For the first time since this mess all began there is a real sense that Hudson Young may actually be staying at the club.
Ricky Stuart reiterated his confidence to the Canberra Times on the weekend, noting that:
I’m very confident things will proceed very quickly. His manager’s away at the moment, but for our members, our sponsors and supporters, I’m very confident that Hudson will be a Raider.
This is the bit where we tell you how Stick doesn’t usually put it on wax if he’s not super sure. In previous years when reporters have siad the Raiders are close to a deal, it’s usually led to that being put on paper.
If it’s true, it’s a massive turnaround. The public reporting for a long time has been one of frustration from Young’s end a desire to get the big money that the Chiefs were offering. Canberra were pushing a technicality on market rate. The Chiefs, and Young, seemed intent on waiting until November to potentially ‘drop’ his market rate so he could take the Chiefs deal.
It felt like a tenuous position on all sides. The Chiefs and Young had no idea if the league would buy their shenanigans. The RLPA surely would have got involved with players deliberately tanking market rates, because that would have impact on other players at their positions. The Raiders were just hoping that the NRL showed some spine.
While the NRL seemed likely to hold fast on the market rate, even then it could have been easily eclipsed by the Chiefs. It seemed insane to me that Papua New Guinea (the team, not the country) would go to all this effort and then get cold feet over the $100k it would take to get their offer up to the rate. It’s less than a percent of the salary cap – 0.84 per cent to be precise.
But Stick seems confident that all those pieces are going to fall into place. And that’s backed by the scuttlebutt that is being passed around the dark corners of the Raiders’ internet. I’m not saying it’s a done deal (though I guess Stuart is?) but it certainly is looking brighter than any time since Hudson started the discussions.
I’d be wary of writing names in sharpie. Hudson’s manager, Sam Ayoub, being away, is a familiar bit of the story we hate. At Christmas they were reportedly about to land deals with Morgan Smithies and Ata Mariota before Ayoub took the world’s longest Christmas holiday (fully support, we all need our recharge), negotiations seemed to stagnate, and the Raiders ended up going one-for-two on those deals.
Stuart has also proclaimed his confidence this would be resolved in Canberra’s favour before. Back when this started he made a similar statement, expecting a deal to be done with Hudson in the very near future. Time came and went and nothing happened.
Because we are just watching from the outside it’s hard to tell if that was a factual statement or an overconfident misstep. This all could have been shenanigans to get the best deal out of the Milk. Hudson could have been ready to leave before the market rate thing happened. He could have been all those things at once and spring has reminded him that mornings in Canberra are some of the most exquisite vistas this blue orb has to offer. We just can’t know right now.
But if we were maudlin before, we’re now wiping the tears away like an exhausted toddler with a second ice cream to help mourn the one melting on the ground. This looks much better than it did a precious few moments ago. We’re still watching the clock – if it gets close to 1 November and we still don’t have a deal, then the previous concerns arise. Right now though, with this statement, it’s starting to feel like the Raiders might be able to keep their young charger.
But it’s fair to say if things have changed before, they can change again. Confidence is good. But a signature would be better.
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