CANBERRA, AUSTRALIA - OCTOBER 01: Jack Wighton of the Raiders poses during a Canberra Raiders Training Session & Media Opportunity at GIO Stadium on October 01, 2019 in Canberra, Australia. (Photo by Mark Evans/Getty Images)
After a tumultuous 2018 in which Raiders five-eighth Jack Wighton was suspended from July to the end of the season after being found guilty of assault, the Orange CYMS junior turned it around in 2019, winning the Clive Churchill Medal, making his Origin debut for the Blues and being named in his first Kangaroos squad.
Following this career-best year for the green machine, The Sunday Telegraph has reported that Wighton's manager Matt Rose wants to take Wighton to market after rejecting a player option for 2021 worth $750,000, even though the Raiders were well within their rights to sack Wighton following his indiscretions in February 2018.
A hard running and versatile five-eighth capable of covering any position across the back-line, Wighton will be a hot commodity on the open market and could fetch upwards of $900,000 per year following his stellar performance in the Grand Final.
While WWOS has reported that the Wighton's first preference is to remain in the capital, it would have to be on more long-term and richer deal.
“This isn’t to say he wants to leave the Raiders,” Rose told The Sunday Telegraph.
“But a lot has happened in his career this year and he’s decided against taking up an option in his favour.
“When he signed the original contract, he wasn’t playing for NSW or Australia and he hadn’t won the Clive Churchill Medal on Grand Final day.
“I’m not doing my job as his manager unless we can check the market.”
Wighton will officially hit the open market on November 1st when he will be able to negotiate with rival clubs.