Canberra Raiders coach Ricky Stuart fears Anthony Milford-like Jack Wighton departure

Stuart has made his feelings known about wanting to keep Wighton, and after Canberra's 20-14 upset over the Broncos, the coach was again frank in answering questions about the Raiders five-eighth exploring his options on the open market.

"I don't want to lose Jack Wighton the way we lost [Anthony] Milford as a player to the Broncos years and years ago," Stuart said.

Stuart agreed with reporters in the post-match press conference that the Wayne Bennett-coached, Redcliffe-based Dolphins were the leading contender to land Wighton.

And the thought of a playmaker leaving the capital to head to the sunshine state to play under Bennett hit a nerve with Stuart, not wanting a repeat of Milford's departure to the Broncos after the 2014 season.

Milford, then still a teenager, cited family reasons for his commitment in 2013 to join the Broncos for the 2015 and 2016 seasons.

The scenario seems very different to Wighton, who is 30 years old and set to sign the last contract of his NRL career, however the No.6 has played a key role in the Raiders' success in recent seasons, and the club are desperate not to let him go.

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An offer of $4.4 million for four years is already on the table for Wighton to stay in Canberra, and Stuart, the club and his teammates are hoping he takes the deal.

"We've put an offer there, it's up to Jack and his management now," Stuart said.

"We've done everything we can.

"But as I say, the way we lost Milford, I don't want to lose him that way, because it was disappointing."

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