As Jack Wighton will leave the Raiders at the end of the season and Jamal Fogarty is set to test the open market, another Raiders playmaker could be on the move.
Off-contract at the end of the season, Matt Frawley has reportedly caught the attention of rival clubs, and there is no indication currently that he will sign a contract extension to remain in Canberra.
After securing the signature of Newcastle Knights dual-code star Lachlan Miller, it is understood byย Rugby League Liveย that Super League club Leeds Rhinos have identified Frawley as a key recruitment target for 2024. This comes after the contracts of their current playmakers, Aidan Sezer and Blake Austin, will come to an end this season.
If he does end up signing with Leeds, it will be his second stint in the Super League. Leaving the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs in 2018, he would join the Huddersfield Giants for a single season before making his way back to the NRL for the Canberra Raiders.
The five-eighth recently appeared in his 50th NRL first-grade game and has played as a backup playmaker to Jack Wighton and Jamal Fogarty to perfection. Spending most of this season in the NSW Cup, he has played six NRL games this season, including back-to-back appearances against the Bulldogs and Broncos in the past two weeks.
During these appearances in top-flight football in 2023, he has scored two tries, forced two dropouts, provided two try assists, one line break assist, and made 202 running metres and 79 tackles. The move to England could be tempting for Frawley, considering he will play as the club's first-choice five-eighth rather than play in his current role as a backup playmaker.
