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The PNG Chiefs have paused their pursuit of Raiders and NSW Origin star Hudson Young based on concerns that matching Canberra’s record $1.1 million-a-year offer and the NRL’s market valuation would warp their salary cap.
Young has become the unwitting poster boy for recent angst among rival clubs around the Chiefs’ market power when he left the Raiders three-year, $3.3 million offer – the largest per annum in club history – on the table last month to explore interest from PNG.
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Looking to bring the situation to a head, Canberra CEO Don Furner granted Young permission to negotiate with PNG before he comes off contract on November 1 and also tour the incoming club’s Port Moresby facilities later this month.
Furner also followed up this masthead’s reporting with the NRL salary cap auditor that PNG must register any contract at what head office deems to be the player’s market value. That notion was reiterated by ARL Commission chair Peter V’landys in a fortnightly CEOs hook-up on Wednesday, without referencing Young specifically.
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Sources speaking on the condition of anonymity due to the delicate nature of negotiations have said that Canberra’s $1.1 million-a-year offer could prove insurmountable for the Chiefs, given they have budgeted to carry at most, a salary of $950,000 for Young.
The club has been told that figure is unlikely to be registered by the NRL’s salary cap auditor.
While Young is undoubtedly among the top few back-rowers in the NRL, clubs are yet to be provided with a new benchmarking document, which is used to help clubs ascertain player values based on market values.
The last available document from 2025 calculated the average wage of the top five highest paid second-rowers to be $887,635. Manly’s Haumole Olakau’atu and North Queensland’s Jeremiah Nanai featured in that quintet, as did David Fifita, who took a hefty pay cut when he moved from the Titans to South Sydney late last year.
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PNG’s tax-free wages and lucrative third-party earning opportunities offer a significant advantage in the market, prompting concerns across the game, particularly compared to the signing struggles of the Perth Bears, who begin their first pre-season in less than two months.
PNG has a rookie coach and general manager of football in Willie Peters and Michael Chammas, a former reporter at this masthead, shaping their roster, alongside recruitment chief and ex-player manager Liam Ayoub, and Chiefs officials are mindful of the club being used to drive player prices up, be it by player agents or rival clubs.
PNG splashed out $1.2 million on inaugural signing Jarome Luai, and have since added Alex Johnston, Zac Lomax, Joey Manu, Brian To’o, Connor Watson and Matty Lees to their 2028 roster.
While the salary cap for that season is predicted to rise to around $15 million, PNG have negotiated each of their seven contracts so far without the ratchet deals that are widespread across the NRL. Young’s three-year offer from Canberra did not include a ratchet clause, either.
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The NSW back-rower had been due to visit PNG next month, and Chiefs officials had been quietly confident of landing their key forward target given every player who has toured the country has subsequently signed.
As it stands from the Chiefs perspective, all talks will be paused until November 1, when Young enters regular free agency.
Speaking at the Blues awards night on Monday, the 28-year-old said ”I have no interest in playing for another NRL club, and [coach] Ricky [Stuart] and I have spoken about that.
“It’s more just the opportunity, with the PNG thing, and he’s been open and I’ve been transparent with him on how I feel and what I want to do”.
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Dan Walsh is a sports reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via X or email.AdvertisementAdvertisement