Canberra has been urged to heavily invest in strengthening its forward stocks as the club heads into a period of concern and uncertainty regarding its squad options.
With the Raiders losing Jayden Brailey (Wests Tigers), Corey Horsburgh (Perth Bears), Josh Papalii (retired) and Morgan Smithies (Perth Bears), as well as question marks over Hudson Young and Joe Tapine beyond next year, Canberra "have got a lot to work out" in their squad build.
Canberra has signed prop duo Lipoi Hopoi and Jiayden Hunt from Canterbury and Brisbane respectively, however the fringe pair aren't expected to move the needle too far in 2027.
Speaking on the NRL Contract Show, Scott Pryde raised his concerns with the Raiders' forward pack depth, highlighting the need for the Green Machine to "attack" the best forwards on the open market come November 1.
"You can't replace Horsburgh, Papalii, Smithies and Brailey with two fringe guys and a couple of young guys. It's just not going to happen," Pryde said.
"If you look at what's left on the open market for 2027, there's not a whole lot. So next year is going to be what it'll be. They need to get to November 1 and start looking at forwards.
"The other big question for Canberra is how long does Joe Tapine have left? He's certainly approaching the end of his career. As it stands, he has a player option for 2028. I'd expect him to take that and play to the end of that season before retiring. But there's no guarantee there.
"They have to get to November 1 and just attack forwards, attack middles. They probably need a forward pack leader for the long term, and then some moving parts around them.
"There's the Hudson Young situation going on as well. How much is he actually worth? Is it $1.1 million? Is it less? If they pay Hudson Young $1.1 million, it's going to take away some of the money that they could throw to some of the middle forwards on the open market.
"From a squad balance and roster point of view, Canberra have got a lot to work out, but there has to be a focus on the forwards."
