Raiders withdraw A$4.4 million offer as Young weighs PNG move
Coach Ricky Stuart says Canberra could not increase its offer, while the PNG Chiefs have proposed a tax-free A$900,000 annual package.
Canberra have withdrawn a four-year contract offer worth A$4.4 million to Hudson Young, who has travelled to Port Moresby while considering a move to the PNG Chiefs.
Raiders coach Ricky Stuart said the club had reached its limit with the proposed A$1.1 million annual salary. He said increasing it further would have been unfair to Canberra, and that he and chief executive Don Furner had to protect the club's interests.
The Chiefs, who enter the competition in 2028, have offered Young A$900,000 a year tax-free. That arrangement would leave him with more take-home pay than Canberra's proposal. The NRL initially assessed his market value at A$1.1 million before revising it to A$1 million.
ARLC chairman Peter V'landys said players could contest their assessed value through submissions to the salary cap auditor. He said exceptional circumstances could be considered, but PNG's tax-free status required particular care to prevent salary cap manipulation.
Stuart said Young was entitled to explore other opportunities, although he believed money was driving the potential move. Asked about a possible departure for another club in 2027, before the Chiefs begin playing, he said that was a matter for Young's management.
Young, 28, is recovering from an Achilles rupture sustained against South Sydney in July. He debuted for Canberra in 2019 and has made 155 NRL appearances for the club.
