Hudson Young is leaving, Liam Martin might be coming, Ethan Strange is being chased by the Roosters. It’s all happening for the Canberra Raiders, and it’s not even 1 November. The news comes from various sources, notably the Daily Telegraph and Fox Sports.
The news that Hudson Young, and then Sam Walker, have had offers from their respective clubs rescinded, has created a hullaballoo in the rugby league media. It puts the Raiders at a loss, though with cap space, and the Roosters in a position seeking vengeance, or at least the stars to which they feel entitled. In this mess it’s not surprising these rumours are popping up.
Let’s start with the obvious. It seems both Young and Walker are gone from their respective homes. There was reporting Tuesday that suggested the Roosters would be open to Walker being released immediately. The Raiders haven’t been so cavalier about Young, and their statement emphasised they expected to keep him for 2027. But things move fast in this world.
Attempting to get Martin as a replacement for Young would be fortuitous. I’ve never been Martin’s biggest fan, but it’s clear that he plays with an intensity and effectiveness that would suit the Raiders’ needs at backrow. He’s a vastly different kind of crazy to Young; he won’t be the player grubbering for himself, but he’ll offer a harder-run line, and more ferocious contact in defence (if not the same middle linebacker style sweeping cover that Young offered for his outside backs).
Paying him the $1m that he’s reportedly seeking would be a lot, but it’s the same risk they were taking with Hudson, and if like Young’s deal it doesn’t include ratchets, it will be a very affordable million dollar deal by the time the new agreement comes into effect. And that comes without the worries of Young’s body.
But it feels like a stretch to suggest this is likely. Martin is clear that he would prefer to stay in Penrith:
Hopefully fingers crossed we can work out a deal and I stay there (Penrith). I absolutely love being there. It’s still my No.1 choice to stay, so hopefully we can work out a deal. But that’s the reality of football that sometimes it doesn’t play out.
If he does end up leaving, Martin *should* have a heap of suitors. Maybe none as cashed up as the Raiders. Perhaps this is the sadness talking, but it seems a long shot to think that Martin is a realistic option. But it doesn’t hurt to try. At the very least, with the Chiefs likely signing Cooper Bai and Young, there’s a greater than zero chance that if he wants the big dollars, Martin has to come to Canberra.
Canberra will need to be circumspect though, because the injured monster to their north is seeking recompense for likely losing their star halfback. And the most obvious link has already been drawn – dragging Ethan Strange back to the Roosters. The reporting has largely made this inference without attribution, but given Strange isn’t on the market until 1 November next year, and is signed to the Raiders through 2028, there’s little the Roosters can say legally without being accused of
But that doesn’t mean they’re not interested. Perhaps the journalists writing these pieces made the connection themselves. Given the personal connections of Strange to the club (his sister plays for the NRLW team, and his father coaches it), it’s an easy bow to draw. But it’s also something they probably heard from the club. Unofficially of course.
The only thing that makes it bearable is that the timeline doesn’t really match up. The Roosters need a half now, and Ethan Strange won’t be signable for 12 months, and couldn’t play for them until 2029 – presuming the Raiders hold their nerve. Given the extent of change that is purported to be coming with the chaotic official entrance of the Chiefs to the 1 November market this year, it seems over-the-top to start drawing things in pen for 2029 now.
But that won’t stop people talking about, and sometimes that turns it into reality. If I was the Raiders I wouldn’t panic, but would make sure that Ethan knows that his future is in green and his preferred position. I would also make sure my to-do list for the start of 2027 includes offering him the moon, the stars, Elon Musk’s bank balance and a choc-chip muffin to extend his time in Canberra until the heat-death of the sun.
I would tell him that him, Owen Pattie, Noah Martin, Kaeo Weekes and Sav Tamale are going to deliver a golden era, a cathartic and cleansing response to the continued mistreatment of the Raiders by the rugby league community, one that will make them not just heroes in Canberra, but goddamn immortal. Bondi may make him money, but he’ll never be short of that.
Winning in Canberra will give him legitimacy. Credibility. A man who achieved something, instead of another Kevin Durant looking for an easy track to a promised-land that underwhelms when it’s realised it’s not earned. And then I’d probably need someone to wake me up because evidently I’m going to be late for work if I’m dreaming so late into the morning.
But that’s a longer-term problem, at least that’s what it seems like now. Things have been moving quickly, and right now we don’t know if that’s a hype train arriving or if it’s the initiative of real chaos coming. I’d say buckle in, but most Raiders fans are already comatose from the blows they’ve suffered already. So instead, I offer patience and hope. What’s the worst that could happen?
Don’t answer that.
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