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The messy contract saga between the Canberra Raiders and promising forward Mitch Barnett appears to be over after a signed contract was discovered. Barnett will return to Canberra and honour the remaining two years of his contract after Raiders management produced the document last Thursday. The Raiders had threatened to take legal action over the matter when Barnett decided he would leave the club because no contract had been lodged with the NRL. The Raiders admitted Barnett's contract extension hadn't been lodged with the NRL, but were adamant there was a written agreement between the two parties. Barnett's manager Mandy Hull told Fairfax Media her client is focused on putting the dispute behind him as he recovers from a thumb injury. "I can imagine that it's not going to be the easiest thing to do, but all Mitch wants to do is get himself back into training, sort his injury out, make sure he's not lagging behind in his pre-season preparation and play the best footy he can, no matter where that is," Hull said. "The advice he was given from Rugby League Central based on what everyone knew prior to last Thursday (was that there wasn't a binding contract). "At the end of the day, there is now a binding contract and that's the end of it really." The Raiders declined to comment when contacted by Fairfax Media on Tuesday. Barnett was a notable absentee when the Raiders re-commenced pre-season training on Monday. It is unclear when he will rejoin the squad. He is currently in his home-town of Wingham on the mid-north coast of NSW recovering from a thumb injury sustained throwing a football in the off-season. Hull had emailed the Raiders on Friday, October 30 to inform them Barnett would not be returning to the club. The NRL's salary cap auditor ruled there was no binding contract between Barnett and the Raiders. The Raiders had announced in April that Barnett had signed a two-year extension until the end of 2017. Barnett played two games for the Raiders this year. He was named the player of the year in the NSW Cup, was picked in the NSW Cup team of the year and represented NSW Residents against Queensland Residents. At least one club had expressed interest in Barnett, with the Gold Coast Titans understood to have tabled a lucrative contract. Barnett had previously asked the Raiders for a release earlier this year after the club signed England international Elliott Whitehead to a two-year deal. Barnett faces plenty of competition for a spot in the Raiders first-grade team. Whitehead, Sia Soliola and Queensland representative Josh Papalii will battle for the starting places in the second-row. Papalii could also be moved to the front-row, an area where the Raiders have less depth. Country Origin representatives Paul Vaughan and Shannon Boyd are joined by experienced recruit Jeff Lima in the front-row. Barnett could also be used in the front-row, but has played the majority of his football in the second-row.

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