Clive Churchill Medal. NSW and Australian debuts. NRL grand final.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
If Jack Wighton could do all that when he still unsure about his switch to five-eighth, imagine what the Canberra Raiders No.6 can do going into the season full of confidence.
It's a scary thought given how Wighton's 2019 panned out, launching him to become one of the best players in the NRL.
He'd spent the pre-season adjusting to a switch from fullback to the halves, but on the eve of last season doubts still remained.
A year on and Wighton has another pre-season under his belt and looks completely at ease.
He could even take on the additional duties of steering the Green Machine around the park, now that he'll be without his halves partner from last year's grand final, with Aidan Sezer joining the Huddersfield Giants in the off-season.
Sezer had those duties in 2019.
Raiders assistant coach Andrew McFadden, who will take charge of the team for this weekend's NRL Nines, said Wighton was transformed.
"This time last year Jack was probably still unsure about the whole No.6, but he really grabbed it and got better throughout the season," McFadden said.
"This year he's going to go in with a lot of confidence to develop his game.
"He obviously finished the season very well with him getting rep honours last year, playing in a grand final, Clive Churchill Medal.
"He's really set himself up now and he's going to be very important for us."
MORE CANBERRA SPORT
Wighton's close to signing a four-year deal that will take him into 13 seasons with the Raiders.
Canberra's also in discussions with co-captain Jarrod Croker and young gun Nick Cotric as they look to lock the off-contract trio down before the season starts.
McFadden said Wighton was the prototype for the kind of player you wanted in your team.
"If we're close [to re-signing him] then that will be great news for the club. He's extremely important," he said.
"The way he played last year, he's the prototypical player you want in your side.
"He's a great clubman. I'm glad he's going to be staying if that's the case."
Following Sezer's departure, Wighton will be joined in the halves by England international George Williams.
They've had limited opportunities to work together, with Williams currently struggling due to a quadriceps injury.
McFadden said Williams was close to being back to full fitness and would not only be ready to make his Raiders debut against the Gold Coast Titans at Canberra Stadium in round one, but also be fit for their pre-season trial against the Canterbury Bulldogs in Port Macquarie on February 29.
"He's had a few little issues in terms of injury, but he should be good to get back on the field pretty shortly," McFadden said of Williams.
"We're looking forward to seeing what he can do, but just from the snippets we've seen of him he's certainly very tough.
"He certainly fits into the style we want to play and that's that really aggressive, competitive mentality.
"He'll be fine [for round one]. He'll be fine for the trials as well."
NRL NINES
Friday: Canberra Raiders v Gold Coast Titans at Perth, 9.15pm.
Saturday: Canberra Raiders v South Sydney Rabbitohs, 3.55pm.
Raiders Nines squad: Harley Smith-Shield, Semi Valemei, Matthew Timoko, Michael Oldfield, Daine Spencer, Matthew Frawley, Sam Williams, Dunamis Lui, Siliva Havili, Sia Soliola, Jack Murchie, Elliott Whitehead, Ryan Sutton, Tom Starling, Duwanye Mariner, Dan Keir, Kai O'Donnell, Darby Medlyn.