Canberra Raiders coach Ricky Stuart answers Jack Wighton Rabbitohs backflip rumours

Coach Ricky Stuart confirmed Wighton is still indeed off to Redfern next season, despite rumours circulating this week the star five-eighth had backflipped on his deal with the Rabbitohs.

"You've all rang me and asked me about that," Stuart said ahead of the Raiders' Saturday night clash against Brisbane in Canberra.

"I can certainly understand why he'd want to renege at the moment but, no, there's nothing [that's changed]."

Stuart was not so subtly referring to the controversy dominating Sydney rugby league headlines, over the eyebrow-raising departure of Rabbitohs assistant coach Sam Burgess.

The South Sydney legend and former captain parted ways with the club two weeks before the end of the regular season, as the Rabbitohs' finals hopes rely on victory in their final game against cross-city rivals, the Roosters.

And most curiously, the exit came days after leaked reports Burgess and fellow assistant John Morris had voiced their concerns over Latrell Mitchell, a close friend of Wighton, and Cody Walker not being held to the same standards as other players.

Wighton will no doubt be keeping up with the news about his next club, but for the remainder of the season, his focus is solely on getting the Green Machine firing for the finals.

Stuart said the decision whether Wighton or Seb Kris play this weekend will be up to their medical staff, with final teams to be submitted on Friday night.

The duo are currently named in the extended squad as they nurse hamstring injuries, but Stuart said he won't push them if they aren't ready.

"I'm not going to take a risk on them if they're not right," he said.

"Jack wouldn't want to let the boys was down by being at 90 per cent. He'll do a little bit of training [Thursday] but he trained with us last week too, and I still had to pull him out.

READ MORE CANBERRA RAIDERS NEWS:

"So it'll be a consultation with the medical staff Friday morning and we'll see from there.

"We've still got two games to go, it's an important part of the season now and the situation with Jack and Seb last week was that they could probably play, but if they aggravated it, it's a month [out], so I don't want to be put into that position."

Stuart also confirmed that winger Albert Hopoate should be right to take on the Broncos, after scans on his ribs revealed a minor "cartilage problem".

Canberra Raiders v Brisbane Broncos at Canberra Stadium, Saturday 7.35pm.

Raiders squad: 1. Jordan Rapana, 2. Albert Hopoate, 3. Jarrod Croker (c), 4. Matt Timoko, 5. Nick Cotric, 6. Matt Frawley, 7. Jamal Fogarty, 8. Josh Papali'i, 9. Zac Woolford, 10. Joe Tapine, 11. Hudson Young, 12. Elliott Whitehead (c), 13. Corey Horsburgh. Interchange: 14. Tom Starling, 15. Emre Guler, 16. James Schiller, 17. Ata Mariota. Reserves: 18. Pasami Saulo, 19. Brad Morkos, 20. Jack Wighton, 21. Sebastian Kris, 22. Adrian Trevilyan.

Broncos squad: 1. Reece Walsh, 2. Corey Oates, 3. Kotoni Staggs, 4. Herbie Farnworth, 5. Selwyn Cobbo, 6. Ezra Mam, 7. Jock Madden, 8. Thomas Flegler, 9. Billy Walters, 10. Payne Haas, 11. Kurt Capewell, 12. Jordan Riki, 13. Patrick Carrigan. Interchange: 14. Tyson Smoothy, 15. Brendan Piakura, 16. Kobe Hetherington, 17. Corey Jensen. Reserves: 18. Jesse Arthars, 19. Keenan Palasia, 20. Martin Taupau, 21. Tristan Sailor, 22. Deine Mariner.

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: