The Canberra Raiders have officially taken halfback Jamal Fogarty off the market, re-signing him on a two-year extension.
The deal will see Fogarty, who was already contracted with the green machine until at least the end of 2024, remain in the national capital until at least the end of 2026.
The halfback had reportedly been set to test the open market in the lead up to November 1, but hasn't wasted a great deal of time in making a decision over his future, with confirmation of his new contract coming just 29 days after he was able to negotiate with rival clubs.
It's believed other clubs had shown interest in Fogarty given the lack of talent in the number seven jumper coming off contract at the end of 2024, with multiple clubs having questions over the future of their halves.
Fogarty's call to remain in Canberra, where he moved in a surprise switch from the Gold Coast Titans at the end of the 2021 season, is a show of faith in the club and Ricky Stuart after they qualified for the finals by a slim margin in 2023, but head into 2024 without Jack Wighton.
The halfback said he was excited in the youth coming through at the club.
โThis year is a lot different losing a couple of key players in Jacko (Wighton) and Toots (Croker), but we've still got the majority of the senior boys here and got a lot of youth coming through which I'm really excited about,โ Fogarty said in a statement confirming the news.
โWe've got a good balance of experience and youth so hopefully a couple of those boys can step up this year and we can get a good start to the season and go better than we did last season. It's exciting times.โ
Fogarty also confirmed he never wanted to leave the Raiders, and said he was looking forward to helping to mentor the young halves, but also suggested he was ready to learn from them.
โBeing the one senior half now that Jacko's left, we've got a lot of young fellas in the halves so hopefully I can mentor them and teach them a couple of good habits, but also hopefully they can teach me a couple of things,โ Fogarty said.
โI'll watch their games and see where I can add to my attacking repertoire.โ
The re-signing of Fogarty is a crucial one for Canberra given Jack Wighton's exit, and recruitment manager Joel Carbone said the club belive he is the right man for the job of leading the club's attack.
โJamal is a terrific role model for our young emerging halves but also for all young Raiders fans,โ Carbone said.
โJamal's football has continued to improve since he joined our club, and we believe he's the right man to help us to bring through the next generation of halves while still being a pivotal member of the current squad.
โHe and his family have made a home here in Canberra and his work away from the football field mentoring the younger players and connecting with the community make him the perfect person to help guide us into the future.โ
