BY DAN

The intricate puzzle we outlined last week has been confirmed, with Fox Sports reporting that Ethan Strange has signed a long-term extension with the Raiders (update: now confirmed by the club). The details of the deal remain to be confirmed but safe to say this is an unquestionable win for the club. Start the fire, pour the drinks. It’s a celebration!

This was first reported by The Green Machine Podcast and that’s a fascinating aspect. Since the podcast revealed the information it was reported that talks had opened. That was followed this week by revelations by the Mole that a deal was almost done, before James Hooper at Fox Sports confirmed it had been done. All that in barely a week! It spoke to an information being retrofitted to the outcome already being out there, and (as noted by GMP co-host Matt on the most recent episode) seemingly timed to land at the end of a standard ten day cooling off period (update: GE, the OG from the Greenhouse has reached out to let know the 10 day cool down doesn’t exist anymore and wouldn’t apply in this situation regardless). All that’s waiting is the club’s confirmation. We should take a draw on the date like they’re giving birth. I call Saturday.

Regardless it seems that cooling off period is almost over because the reporting has shifted quickly to saying the deal is done. Now that we know what was originally covered by the podcast is true we can probably assume that many of the key details that Mike outlined also are. That means 4 years after 2024 (i.e through 2028), 700 per year, $3m in total on account of extra cash for 2024.

As we’ve noted previously if that’s the case then Canberra are getting an emerging star, and potentially elite player at a very reasonable rate. 700k will get you a decent starter in the halves. It will get you a cut rate centre at the Bunnies. It’s less than Canberra offered Blake Austin in late 2017 or early 2018. It probably won’t get you a star at any position. Strange is already a decent starter with a ceiling as high as it comes. This is all value. The difference between this and what they offered Wighton is already a Zac Hosking. This is the kind of value that means that in the event things go absolutely beyond perfectly, the crew can be held together and expanded. That’s the kind of flexibility entire epochs are built around.

Sure there’s a trajectory being predicted about Strange based on a painfully small sample size. There remains a chance that as teams get more game tape on him they find ways to shut down his array of talents (that we outlined here). This has happened to many a flash in the pan before (boy remember when people worked out that Blake Austin loved to dummy-and-go?). But Strange has shown a remarkable facility already to expand and change his game in his short career, and if the scouts have this right (and our eyes I guess) then the Milk stand to gain on the back of the deal.

He already has elite running skills (witness the move he put on Ryan Matterson on Sunday) and decent-and-improving creative ability. He’s also shown that what he’s doing now is a stripped down version of what he may eventually offer. And as Coach Stuart has expanded his game over the trials and even between round four and five, Strange has taken it all in stride. This is perhaps me projecting a hope but he seems acutely aware that there’s improvement to make. And if he isn’t there isn’t a coach on earth more willing to tell a half how they need to improve their game than Ricardo Stuart. If he keeps develop his ball-playing and kicking game there is a roof as high as the Hagia Sophia.

Strange doesn’t just fit but rather exemplifies Canberra’s emerging era of players. Alongside Chevy Stewart, Xavier Savage and others, and with the likely coming of Ethan Sanders (outlined here, but also covered by Fox Sports as likely to be finalised next week, again a cooling-down period away from a deal being done right after he could do one with the Milk under the EBA) and Canberra don’t just have a spine but a fucking movement. Add to this pile the established stars and players like Tapine, Horsburgh, Young and Smithies and Canberra have a settled future. Get in we’re going winning.

Nothing is guaranteed so it’s best to calm down and keep building. But it’s hard not to be excited particularly given the development that Strange has undergone even within this season. He looks the part each week, and as he stretches his wings we’ll only get more of an idea of what he’s capable of. Right now that could be anything. Looks like we’ve got four or five years to find out.

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