BY DAN

The Canberra Raiders continue to stand at a fork. On one road lies their pursuit of Jonah Pezet, though without certainty; on the other, the future of Ethan Sanders, with any proposed support still in the ether. The next few weeks will be interesting.

Jonah Pezet is the hot item, with multiple teams chasing him. Canberra were part of the race and were even labelled ‘favourites’ at one stage. It appears Parramatta hold that title now, with rumours last week suggesting they were close to landing him (or had done so). Previously, that was said to hinge on Zac Lomax leaving for Rugby 360 — a move yet to be announced, but perhaps still to come. That would explain the delay: Pezet will sign once Lomax officially goes. Perhaps.

I wonder if Canberra are *that* interested. As we noted last week, Ethan Strange was solidly in Sanders’ corner with his comments last week.

I like playing with Sando, so I don’t know if we’ll need to put much work into it. I think we already gel pretty well. I grew up playing in rep teams and stuff with Sando, so I know his game and he’s easy to play with.

Here

At the time I took this at face value, a comment made to a question asked. But when the Eels rumours started swirling about Pezet late last week, I couldn’t help but think Strange’s comment was reflective of Canberra’s position – either in driving it, or acknowledging they were out of the race and wanting to pump Sanders’ tyres a bit. You could interpret it either way. But the outcome is potentially the same.

But that’s conjecture. For now there are a few certainties we can hang our hats on. We know this pursuit is important. Pezet is one of the most sought-after young halves in the league. He’s seeking a ‘forever home’ having opted out of his Melbourne contract, meaning loan deals are off the table. Canberra are interested, and the Titans have been informed they are out of the running, leaving it between the Cows, the Eels and the Milk. Outside the rumours there’s little reporting to suggest a decision has been made.

If the Pezet situation goes the way of the Eels or the Cows, then the Raiders still have a host of questions that are getting harder to answer. The big push for an experienced half to support the transition to Sanders seems dead. Halfbacks with first grade experience have been snapped up around the league.

We’ve covered this before, but the list of players Canberra have danced with and missed out on is long: Clifford, Smith, Ilias, to name a few. Other options keep finding homes. Jock Madden signed with the Tigers; Sean O’Sullivan looks to have a deal with the Dogs, replacing Toby Sexton, who’s off to the Catalans Dragons. Brad Schneider’s gone to the ’Phins. Jack Cogger back to the ’Riff. Jackson Hastings might be on his way to the Titans. I’m not sure what ‘supporting half’ options remain. If the Raiders miss out on Pezet, they’ll be all in on Sanders by necessity rather than choice.

If you’d asked me before the Pezet chase started, I’d have had no issue with that position. In fact, my bigger concern was Coach Stuart bringing in a middling half and stealing reps from Ethan Sanders’ development – a vain attempt to max out the now at the expense of the future. Perhaps that’s how the club ended up with Daine Laurie doing some approximation of backup across all halves positions. It feels like an imperfect decision, but there are simply dwindling options.

A further complication will be the impact on Ethan Sanders’ confidence. He’s gone from being the golden boy they let Jamal Fogarty leave for, to effectively the subject of a public questioning of his ability to win now. One would hope Coach Stuart has been clear with expectations and support, but if there were worries inside the house, it’s hard to see how this helps. Players often come back from such situations – the experiences of Xavier Savage and Corey Horsburgh under Stuart are good examples. But given what’s at stake next year, the risk is substantial.

With so much time and so many dominoes still to fall, the pathways Canberra can follow remain undecided. But if they don’t land the big fish, they’ll be forced back into their original plan. One that feels less certain than it did before the chase began.

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