Canberra Raiders make $4.4 million offer for star as Matty Nicholson also set for big call

Canberra Raiders are in the midst of a busy week and that’s seen them offer out a bumper contract, whilst also trying to tie down England star Matty Nicholson.

It’s expected that the NRL club will lose hooker Tom Starling, who is reportedly set to sign a three-year deal with St Helens, however, the Raiders are desperately trying to keep two second-row forwards.

The first of those is Hudson Young, who could be set to become one of the highest-paid players in the game with Canberra reportedly offering him a deal worth $4.4 million over four years.

That’s a whopping £2.3 million and it would see Young locked in at the club until the end of the 2031 season. The second-rower had been a target of incoming franchise PNG Chiefs, whose salaries are tax-free.

As such, the Chiefs had hoped to pay Young a lesser salary though his take-home would be higher, however, the NRL intervened and insisted that the Chiefs would have to pay his market value – that being whatever the Raiders were willing to offer.

That was initially $1.1 million a year over three years but per The Sydney Morning Herald, that’s increased to a four-year deal meaning Young could be set to stay with the Raiders long-term.

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