Strange would earn in 2025 and Wighton would have (if he’d stayed) is about one Zac Hosking. It’s a big tick for the front office.

And it’s good business. Normally its Canberra paying ‘overs’ for players and for at least the short term this is occurring here too. But as we’ve said before the gaze of the club this year is as much towards the horizon as it is to more immediate problems. If this plays out the deal is definitely club friendly and one that could be the cornerstone around which greater success is built.

More important than the contract value is the on-field output. Strange could be a star. This would ensure if that occurs we get to watch it happen at the Raiders. That’s unequivocally good news.

Do us a solid and like our page on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, or share this on social media and believe in the future with me. Don’t hesitate to send us feedback (dan@sportress.org) or comment below if you think we are stupid. Or if we’re not.