Canberra Raiders star Hudson Young has been offered the biggest contract in club history as the outfit struggle to retain their State of Origin representative second-rower.
Young has become one of the best forwards in the game over the last year and a half, but his contract expiring at the end of 2027 has him firmly in the sights of the PNG Chiefs.
As it stands, that club already have six high-profile signings, but with Jarome Luai, Alex Johnston, Zac Lomax and Brian To'o making up four of them, and the others being English prop Matty Lees and utility Connor Watson, the next major objectives for the club are securing a halfback and more forwards.
Their tax-free benefits mean they can offer players higher wages without breaking the salary cap, although it has to be noted they can't simply go and offer 30 contracts on a million dollars - they are still bound by the same salary cap as every other team in the competition.
It means the amount of players they may be able to offer such large deals to, given the contract already out for Luai, is limited, but Young has become a key target.
It was revealed earlier that Young has already been offered a million dollars per season by the Raiders, but that the club have now increased their offer by six figures, up to $1.1 million per year per a News Corp report over the next three seasons, with ratchet clauses also likely to drive the figure up as the salary cap increases in line with the new TV deal.
Expansion has pushed player values to skyrocket, with the Raiders now needing to pull out their biggest offer in history to secure Young.
Even that may not be enough though, and there were suggestions earlier this week the Raiders would in the coming days explore the possibility of Young being given a seven-day window to negotiate with PNG before the end of the season.
That was exactly what the Penrith Panthers did recently with Brian To'o, and the star winger who scored a hat-trick against the Melbourne Storm on Thursday evening has confirmed he will move to the Chiefs in 2028.
If Young is given a window to negotiate with the Chiefs, it could see him become the club's seventh signing ahead of the November 1 deadline, when they will be able to negotiate with all other off-contract players.
The club have also expressed confidence in landing an elite halfback shortly after the deadline, recently pausing negotiations with Cameron Munster to ensure they can have a full look at the market to understand who will partner Luai when the Willie Peters-coached side play their first game in 2028.
