Star player's departure is a shocking blow for the Canberra Raiders

Jack Wighton's decision to leave Canberra was a shock, given the lucrative offer the club tabled to retain him. Below, Raiders coach Ricky Stuart. Main picture by Keegan Carroll, bottom picture Getty Images

Usually, a player in Jack Wighton's position would only consider leaving his existing club if the club decided it wasn't worth trying as hard to keep him as some other club was willing to try to tempt him away.

Wighton is Canberra's star player. He's been at the club for his entire NRL career.

At his age - 30 - you would anticipate a player like him re-signing on that last big-money contract and finishing his career as that one-club player that most players would like to be.

So why isn't Wighton staying a Raider?

Unless you're truly on the inside, a story like this is guesswork to some degree because we can't know for sure what the exact offers were from the various clubs for Wighton.

But the rugby league media that covers stories like this usually gets close and if we're to believe what they are saying, then the story goes that the Raiders offered Wighton a total of $4.4 million over four years to stay.

The Dolphins and South Sydney reportedly both offered less and Wighton, for his own reasons, went for the lowest of the three offers.

Why isn't Wighton staying a Raider?

The Rabbitohs offer was speculated at totalling about $3.4 million over four years, starting off at lower than the yearly average of the total to fit in with Souths' salary cap situation and getting bigger at the back end.

Whether it's a bit more or a bit less than the $3.4 million, who knows, but basically we're talking $1 million less overall and even after you take tax into consideration that is a huge difference.

Canberra has reportedly asked the NRL, through its salary cap auditor, to check out the South's offer to ensure it is all by the rules.

There can sometimes be concerns regarding the validity of any third-party deals that might be included in such offers.

The league would have presumably examined the deal in its normal fashion anyway.

And, there's no law against Wighton - or any other player - rejecting a bigger offer from one club to sign for a lesser offer from another.

Players often re-sign with their existing clubs for less money than they could've earned elsewhere.

If they're happy there and they believe the club can be competitive, then it's often a case of better the devil you know.

We talk about the market value of a player and if a player does sign anywhere for significantly less to much less than he could've earned elsewhere then the NRL owes it to him for there to be scrutiny.

But, generally speaking, what is market value, really?

Should it be governed by the absolute highest offer that some club is prepared to make for a player? No.

Some clubs are going to be so desperate to sign a star player that they will be prepared to pay way over the odds. Market value is an opinion. Maybe an educated one, but still an opinion.

I don't know what Wighton is earning from his existing Raiders contract which runs out at the end of this season.

I've heard recent suggestions in the media that it's $1 million per season. Back further there was media speculation around $900,000 annually. If it turns out he has gone to Souths on a deal averaging $850,000 per year and there is no suggestion of any tricks being played, is the NRL going to have a problem with that?

Wighton, with the right advice, may have invested his money very well over the years and be comfortable financially. Let's remember, he's not earning peanuts.

Now that he has reached 30 the clock is ticking on his career, and if, as has been reported, he has gone to the Rabbitohs mainly because he sees it as his best opportunity to finally win a premiership before his career is over, who is to argue with that reasoning?

Playing alongside close mates like Latrell Mitchell and at the club with the proudest Indigenous heritage in the game are other obvious strong reasons.

The Raiders haven't been able to build on making the grand final in 2019, when they lost a close contest against Sydney Roosters, and, while again it's all a matter of opinion, I don't think they look capable of winning a premiership any time soon.

The bookmakers have got them at 50-1 this season.

But, regardless of things like premiership-winning potential, it's still more often than not you'll see star players who have been at the one club all their careers - and whom that club wants to keep - stay until the end.

So Canberra - coach Ricky Stuart, chief executive Don Furner and whoever else at the club is included in the brains trust - has really got to look within at the Raiders and ask why a player like Wighton would decide to leave when they so badly want him to stay.

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Only after examining that and coming up with some answers can they move forward - there's always a way forward - as they need to learn from this, because Wighton leaving is an awful look for the club and a big blow.

It's only natural to think it would be a bit awkward at the Raiders at the moment given that Wighton is still there but confirmed as a shock departure at the end of the season.

But at the end of the day it's all about winning and coaches and players have to get on with trying to do that.

Wighton, perhaps distracted, hasn't been in his best form recently.

Now, with his future clear, it will be interesting to see how he goes against the Dolphins at Wagga on Saturday afternoon.