Canberra Raiders superstar Jack Wighton has left his club in shock after it was reported yesterday that he will sign with the South Sydney Rabbitohs ahead of the 2024 season.
The decision came as a big surprise to many, after it was revealed that Wighton turned down an extra million dollars to stay with the club he’s been at for over 14 years.
Canberra has now formally lodged a complaint to the NRL over the involvement of third-party agreements in his Rabbitohs deal and his market value compared to the reported amount of money he will take with Souths.
Raiders’ legend and NRL immortal Mal Meninga admits he is disappointed in Wighton’s decision due to the time they spent developing him into a representative star.
“I would have loved to seen Jack finish his career with the Raiders obviously, they’ve certainly looked after him for many years, ever since he was a young fella,” Meninga told SENQ Mornings.
“He’s been in quite a lot of froth and bubble, and they’ve certainly looked after him over that period of time to a stage that he’s become a really good rugby league player, outstanding NRL player and he’s a rep player as well.
“Obviously they’ve nurtured him through that period where he’s at a stage in his life now where he’s at the backend of his career and he’s got to make some decisions on what he wants to do.”
Meninga followed on with his theory that Wighton doesn’t trust his teammates or the club enough to deliver a premiership that has alluded him in his career.
“He’s made the decision based on, (that) he wants to win a premiership, that’s the first part,” Meninga added.
“For me Jack obviously hasn’t got any confidence in the Raiders (winning) a premiership in the near future, which disappoints me, to be honest with you,
“In my opinion, he’s a leader of the club. He’d want to win a premiership with the club this year, wouldn’t he? Anyone that’s playing in the game at the moment wants to get on a run and win the premiership.
“From my perspective, he’s got no faith in the club to win a premiership in the next three to four years, obviously he’s got plenty of faith in the Rabbitohs to do that.
“There’s no other reason, it’s not even money related is it, the Raiders offered him more money than the Rabbitohs offered him.
“My thoughts being, he’s got no faith in the Raiders, that’s his decision, he’s going to the Rabbitohs to win a premiership, that’s probably the only thing missing from his career.”
Wighton is expected to officially sign with the Rabbitohs in the coming days for a deal wroth around $3.3 million over the next four years.