![\"Dan](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/c6acc0581c14a7477781e092516e1810bef13f2c.png\")
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August 23, 2026 \u2014 1:06pm<\/p>\n
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Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n AAA<\/p>\n NSW Origin star Hudson Young will leave a record $3.3 million Raiders deal on the table \u2013 for now at least \u2013 as the club grants him a brief window to explore interest from cashed-up expansion franchise the PNG Chiefs.<\/p>\n Young\u2019s management will formally request a week-long period to enter negotiations with Chiefs management early in September after meeting with Canberra officials on Friday.<\/p>\n The Raiders last week increased their initial three-year contract extension for Young to $3.3 million<\/a>, the largest salary offered in Canberra\u2019s history, in the hope they could tie down one of the game\u2019s hottest properties.<\/p>\n But given the Chiefs\u2019 entry into the player market with tax-free salaries, the Raiders understand Young\u2019s desire to explore interest from the franchise.<\/p>\n Canberra plan to grant Young permission to negotiate only with PNG, and potentially tour the Chiefs\u2019 facilities in early September, once his season-ending Achilles injury has healed to the point that he no longer needs crutches.<\/p>\n The Raiders are in the midst of a significant overhaul of their forward pack and do not want to wait until November 1 when Young becomes a free agent for an answer, given how much of their salary cap he would take up.<\/p>\n While Canberra offered Jack Wighton a $4 million, four-year deal<\/a> in 2023 before he ultimately joined Souths for less money, the $1.1 million a season they have put to Young is the richest in Raiders history.<\/p>\n Canberra\u2019s faint finals hopes were officially doused in Friday\u2019s 34-30 loss to Brisbane.<\/p>\n Front-row legend Josh Papalii (retirement), Corey Horsburgh and Morgan Smithies (Perth Bears), and Jayden Brailey (Wests Tigers) will all exit the club at the end of the season. Chief executive Don Furner last week acknowledged the Raiders need to recruit middle forwards.<\/p>\n Horsburgh\u2019s three-year Bears deal \u2013 worth about $2 million in total \u2013 was formally announced on Sunday.<\/p>\n Broncos prop Jaiyden Hunt recently met with Canberra officials, while the club is anticipating upheaval in a particularly volatile player market<\/a> once the season ends.<\/p>\n Young\u2019s move to meet with PNG does not necessarily mean he is signed and sealed as their latest big-name recruit, and no negotiations have taken place yet due to the NRL\u2019s anti-tampering rules.<\/p>\n While the Chiefs\u2019 tax-free wage arrangements \u2013 courtesy of legislated agreements between the Australian and PNG governments \u2013 provide a significant advantage in the market, any NRL contract must still be registered at what the salary cap auditor deems a player\u2019s market value.<\/p>\n Canberra\u2019s $1.1 million offer to Young, along with his status as an elite, representative back-rower in his prime, will ensure any PNG offer must be in that ballpark before tax-free exemptions are included.<\/p>\n PNG have also begun talks with Titans star AJ Brimson after he was given permission to explore an early exit from the Gold Coast.<\/p>\n Brimson is on around $900,000 a year and signed with the Titans until the end of 2030, but will pursue a crack at fullback elsewhere in the NRL given Kiano Kini has locked down the Gold Coast\u2019s No.1 jumper.<\/p>\n Along with Young, there has also been significant focus on the futures of Canterbury\u2019s Jacob Preston (24) and Panthers champion Liam Martin (29) before they come off contract on November 1.<\/p>\n Martin\u2019s management will meet with Penrith this week seeking a three-year extension and an indication of what the club can afford to pay him under an increased salary cap from 2028 when the new broadcast deal comes in effect.<\/p>\n Related Article Martin may yet seek permission to negotiate early with NRL rivals in the same way Penrith granted Brian To\u2019o and Moses Leota<\/a> week-long free agency windows earlier this year.<\/p>\n The Bulldogs will also continue talks with Preston, meanwhile, amid reports the club has made the rising back-rower a surprisingly low offer of about $650,000 a season.<\/p>\n Canterbury coach Cameron Ciraldo was not happy negotiations were being played out in public, saying, \u201cIt has been quite disappointing that those things have come out through the media\u201d. He also dismissed suggestions Preston was underwhelmed by Canterbury\u2019s contract stance.<\/p>\n Save<\/p>\n You have reached your maximum number of saved items.<\/p>\n Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n![\"Hudson](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/89ab35ce1d563f5f7b1ba1dcc864410a918ee7c4.jpeg\")
Hudson Young has left a record offer from the Raiders on the table for now.Getty Images<\/p>\n![\"Titans](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/6d6a84951c3d65ea98799424413446b216279449.jpeg\")
Titans playmaker AJ Brimson.Getty Images<\/p>\n![\"Hudson](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1787461094_341_e171452fc4b11e9550f5837b1028058e11301f94.jpeg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Dan](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/1773949213_774_c6acc0581c14a7477781e092516e1810bef13f2c.png\")
Dan Walsh<\/a> is a sports reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via X<\/a> or email<\/a>.From our partners<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"August 23, 2026 \u2014 1:06pm Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":865158,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[568],"tags":[64,63,761,762,158,85],"class_list":["post-865157","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nrl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-national-rugby-league","tag-nationalrugbyleague","tag-nrl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/865157","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=865157"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/865157\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/865158"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=865157"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=865157"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=865157"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}