The NRL premiership dream that could take Jack Wighton out of the Canberra Raiders

Peter Sterling once said he would give every representative jersey away if it meant winning a grand final. Luckily for Sterlo, he won four. Jack Wighton is yet to break his duck.

The World Cup winner has become a mainstay in the representative arena and has Dally M and Clive Churchill medals to his name, but the Canberra Raiders five-eighth is entertaining a move elsewhere to chase a premiership before his career ends.

Wighton has opted against triggering a player extension said to be worth about $900,000 to stay at the Raiders next year, instead testing the market for what could be the last NRL contract he signs.

There is every chance the Raiders come back with a bigger offer and convince Wighton to stay - but more than half of the teams in the competition are circling.

It's likely going to take an eye-watering offer upwards of $1 million per season to take Wighton out of Canberra, but he wants to win a premiership and could pack his bags if he thinks a rival team is closer to a title than the Raiders.

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Complicating matters is a desire to live in Queensland. Wayne Bennett's Dolphins have emerged as a serious player in negotiations, while Parramatta and the Wests Tigers have expressed interest.

There are countless layers of intrigue. Some can't believe Wighton is thinking about walking away from a club that has nurtured and protected him - on and off the field - while others think it's fair enough he's going to the market to see if he can get a pay bump.

So Wighton might pack his bags. Need something to ease the pain at Canberra Stadium on Friday night? Here's just the thing: a 12-inch frankfurt, cheese, bacon, shallots, house-made beer & bacon cheese sauce on a green bun. It's available from Snag Street Dogs on the eastern side.

Eddie Osei-Nketia still dreams of being an Olympian.

But right now, the New Zealand 100 metre sprint record holder who calls Canberra home wants to show Olympic Games selectors his decision to leave athletics is "their loss".

The 21-year-old once linked with a move to Super Rugby's powerhouse Crusaders will quit sprinting, having grown frustrated after being overlooked for New Zealand selection at the Tokyo Olympics and Birmingham Commonwealth Games.

Now Osei-Nketia is bound for the University of Hawaii on an American football scholarship, harbouring ambitions of playing in the NFL as a wide receiver.

Osei-Nketia left the track on a high, surging ahead of Australian star Rohan Browning to win the 100m crown at the Brisbane Track Classic and send a message to national officials.

"At the last race I just had to prove to New Zealand Olympic selectors what they lost, what they're going to lose, and show it is their loss," Osei-Nketia said.

"I grew up on the track since I was a little kid. Right now, at the age of 21, saying goodbye to the track is pretty heartbreaking to me. It's something I've been doing my whole life.

"I'm not an Olympian and I really want to become an Olympian, so maybe it's something I can come back to and fulfil my dream."

Consider Osei-Nketia's skill set and you reckon he could almost crack the Olympic ranks as either a sprinter or a rugby sevens player.

So why run the American football route? Osei-Nketia has had one eye on this pathway since the Indianapolis Colts took on the Kansas City Chiefs in the divisional round of the 2018 playoffs. He knew, watching then, "this is the sport for me". Fast forward to 2021 and he was courted by NFL international scout Keiki Misipeka.

"I was going to the Crusaders at that time. It was the right opportunity, but wrong time," Osei-Nketia said.

"I was almost there. Unfortunately when I was in Christchurch and the Crusaders, New Zealand had a lockdown due to COVID. It ruined everybody's plans, and that's when I decided to try track for one more season, and that's when I ended up getting my dad's [New Zealand 100m] record.

"In January 2022, [Misipeka] got a job at the University of Hawaii, that's when he offered me a scholarship and I took it.

"Going to Hawaii, man, I couldn't believe it at first when they offered me a scholarship. I just can't wait. If I just work at it, stay humble, stay true to myself and do the right thing, I feel like I can go far."

Rugby Australia is going to spend $1.6 million per year on Joseph Sua'ali'i. That's a pretty penny for a winger when you consider the one they let slip through their grasp.

Mack Hansen was struggling to lock down a starting spot for the ACT Brumbies - but every time he got a shot he made it count, like when he nailed a winning penalty against Queensland, or scored three tries against the Waratahs.

Australia's Super Rugby franchises didn't want him, so he moved to Connacht.

He just helped Ireland to a Six Nations title alongside another Canberra export - St Edmund's College graduate Finlay Bealham, who, knocked back by the Brumbies academy, spent plenty of time plugging away as a tighthead prop in second grade for Tuggeranong before Connacht came calling.

"It's different gravy, isn't it? It's like something I've never seen before, it's incredible. It just shows how much Ireland is behind us, and we love it," Hansen said of the grand slam celebrations.

"[It's] absolutely amazing, it's hard to put into words at the moment. It's a crazy feeling. It's just been such an atmosphere, it's crazy."

It was interesting to see Andrew Barr speaking about his stadium plan for Canberra again this week.

The Chief Minister is dead set on building, or rebuilding, something at Bruce. But there's one line that hits a nerve with the Civic stadium supporters.

Barr said again this week that a rectangular stadium "doesn't fit" on the site of the Civic pool. His own government's feasibility study says it can fit. And the latest design - an inverted bowl - definitely fits. The line it "doesn't fit" is either made up, or a deflection.

Federal politicians and National Capital Authority officials say the light-rail expansion over Commonwealth Avenue is in keeping with the Griffin Plan for Canberra.

You know what else is on Walter Burley Griffin's plans from more than 100 years ago? A stadium in the city, right on the edge of the lake.

Federal politician Kristy McBain and NCA boss Sally Barnes both pointed to Griffin's plans when announcing the public consultation period for stage 2A of the light rail project.

We asked the NCA at the end of last year if it would consider a stadium proposal as per Griffin's plans. "The NCA supports the development of a vibrant and dynamic city and capital in all the modern and innovative ways possible," a spokesperson said.

"At this stage, the NCA has not been approached with a proposal for a stadium. If the NCA does receive a proposal ... a decision [will be made] based on merits."

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