BY DAN

Kaeo Weekes is extending his time in Canberra.

The report from the Canberra Times suggests the deal could be announced as soon as tomorrow. A two year deal had long been the forecast end point of negotiations and this is exactly where they seem to have landed. (Update: it’s now official).

The details are sketchy but two years in addition to his current deal would take Weekes’ time Canberra to the end of 2027 (approximately 156 Kaeo’s). This puts him in for the long haul, with only new captain Joe Tapine, Ethan Strange and Matt Timoko on longer deals with the club. This suggests the club sees him as a critical part of ushering in the next wave of prosperity in Canberra.

And that makes sense. He’s established himself as a crucial cog in the wheel so to speak. In 17 games of top line footy he ended up with the fourth most try assists (6), the fourth most line breaks (8) and the 6th most tackle breaks (55). He played three different and distinct positions in the spine, and has proven capable enough at all of them to varying extents. He’s athletically gifted, adding elite pace to a side that has often lacked it in recent years, able to make tries out of absolutely nothing. That’s something the Raiders have too often relied upon, and not often enough had the talent to do. Well, here’s someone with the gear to make it work.

He should start next season at fullback, which has been his best position for the Milk. He’s safe under the high ball, a dangerous kick returner. His defence improved markedly over the season. But more than any of that his pace is such a weapon in attacking movements whenever he shows up as the ‘second-man’ or ‘jockey’ position. His presence stretches and manipulates defenses into choosing between selling out to cover him off and not, creating opportunities for himself, but also for the people around him, through the sheer gravity of his threat.

Over the longer term he’ll face competition from Chevy Stewart, but where he once felt like a seat-warmer it now feels like genuine competition. Coach Stuart would love that, and given the fact that Weekes took out the coach’s award at the recent presentation night, he probably loves Kaeo too. And what’s more even if he loses out it’s OK. The utility value that Weekes’ offers is valued both in the side and on the roster. His ability to cover so many spine positions means that even if he’s not first choice at any, he’s first grade depth at all. That means the length of this deal is not a risk, as no matter what is happening over the period of this deal, he’ll have a use in the squad.

As importantly his trajectory of improvement means that we don’t even have the full version of what he might be. He played the majority of his career games this year, and went from a questionable defender to having multiple try saving efforts in his time at fullback. Next is adding the kind of improvements to his yardage-in-contact game that Xavier Savage has made and he’ll start to run out of weaknesses.

Kaeo would have been free to negotiate with clubs at 1 November. Canberra have been smart in not letting him go to market. While his opportunity may be immediately better at the Milk, no intelligent club would turn their noses up at his unique mix of utility and talent. The Raiders have done well to lock him down before he got to market.

Shouts to Rob for the title. If you haven’t already like the page on Facebook, follow  me, Rob, or Viv on Twitter, or share this on social media and I’ll tell you my favourite whiskey (it’s Lagavulin, the Cognac of whiskey). Don’t hesitate to send us feedback (dan@sportress.org) or comment below if you think we are stupid. Or if we’re not. Feature image courtesy of NRL.com