Contract talks between Canberra Raiders and young gun Nick Cotric have resumed after COVID-19 shut down all negotiations, reports The Canberra Times.
The 21-year-old is off-contract at season's end, but is committed to remaining at the club where he made is debut in 2017.
Cotric is seen as one of Raider's re-signing priorities after the club signed co-captain Jarrod Croker and Jack Wighton until the end of 2024.
Talks with Cotric's management and the club for an extension at the start of the year were put on hold after the coronavirus pandemic halted the 2020 season. A Canberra native, Cotric wants to remain in lime green.
"Definitely. I really like it here. It's my home town and we're in the process of doing all the that,' Cotric told The Canberra Times.
"It got a bit caught up there with the virus, we had those six weeks off. I'm just focusing on doing my job for the club and doing the best I can and trying to play good footy and do my best."
Ex-Raider Joey Leilua will face his old side on the weekend, with Cotric predicting Leilua would "come out firing".
It's a feeling shared by Raiders fullback Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad, who will have a role to play in shutting down Leilua.
"I'm expecting Joey to have a big game this weekend. Everyone's spoken about how good he'll be when we play him and the time's this weekend," Nicoll-Klokstad told The Canberra Times.
"I know he'll be doing his best to get right for this match and I'm sure he'll play a good game.
"Any person that leaves a club has a point to prove. They'll want to let the club they went from know that they lost a gem.
"He's a great player so he'll be doing whatever he needs to do to get himself right for this weekend.
"For us, it's just about worrying about what we can do, what we can control and that starts out here at training."
