BY DAN

The Canberra Raiders are interested in English backrower Kai Pearce-Paul, according to the Daily Telegraph.

Kai Pearce-Paul was told last year by the Knights he could go to market to try and see what his value is. From the Newcastle Herald and Canberra Times reporting about this, it seems this was establishing what his rate in the real world was, compared to the ‘big money deal’ he is currently on.

The Knights are still down with KPP (yeah you know me) but when you’re paying Dylan Brown and Kalyn Ponga enough to build the Civic Pool stadium, you need to make sure you’re getting efficiency elsewhere. Add to that they only have one non-committed spot for the 2026 roster and you can see why there is going to be a bit of dancing here.

Right now everyone is poppin’ and/or lockin’. NewsCorp has previously repeated his agent’s text reported that the edge forward could field offers worth around $600k a year. Which is where Canberra and the Wests Tigers come in. His management is making sure the Knights know there’s multiple suitors, and ensure that if he stays at Newcastle, it keeps the young man living in a standard to which he’s become accustomed.

Canberra, for their part, don’t really need a backrower. I’ll admit there’s a ‘synergy’ with bringing him to the club (he’s mates with Morgan Smithies, but at this stage it feels more like a red flag if you’re English and not). But they already have Young, Hosking, Nicholson and Sasagi regularly playing first grade in his spot. Noah Martin joins the top 30 next year and Coach Stuart has already intimated that he expects him to be playing first grade before you know it. Joe Roddy also joins the big boy roster in 2026, so at this point you’re just wondering how many backrowers do they need? Can you make an entire team from backrowers?

Canberra also have limited places in their top 30. They’re currently at 28 spots for 2026, and are still trying to retain Jamal Fogarty and Tom Starling. Simi Sasagi, who I have to admit has impressed this year, is currently without a deal for 2026. They won’t retain all three of those, but even if they only get two that’s still a full dance card. And that assumes they don’t pick up the option on Peter Taateo’s deal (or turn it into a supplemental).

There’s always some two-way shenanigans to this. Don Furner has sometimes talked about how some players sign ‘top 30’ deals that are provisional – i.e. they can be turned into supplemental deals. This, of course, risks the player, because if another club comes with a better deal they will just, as the French say, fuck off for more money and minutes. If you were Joe Roddy, or Noah Martin, and KPP was plonked down ahead of you in a depth chart you might re-evaluate your options.

So it’s not like the Raiders can’t find more space in a top 30 if a talent like ‘KPP’ was available. I’m just saying it’s a tight space they would be trying to squeeze him into, and it would risk other talent. That makes it worthwhile if you’re sure that KPP is all that is promised. That’s a tougher sell.

I’m not saying he doesn’t have talent. That much is plainly obvious. When the Raiders beat the Knights in round one of 2024, there was one player I was terrified of at the back end of the game and it wasn’t Kalyn Ponga. KPP can hit a hole at pace with athleticism. You know, like a slightly older, and less refined Matty Nicholson. He hasn’t shown it consistently though, and even the Knights are wanting to ‘see it’ on the field rather than continue to pay him on hope. Why would Canberra pay for what’s in the box, when the cat is already purring on their lap?

Other interpretations are equally unconvincing. From ‘pile the talent together and work it out later’ vantage point it could make some sense. Perhaps they’ve already seen enough of players like Myles Martin (I however have been happy with him in NSW Cup), or perhaps it’s an expensive insurance plan for Zac Hosking. Perhaps they think he’s a middle (which probably re-creates so many of the bottlenecks that are created by bringing him in to play backrow). But addressing any one of these problems feels like buying a Ferrari because you’re worried your Corolla might break down.

I just don’t see it. The tightness of Canberra’s roster. The absolute irresponsibility of paying another backrower big money when you have depth at half the price, and when there are plenty of other talents vying for that spot. The fact there’s plenty of other positions in the roster that need attention and for once Canberra actually have a functioning unit of second-rower depth. It all just feels like this is more speculative than actual interest. Like ‘sure we’d take him on a cheap deal’ when the chances are getting him to come to town requires making a big investment. Is it a Raider Raise if Canberra are punting on a roughie? I’m not a doctor.

So I’m not expecting much to come of this. We’ll of course monitor over the coming weeks, but for now we’re treating this more with suspicion than excitement.

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