Brandon Smith may well field offers from plenty of clubs around the NRL as he weighs up his future for 2026 and beyond, but there won't be one from the nation's capital.
The Canberra Raiders are one club who have made it clear they will need re-enforcements at the number nine spot.
Heading into the new year, the Raiders, as it stands, only have Tom Starling and Danny Levi as possible hookers within their Top 30. That came after the off-season departure of Zac Woolford.
But the Canberra Times have now revealed Smith won't be one of the players they will chase.
"No, we won't be [responding to the email]. No, we're not interested," Raiders CEO Don Furner is quoted as having responded to the publication when asked.
Smith is on the outer at the Sydney Roosters, where he has struggled to live up to the contract he signed.
Leaving the Melbourne Storm at the end of 2022, Smith was pursuing the opportunity to be a starting number nine, and to win a premiership. He has hit the first of those goals, but hasn't risen his own performance to the level of other top hookers like Harry Grant at the Melbourne Storm, the man Smith once shared duties with.
Canberra's reluctance to get involved in a shootout for Smith, who will miss at least half of 2025 with an ACL injury he copped in Round 26 in a game against Canberra, may also come on the back of his public and drawn out negotiations last time he was up for grabs, with the Dolphins eventually missing out to the Roosters.
There are plenty of dummy halves on the open market for 2026, including Starling and Levi who are both off-contract at the end of 2025.
That could give Canberra a chance to hit reset, although the best of the hookers available include Jayden Brailey, Soni Luke, Reece Robson, Smith himself and youngster Blake Mozer, who will be chased by numerous clubs in a bid to rip him away from the Brisbane Broncos.
Levi was at one point linked with an exit at the end of 2024, but that didn't materialise, and could well have been down to the Raiders cancelling a move for Englishman Danny Walker over was was described as an 'outrageous' transfer fee.
A hooker for 2025 being added to the squad now seems at long odds, with Ricky Stuart potentially having to call on youth if injuries do strike.
The future of the lime green number nine jumper is one of a host of issues for Canberra to work out over the next 12 months. Josh Papalii's retirement and potential replacement in the front row is one, and another will likely be where they go with Jamal Fogarty, who has a club option for 2026.
Should Canberra take that, it will set them up with a second year of Fogarty being the mentor for both Ethan Strange, and Ethan Sanders, who joins the club ahead of 2025 from the Parramatta Eels.
