BY DAN

Amid the hysteria over the weekend, the Canberra Times reported that Sione Finau’s deal with the Raiders had been finalised. Today the club confirmed it: a three-year contract that keeps him in lime green until the end of 2028. This isn’t brand new — the Daily Telegraph reported it earlier this month — but the Times piece added one new wrinkle: Canberra want to turn him into a centre.

We’ve been banging on about the Raiders’ lack of outside-back depth, and Finau fits that need. He’s a powerful runner with obvious upside. He’s only 23 and still light on NRL experience — just seven games in three years — but in Cup this season he’s managed 12 line breaks in 12 games, averaged three tackle busts, and churned out about 130 metres per match. The length of the deal also ties him neatly into the development arc of the current core. Canberra are clearly betting on a golden era.

If there’s been one obvious gap in the roster it’s cover at centre. Matt Timoko and Seb Kris have been excellent first-choice options, but when they’re unavailable the solutions have been makeshift. Simi Sasagi has filled in there. Chevy Stewart even got minutes in NSW Cup. Manaia Waitere is a brilliant runner but still learning the dark arts of defending in the role.

So Canberra’s plan is another positional shift. This time Finau, from winger to centre. It’s not as radical as Sasagi’s move from centre to backrower/utility, but it’s still a significant leap in a hyper-specialised NRL.

As the Times noted, Finau is buoyed by both the faith Canberra are showing in him and the club’s success with friend Savelio Tamale. That gives him confidence he can make the positional, and developmental, leap.

I feel like Stick believes I have a lot of ability. I like to play anywhere. I can play centre, I can cover the fullback line, so I’m happy wherever Canberra put me, but definitely centre is a position I want to utilise.

I thought the Raiders saw something different in me, and I’ve taken the opportunity.

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It doesn’t hurt that the club itself is flying, with a side full of players who’ve turned opportunities into careers. Sasagi and Tamale are obvious examples, but the list is growing. That kind of track record makes it easier to sell development promises to young talent. Honestly, if the Raiders told me I could play centre I’d believe them right now (note: I fell over attempting a body-weight lunge this morning).

This success can compound too. If Canberra can show they’ve unlocked Tamale, reinvented Sasagi, and now reshaped Finau, it becomes a cycle: talented players come because they believe the club can make them better. They stay, and keep coming, because it keeps proving true. No one’s saying Chevy Stewart is going to re-sign because someone whispers “you’ll be a lock,” but if the success keeps flowing it can become a self-sustaining cycle.

It won’t be an easy shift but it could be an important one. Ricky loves competition at all positions, and centre has been the position without it this year. If Seb Kris and Matt Timoko are going to continue to grow as players then Finau can play an important role in pushing them.

And if he doesn’t quite make the leap? Well, Canberra might just find themselves unveiling another Tamale from their outside-back production line.

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