Raiders land boom halfback on three-year deal

It's believed the Parramatta half has signed a three-year deal to join the Green Machine from 2025.

It's also believed the 19-year-old wants to see out his contract with the Eels, the Raiders happy to let him continue his development with the Sydney club before coming to Canberra at the end of the year.

If he did seek an early release he would need time to settle into Canberra by playing in the NSW Cup.

In contrast, by staying at Parramatta, he'll be playing NRL - having made his NRL debut against Manly in round eight, with the Eels having the bye on the weekend.

Usual Eels halfback Mitchell Moses is recovering from a broken foot, with an expected return in round 12 against South Sydney.

That means Sanders could have at least two more NRL games in the Parramatta No.7 jersey - against the Brisbane Broncos and the Melbourne Storm.

Raiders halves Kaeo Weekes and Ethan Strange guided the Green Machine to a massive come-from-behind victory over the Sea Eagles, potentially locking in their NRL spots until Jamal Fogarty returns from a biceps injury.

Fogarty is expected back in round 20-21, having met with the specialist on Monday.

The Raiders agreed terms with Sanders two weeks ago, the young No.7 then going into a 10-day cooling-off period.

Now that time is up he's able to put pen to paper to join the Raiders.

It's believed that's now happened and he'll be with Canberra from 2025-2027 at least.

The young halfback was very strong in his debut, partnering New Zealand international Dylan Brown in the halves.

He made four tackle busts and 32 tackles, playing on the left edge where winger Maika Sivo scored a hat-trick.

Meanwhile, the Raiders have re-signed Canberra juniors Alanna Dummett and Georgia Willey for the 2024 NRLW season.

The pair came through the Raiders' Tarsha Gale under-18 squad and were both development players in the NRLW squad.

They've now been elevated to the senior squad.

Bega-product Dummett played two NRLW games last year - when Felice Quinlan was injured - while Willey captained the Tarsha Gale side and was the inaugural recipient of the Katrina Fanning scholarship.

Raiders coach Darrin Borthwick said the pair showed there was a clear pathway for the women and girls of Canberra and the surrounding areas.

"Last year Alanna got an opportunity through someone else's injury and played quite well in the two games she did play," he said.

"I know she's gone away in pre-season and worked really hard and has come back in really good shape.

"Alanna deserves her spot in the top 24. A bit similar to Georgia, I'm looking forward to her really pushing to get into our starting team and that 17 each week.

"Georgia came through our Tarsha Gale system and persevered a little bit last year with being a development player and toiled away.

"She deserves her chance now and I'm really looking forward to seeing how she goes during pre-season.

"I'm really looking forward to Georgia pushing her claim to getting a start and really putting some pressure on our other players as well.

"Both Georgia and Alanna are very young still, but it's exciting for our pathways.

"For two players like Alanna and Georgia to be in the system and now being able to play NRLW is terrific for the community and for our area."