sport, raiders, raiders, canberra raiders, nrl, jack wighton, josh hodgson, latrell mitchell

An option knock back has Jack Wighton in the mix to create a piece of Canberra Raiders history. He could even be the next NRL player to become a million-dollar baby. Even if he's not the next, he could still be the Green Machine's first to pass the seven-figure mark. Manly fullback Tom Trbojevic recently joined the club with his six-year extension to stay a Sea Eagle, while his brother Jake fell just short. Sydney Roosters star Latrell Mitchell could beat Wighton to the punch, with the Wests Tigers circling after the Roosters pulled their $1.6 million, two-year, extension offer from the table. The Tigers are chasing the Kangaroos centre hard to bring him to the joint venture - potentially as early as next season. He would join a growing list of NRL players who are earning the magical figure on an annual basis. MORE CANBERRA NEWS North Queensland Cowboys lock Jason Taumalolo has a mega 10-year, $10-million deal. Melbourne Storm skipper Cameron Smith's another. Same with Trbojevic's captain Daly Cherry-Evans. Australia fullback James Tedesco joined the ranks when he shifted from Wests to the Sydney Roosters and has blossomed since. It has been more of a millstone around the necks of St George Illawarra halfback Ben Hunt and Gold Coast playmaker Ash Taylor. Both struggling to live up to their potential since putting pen to paper. Brisbane Broncos second-rower David Fifita is another candidate to sign for seven figures - provided things work out for him after he was locked up in a Bali jail for an alleged assault over the weekend. Clubs were reportedly queueing up to sign Fifita after a breakout season. Whether that interest now cools following his run-in with the law is still to play out. Wighton's off-contract with the Raiders after deciding to knock back an option for the 2021 campaign. That was worth up to $900,000 showing the ballpark the Canberra five-eighth is playing in. Part of the reason for rejecting the option was because he's switched managers to Matt Rose - who won't get paid until he negotiates a new deal for Wighton. If he took up the option, that wouldn't be until 2022. Good luck convincing a player manager to accept that. But another reason was to check his market value - clearly that could be close to $1 million per year. Wighton won the Clive Churchill Medal as the best player in the NRL grand final - in a losing side. He's capped off a stunning 2019 with his Kangaroos debut, having also made his State of Origin debut for the NSW Blues earlier in the year. It's marked an amazing rise since switching from fullback to five-eighth during last pre-season. It all adds up to extra dollars in the piggy bank. Raiders recruitment boss Peter Mulholland reckons there's only one true $1 million player in the NRL - Cameron Smith. But there's a few on the next tier down who can take the step to be worth that much coin. He felt Raiders co-captain Josh Hodgson was part of that group. Hodgson's a massive cog in the Green Machine, running the show just as Smith does for the Storm and often getting compared to the future Immortal. The thing counting against Hodgson is the fact he's signed on until the end of 2022, giving Wighton a big head start. The only other Raider in the mix would be warhorse Josh Papalii. He's won back-to-back Mal Meninga Medals as their best player and carried the Green Machine on his back at times during their run to the grand final. The 27-year-old has developed into one of the best props in the world, with the only thing holding him back the fact he doesn't play 80 minutes every week. He goes close though. Playing about 70 in not just the grand final, but the preliminary final as well. Papalii's also signed up until 2022 though. Bringing us back to Jack. The Raiders will do everything they can to keep him in the capital - especially after they stood by him during a tough 2018 that ended in a suspended jail sentence - but they might just have to create history to get it done.

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