Canberra Raiders star Jack Wighton to test the open market

It's not the news Canberra Raiders fans were hoping for, given Wighton had an option in his favour for 2024.

But there's potentially some good contract news on the horizon with the Raiders opening contract talks to extend both Hudson Young and Emre Guler, who were off-contract at the end of 2024 and '23 respectively.

Wighton's decided against taking that up yet and will instead see what he can get elsewhere.

It doesn't mean he won't remain with the Green Machine beyond this season, and he could still end up signing an upgraded deal to remain in Canberra.

But it would be a big blow to the Raiders if he were to leave, with their attack built around the hard-running half.

It would also leave Canberra scrambling to find a replacement - although having missed out on Gold Coast star David Fifita, and with the money from the final year of Wighton's $3.5 million, four-year extension, they'd have something of a war chest to help land one.

There's not a lot of options on the market, with Luke Brooks and Kyle Flanagan two of the bigger halves off-contract at the end of the season.

There's also been talk of St Helens young gun Lewis Dodd wanting to test himself in the NRL, but he's contracted to his English Super League club until the end of 2024 - with options for two years after that.

It's the first time Wighton's gone to the market since joining the Raiders as a junior from Orange.

He made the decision after meeting with advisor Matt Rose, who's currently in England, last week.

Wighton would make a raft of rival NRL clubs better by joining them, having won Dally M and Clive Churchill medals, and become a representative player for both NSW and Australia.

He's played 224 NRL games for the Green Machine since making his debut against the Gold Coast in 2012.

Everyone from the Wests Tigers and Redcliffe Dolphins to the Sydney Roosters could be interested in the hard-running No.6.

Raiders chief executive Don Furner vowed they would do everything they could to keep the 30-year-old.

"Jack's been very loyal to us for 14 years - never tested himself on the open market, he's got every right to do that," he said.

"Now's probably the perfect time given the suspension, but we definitely want to keep him and we've told him that.

"When his management gets back from overseas we'll continue those discussions.

"He probably wants to make sure he's setting himself up - he's got a young family - and I fully understand he wants to make sure he's getting the right deal.

"But we certainly intend to keep him."

MORE RAIDERS NEWS

Raiders prop Joe Tapine said Wighton's suspension was a huge loss for the Green Machine, but they had to move forward.

He backed Matt Frawley to come in and do the job.

The Penrith clash will be Tapine's 150th game for the Raiders, having moved to Canberra after playing 20 NRL games for Newcastle.

"[Wighton]'s a huge leader, especially in our backline and for the whole team, but we've got to move forward," Tapine said.

"Frawls, every time he comes in, does a great job. His kicking game is beautiful and he always puts it in the corner.

"You know what you're going to get from Frawls every week."

Tapine hoped he'd re-ignite his front-row pairing with Josh Papali'i.

Papali'i played his first game after a calf injury in the loss to the Knights, but started on the bench.

He's been named to start against Penrith's big boppers James Fisher-Harris and Moses Leota.

Tapine felt Papali'i, like a thoroughbred horse, would be better for the run on the weekend.

Papali'i played 36 minutes and ran for 103 metres against Newcastle, but said after the game he was "gassed" - especially during the first half.

He only spent four minutes on the field with Tapine in the first half and then the final seven minutes of the game as well.

Tapine was hoping to build on that in the coming weeks, with the duo one of the best front-row pairings in the NRL.

"I hope so. I'm looking forward to building our combo back. I love playing with big Papi," he said.

"It's a big challenge this week so we need him out there as long as possible.

"Last week was good for him to get a gauge on his minutes and ease his way back into it."

NRL ROUND FIVE

Friday: Canberra Raiders v Penrith Panthers at Canberra Stadium, 6pm.

Raiders squad: 1. Sebastian Kris, 2. Albert Hopoate, 3. Matt Timoko, 4. Harley Smith-Shields, 5. Jordan Rapana, 6. Matt Frawley, 7. Jamal Fogarty, 8. Josh Papalii, 9. Zac Woolford, 10. Joe Tapine, 11. Hudson Young, 12. Elliott Whitehead, 13. Corey Harawira-Naera. Interchange: 14. Tom Starling, 15. Emre Guler, 16. Pasami Saulo, 17. Corey Horsburgh. Reserves: 18. Brad Schneider, 19. James Schiller, 20. Peter Hola, 21. Trey Mooney, 22. Jarrod Croker.

Panthers squad: 1. Dylan Edwards, 2. Sunia Turuva, 3. Izack Tago, 4. Stephen Crichton, 5. Brian To'o, 6. Jarome Luai, 7. Nathan Cleary, 8. Moses Leota, 9. Mitch Kenny, 10. James Fisher-Harris, 11. Scott Sorensen, 12. Zac Hosking, 13. Isaah Yeo. Interchange: 14. Tyrone Peachey, 15. Lindsay Smith, 16. Spencer Leniu, 17. Jaeman Salmon. Reserves: 18. Matt Eisenhuth, 19. Jack Cogger, 20. Chris Smith, 21. Kurt Falls, 22. Thomas Jenkins.

We've made it a whole lot easier for you to have your say. Our new comment platform requires only one log-in to access articles and to join the discussion on The Canberra Times website. Find out how to register so you can enjoy civil, friendly and engaging discussions. See our moderation policy here.