Canberra Raiders wait on NRL salary cap news before making final roster moves

The Canberra Raiders' top 30 squad might be full, but they have the salary cap space and ability to sign a couple of players if they pop up. While the Green Machine published a senior roster of 29 on Monday, they have added Samoa hooker Danny Levi on a two-year deal. English Super League club Huddersfield Giants released Levi last month to allow the hooker to return to Australia. That nominally completes their top 30, but they do have the flexibility to re-classify some contracts to open up room in the top squad. For now they've elevated young hooker Adrian Trevilyan, who's recovering from a knee reconstruction, and second-rower Clay Webb to the senior squad. Trevilyan's knee injury was the catalyst for Levi's addition to the squad to ensure Tom Starling and Zac Woolford weren't Canberra's only dummy halves in the squad. The Raiders have elevated JJ Clarkson, Zane Dunford and Ethan Strange to development contracts, while they've landed former Penrith NSW Cup lock Hohepa Puru on an on-going training contract. Raiders chief executive Don Furner confirmed they would have room in their salary cap for next year. MORE CANBERRA SPORT But because they still don't know what the salary cap is for the 2023 NRL season he was unsure exactly how much room they would have. The NRL, Rugby League Players' Association and clubs were still locked in discussions to determine what it should be. This year's salary cap was $9.4 million. But Furner expected the Raiders would have some room to add some players if they become available. That's how they landed Corey Harawira-Naera, when the Canterbury Bulldogs released him midway through the 2020 season. "Yes we do. It depends what happens after the audit when they come down and it depends on what happens with the salary cap," Furner said. "We don't know what the salary cap is yet. There's lots of moving parts to it, there always is - but more so in the year of a [collective bargaining agreement]." The Raiders young players began their pre-season on Thursday, which included NRL players James Schiller and Trey Mooney. MORE CANBERRA RAIDERS NEWS: Then there'll be another batch beginning next Thursday, which will include the likes of Xavier Savage, Brad Schneider, Albert Hopoate and Ata Mariota. The main group will begin November 24 - including Nick Cotric, Starling and Woolford - with the Raiders at the Rugby League World Cup to start coming in in late December through until the second week of January. It'll be the Green Machine's first pre-season under new high-performance manager Josh Strahorn, who has made the cross-code switch after leaving the ACT Brumbies. Raiders top 30: Nick Cotric, Jarrod Croker, Jamal Fogarty, Matt Frawley, Emre Guler, Corey Harawira-Naera, Peter Hola, Albert Hopoate, Corey Horsburgh, Sebastian Kris, Ata Mariota, Trey Mooney, Josh Papalii, Jordan Rapana, Pasami Saulo, Xavier Savage, James Schiller, Brad Schneider, Harley Smith-Shields, Tom Starling, Joseph Tapine, Matt Timoko, Adrian Trevilyan, Semi Valemei, Clay Webb, Elliott Whitehead, Jack Wighton, Zac Woolford, Hudson Young. Development players: JJ Clarkson, Zane Dunford, Brad Morkos, Ethan Strange. On-going training squad: Elijah Anderson, Michael Asomua, Jordan Martin, Hohepa Puru. 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. 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: