BY DAN

The Canberra Raiders off-season tinkering has continued with the announcement of Peter Taateo’s extension with the club (at least according to his management). Taateo could have a big future with the club but he’s hardly a household name. When considered with the signatures of Jensen Taumeopeau and Sylas Simon, the only other players the Raiders have acquired this offseason, it reveals a quiet tinkering with the edges of the roster rather than the big fish they’d hoped to acquire.

That’s not to say these signings are unimportant. Simon was reportedly chased by a few clubs and will be an important competition for depth at fullback along with (and likely behind) Manaia Waitere. Taumeopeau will be chasing an opportunity to fill out the depth at the club likely tested by the exodus of outside backs from Cup footy. Michael Asomua is moving on up, Jimmy Thrills and Nic Cotric have left, Bert Hopoate is probably also competing for a starting job. The Raiders will need a few of the boys that love to shine. And for a depth player he unusually comes with a degree of certainty given his involvement at other clubs.

Peter Taateo is also an important bet on the future. In his first full season with the club he was an impressive performer as a rotation prop in NSW Cup. I wouldn’t expect him to push for first grade next year, but the nature of his deal reveals the clubs plan for him. He’s on the supplemental list for next season before transferring to the top 30 for 2026. Whether or not that’s cover for Emre Guler’s likely departure or Josh Papalii’s retirement (or both) remains to be seen. But he’s only 24, and if he continues to improve as he did over 2024 he should be pushing for a chance at first grade the following year.

This tinkering is hardly moving the needle stuff. None of these players will be in the top 30 next season. Rather, this is the quiet business of building depth in the roster, and ensuring the continued push at all levels for talent. But it reveals that perhaps there’s water still to flow, potentially work to come.

We highlighted recently that Canberra have 25 positions of their top 30 locked in for 2025, with five players (Harawira-Naera, Danny Levi, Adam Cook, Emre Guler and Hohepa Puru) with ‘tentative’ next to their names. Bringing in someone else requires losing one of those.

At one level you might lean towards that being it. Levi doesn’t have an offer to leave for, despite his best efforts. Harawira-Naera’s situation is in stasis. Adam Cook is looking to sign a deal, but is he going to be the fifth half in the top 30? Emre Guler wants out, but it’s not clear if Canberra are ready to part with him just yet. Puru has been covered a few times in these pages.

But the fact that the Raiders have still been trying suggests there’s plenty of flexibility in those five. The move for Danny Walker has seemed like an all in effort. So far they’ve come away with nothing, and while it feels hopeful, I’m trying to not get too excited about reports the two clubs are ‘only’ about $100k apart in landing a deal. But evidently this has been a major focus for the club.

But they were knocking on the door, meaning there was flexibility still. And it wasn’t *just* Walker. They’ve been reportedly interested in Leo Thompson, Jayden Brailey, and Corey Paix. Admittedly Leo is only from 2026, but then again if we believed that then we’d be eagerly awaiting Zac Hosking joining the club. It suggests the club has moves to make still. Or at least they’re doing their best to get involved.

How successful they are, and who is moving in and out, remains to be seen. They may not make any moves and just go forth with the 30 players on the roster. They may have a big fish to pull in. But it seems that this spring’s tinkering is not intended to be the end of it.

Shouts to Reggie for sending me the link for Taateo’s management. Do me a favour and like the page on Facebook, follow me on Twitter, or share this on social media and I’ll tell you why solidarity is all you need. 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 Raiders.com.au