Canberra Raiders and NSW Origin forward Hudson Young has agreed a two-year deal with the PNG Chiefs from 2028, according to CODE Sports and Zero Tackle, remaining in Canberra for 2027 before joining Willie Peters’ expansion side.
Zero Tackle reported on Saturday that Young has signed with the NRL’s newest club, citing CODE Sports. The Daily Telegraph and Herald Sun also reported that the Chiefs had landed the $1 million-a-season enforcer on a two-year deal from 2028.
Young visited Port Moresby earlier this week for recruitment talks with Peters, chief executive Lorna McPherson and football boss Michael Chammas. Neither the Raiders nor the Chiefs had issued an official confirmation at the time of writing.
Read more: Hudson Young Lands in Port Moresby for PNG Chiefs Talks
Around $1 million a season
Zero Tackle said it is understood Young has signed for around $1 million a season after the NRL stepped in and deemed an earlier Chiefs offer below market value. He is contracted to Canberra until the end of 2027 and is expected to return from a July Achilles injury for Round 1 next year with the Raiders before linking with PNG in 2028.
The Canberra Times also reported on Saturday that Young is set to sign a two-year, $2.5 million deal, with a $250,000-a-year third-party agreement taking the package to about $1.25 million a season, all of it tax-free. The paper said it is believed he will go with the Raiders’ blessing and is expected to see out his Canberra contract next season.
The move would make Young the Chiefs’ first high-profile forward recruit after a backline haul that Zero Tackle listed as including Jarome Luai, Alex Johnston, Brian To’o, Zac Lomax and Joseph Manu, among others.
Read more: Nathan Cleary Rejected Reported $8.4m PNG Chiefs Offer to Stay at Penrith
Raiders offer withdrawn
Canberra last week pulled a record extension offer for Young after talks stalled. Coach Ricky Stuart told News Corp: “We bent over backwards to try and keep Hudson and it would have been unfair on the club if we had went any further.”
“We were at a stage where it was probably too much, yet we look after our players and we do everything we possibly can for them,” Stuart said. “But it gets to a stage where you’ve got to make a decision [and] my position and (Raiders CEO) Don Furner’s position is we have to look after the club.”
Young starred for NSW in Origin in 2026 before the Achilles injury cut short his club season and ruled him out of the Rugby League World Cup.
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