BY DAN

The front office has wasted no time in getting to work since the Canberra Raiders season ended. Nic Cotric, Elliott Whitehead and Jordan Rapana are off to the Super League. Zac Woolford will be joining them. Peter Hola apparently won’t be at the club, according to the Canberra Times. Nor will Adrian Trevilyan.

The pace of change is notable, and suggests we might see more movement over the next few weeks. At this stage we count 25 confirmed players for the top 30 roster next season – conveniently the minimum required at 1 November under the enterprise agreement. There are six players with uncertain status, and at least six departing. You can see our working below.

Confirmed: Asomua, Fogarty, Hopoate, Hosking, Horsburgh, Kris, Mariota, M Martin, Mooney, Nicholson, Papalii, Patuki-Case, Sanders, Sasangi, Saulo, Savage, Smithies, Starling, Stewart, Strange, Tamale, Tapine, Timoko, Weekes, Young.

Probable Cook, Harawira-Naera, Levi

Possible: Guler, Puru, Danny Walker

Leaving: Whitehead, Cotric, Rapana, Woolford, Hola, Schiller

You’ll note that at this stage I’m not counting confirmed signing Sylas Simon as a member of the top 30. As a current Flegg player I suspect his signing is on a supplemental deal (i.e. not top 30). He can still play first grade from round one, and perhaps the Raiders appealed because of their more open fullback position than either the Broncos (Walsh) or ‘Phins (Hammer) in his hometown. We’ll have to wait and see. I don’t think it means much for the club other than they recognise they need a third fullback in their depth chart of Kaeo Weekes and Chevy Stewart. He looks fast and talented, but so does everyone when they’re playing against kids. Let’s wait and see how he goes in NSW Cup next year.

The only name you might not know in that confirmed top 30 (well, 25 at the moment) is Vena Patuki-Case. He’s a former Flegg forward touted for big things and signed with the club through 2027. He and Noah Martin (to join the top 30 in 2026) have both been identified as part of the club’s future in the pack. All reports are he’s unlikely to be a first grader next year. The Raiders have also announced (again) that they’ve opened talks with Kaeo Weekes and Xavier Savage. Good. Get a deal done.

In the probable category you’ll note we’ve included players with some degree of uncertainty to their names. Adam Cook and the Milk are looking to put together a two-year deal, presumably to make Cook the third or fourth half for next year. It’s an intriguing fit. He and Ethan Sanders will presumably compete for time behind Jamal Fogarty. Both are left side and ball dominant halves. Who gets their way in Cup footy? Who’s being prepared for first grade if Jamal gets injured (again)?

Corey Harawira-Naera’s deal extends through 2026. It’s been a long time since we’ve heard from either the club or him on his future. When it was last reported he still wanted to play footy, and the club was still reluctant to take on the risk that would require. Maybe Corey plays again, maybe he doesn’t. Maybe he’ll remain with the club without playing. We’ll just have to wait and see.

Danny Levi is also on our ‘probable’ list. He recently asked the club for permission to talk to other teams, presumably upset with his drop from number 1 hooker at the club. It looked like he would be likely to depart. Unfortunately for Danny he found no interest in the NRL. Given his choice for next year will be between his existing NRL deal and one in the Super League we presume he’ll want to stay in Canberra.

Emre Guler similarly has asked for a release, and is only on our ‘possible’ list because there has been repeated links to South Sydney. Given the Milk retained Corey Horsburgh I think they’ll be more open to Guler departing, particularly given the range of veteran middles on the market. This take is based on vibes more than intelligence. In a similar vein I’ve put Hohepa Puru in this category too, even though he has an option with the club for 2025. As far as has been reported he hasn’t picked that up yet, so we are now expecting him to depart. That fucking sucks. That we’ve put him in the same category as Danny Walker, a player the Raiders explicitly said they weren’t pursuing tells you how likely we think he stays. Having said that if I had to choose which one would be in Canberra next year, I’d lean to the Englishman.

What this shows though is there is more change to come. Keeping everyone in the ‘probable/possible’ categories would take the Milk to and past 30 players, but that’s obviously unlikely. At the very least Canberra have some wiggle room to get into the free agent market.

In terms of needs there are plenty. A quality hooker would be a great start (hence the Danny Walker interest). A mobile forward capable of covering the backrow positions would be another target. Matty Nicholson looks good to me but is no sure thing. With just Hosking and Young as full time edges depth at that position would be ideal. I would add a lock capable of extending the Raiders attacking width, but that just makes me sad that Hep Puru might leave because we haven’t given him the shot he deserves. Finding a veteran outside back to give a bit of assurance that the Milk can sustain an injury or two without having to rely on rookies would also be a good idea.

Normally we’d wait for the competition to end before the Milk start hunting. So far it’s been nothing but half truths and rumours. They’ve been linked with varying levels of interest in Jayden Brailey and Leo Thompson. That’s meeting some needs and not others. Neither of these have progressed to the point that it’s worth considered to pros and cons. But it’s clear they’re being active in the market. It’s just a matter now of whether or not they get what they came for.

Now we get to play the waiting game.

Ahhh the waiting game sucks let’s play hungry hungry hippos. Do me a favour and like the page on  Facebook, follow me on Twitter, or share this on social media. Don’t hesitate to send us feedback (dan@sportress.org) or comment below if you think we are stupid. Or if we’re not.