Canberra Raiders coach Ricky Stuart has taken a swipe at the NRL over its contracting system as the club prepares for life without Jack Wighton.
With the five-eighth taking up a four-year deal at the South Sydney Rabbitohs, his time in the capital city will finish at the end of the season and Stuart revealed his heartache at the decision.
“Yesterday, Jack informed the club that he would not be re-signing with the Raiders beyond this season,” he said in a statement on Wednesday.
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“I want to reassure you all that the club did everything possible to keep Jack at the Raiders and we wanted nothing more than to see him reach 300 games and become a one-club player.
“I want to let our loyal members and fans know that I bleed green as much as you do, and as much as it hurts today, our future is still ahead of us, and we will continue on the path we best see fit to give this club the success it deserves.”
Wighton joins a long list of NRL stars who have agreed to play at another club with more than half of the season still to go.
Under the current system, players are free to negotiate with rival clubs from November 1, a year out from when their contract expires.
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Both Herbie Farnworth and Tom Flegler will leave the Broncos to play for close rivals the Dolphins, Knights winger Dominic Young signed with the Roosters in February and Stephen Crichton announced in January he’d be switching from Panthers to Bulldogs.
Stuart was fierce in his criticism of the current system, explaining fans are the biggest losers out of the whole situation.
“As a club, we believe the current contracting system where players can sign well out from the end of their current contract is flawed,” he said.
“It is not fair to you (the fans) who I see as our major stakeholders, the club, and as importantly the players. I know it would have been hard for you, our Raiders fans, because I know what the feeling was like for me, to see an image of Jack in a Souths jersey (digitally altered) on the back page of a Sydney paper today.
“What we can do, is to assure you that the club will continue to invest in our successful development and pathways systems and continue to give players the opportunity to represent you and our great club, like so many have done over the last 40-plus years.”
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