BY DAN

This time last week we were lamenting the Canberra Raiders’ failed pursuit of Jonah Pezet. But if reports are to be believed, Canberra may have dodged one of the most bizarrely shaped bullets in recent times.

The upshot is that reports are suggesting Pezet is expected to sign a one year deal with the Eels for 2026, and a multi-year deal with the Broncos from 2027. This makes sense for the premiers – essentially locking in a long term halfback for when Adam Reynolds and Ben Hunt shuffle off the (footy) mortal coil. It is a choice of Pezet over long-hyped Coby Black, but that’s a similar choice most teams involved were having to make. That’s the job of recruiters.

But for the Eels it’s a less perfect outcome. One year of Pezet just means less reps for developing options like Joash Papalii, an effective rejection of him, at least in the short term. It also doesn’t mean a permanent solution, and diverts investment beyond building the Eels into a long-term contender. Pezet isn’t without risk – though much less than most young halves. He’s fit in and around halves as dominant as Mitch Moses before. But he won’t be the difference between Parra being good and great. He’s a temporary sugar hit, an investment the Eels won’t have time to see a return on.

This is exactly what we’d been worried about for the Raiders. A short term loan may have been appealing in the hope of competing for the whole shebang in 2026, but if it hadn’t paid off it would have left Canberra standing in the breeze with nary a thread to cover their ass. Sanders might have left, or at least stalled developmentally, and the Raiders wouldn’t have been any better for it — just further from finding out what they already had in their own backyard.

Our main concern through all this was that an unsuccessful chase could dent Sanders’ confidence. That wasn’t entirely avoided, but the quick withdrawal and lack of public fanfare should help soften the blow. A few weeks of yelling at forwards in pre-season tends to cure most ailments. If Sanders is the man, we’ll know soon enough.

Pezet landing in Brisbane only suggests that the Raiders initial pose – to say they’d take him on loan as a backup half, and to declare they were out of the race relatively early – was an astute reading of what was actually coming down the pipeline. They were under no illusions that they were battling with the big end of the market. They didn’t want to be leveraged for the amusement of others.

The next subplot to watch is what happens with the Eels’ other halves. Dean Hawkins is signed through 2026, but Pezet’s arrival might prompt him to look elsewhere. There’s already been some noise about Raiders interest, and if they managed to lure him south, it’d be a tidy fit — an experienced backup to support Sanders’ development.

Make no mistake. The Milk may have preferred to sign Pezet on a long deal but that was unlikely. Canberra have managed – by hook or by crook – to escape this with a good set of cards in their hands, and with many pathways to playing them. That’s the upshot. This could have ended better, but it also could have ended worse. The Raiders have dodged that bullet. 

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