BY DAN

According to the Daily Telegraph, the Canberra Raiders have officially withdrawn their interest in Warrington rake, Danny Walker. Unlike previous iterations of this same discussion, this doesn’t feel at all productive. Canberra are now seemingly likely to enter the 2025 with the same attacking limitations caused by their current hooking crop.

While the Raiders “walking away” before felt like a negotiation tactic this feels more like an admission of defeat. There’s no actual way to tell, as both the attempt to lower Warrington’s transfer demand, and admitting you’re out, look the same. My only hope is that the fact is was revealed in a gossip column could suggest it’s more them floating the news than announcing. This might be a last attempt to bring Warrington to the party, showing that if they want that sweet transfer cash (which, as a team that hasn’t made a profit recently, they desperately do) they’ll need to come back to reality, and come talk to Canberra. No other NRL team has been linked to Walker. This is the only path forward.

But it’s just as likely that the Wolves will just think they’ve kept their namesakes at bay. For now. So if this one last play for the Milk It feels desperate. A final Hail Mary. I still hope it comes off.

Unquestionably the whole enterprise feels like a long shot. That’s a real shame because they are in desperate need of rakes, both to fill out their depth at the position but also to extend their attacking limitations. There’s currently only two hookers in the top 30, and given they are both required each game, it means they’re going to need to find additional help. In a practical sense they need depth to cover injury and Cup duties. But more importantly they could use someone with a more developed passing, ruck management, and deception than either of their current options.

They’ve been somewhat heavy in the rumour market, with the Corey Paix and Jayden Brailey discussions the only ones that have percolated enough to drive them into the inches of newspaper columns and public discussion. Paix offers similar limitations to those rakes on the current roster, and Brailey comes at a cost that the Milk have (so far) been unwilling to meet. This admission might be a signal that moves into these spaces are going to come thicker and faster (phrasing), but neither are sure-fire home runs. Outside of those players the options aren’t exactly plentiful. You probably need at least three hookers, so something has to change.

If Canberra can’t find anything on the open market they’ll have to rely on moving Owen Pattie into the top 30 and maybe using Hohepa Puru more at nine. That strategy is as uncertain as their external recruitment options. Pattie only just started playing Cup consistently last season. Half a season of tackling men is hardly enough preparation for having to make 40 plus tackles a game on the biggest and baddest men on the planet. Puru could do a job, but he’s not a hooker, just good at pretending, and there’s literally zero word on whether he’ll be with the club next year.

The Raiders need to find a viable solution. The hooker position wasn’t their only problem in 2024 but it was a significant one. Their current roster locks them into a playing style that relies on their 13 to provide their width in attack. While Horse can be the man that brings it, we saw in 2024 just how much Smithies was learning the role. With Puru potentially walking, and Smithies progress unclear, the Milk will be heavily leveraged on Red if they get stuck with no width at nine.

It’s not a good outcome, right now at least. Light a candle and mutter some sweet nothings to your favourite deity because the Raiders will need all the help they can get. We’ve moved beyond expecting a new rake to come to town. Right now we’re leaning on hope.

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Feature image courtesy of Getty.