Havard

Harry Rushton is the player named in the article.

Ill gladly pay his air fare

Losing Rushton would be a huge shame. He looks a terrific prospect. At only 18/19 he’s already a big lad but is athletic and a real dynamic runner of a ball. The prospects of starting to lose kids like Rushton and Havard worries me far more than losing established players. The club gets nothing out of these types of losses.

I agree. It's never bothered me losing players who have played five or more years in the 1st team if we get a decent fee for them, but we should be keeping the likes of Havard, Rushton and McDonnell.

Rushton is potentially an excellent prospect
and I agree 100% that this is very worrying indeed
I wonder why Canberra seem almost obsessed with British players?

Cheap I guess and it must be a reasonably easy sell. As a club they’ve seen their fortunes turn around since signing Whitehead, Hodgson and even more so Bateman, so they’ll keep going down that path you’d imagine. This type of signing would be a first (young and untested) but it’s low risk and for British kids, there probably isn’t the competition that there is for juniors in Sydney, Queensland etc.

It's happened before with Saints and Leeds. Saints lost Levy Nzoungou and Andre Savelio, Leeds with Mason Tonks and Jordan Baldwinson.
None of them really made it over there which should be a warning to most young players.

The players you've mentioned above were all established 1st teamers over here.

It is a cunning plan by IL and the Canberra District Rugby League Football Club ltd to convert The Canberra Raiders into The Wigan Raiders

Didn't Matty Russell go over there too?

Yes he did.

Keith Mason and Ian Sibbitt also

Chris Thorman

Richie Mathers

Jordan Tansey