Bennett ramps up his bid to bring perfect strike weapon to Redcliffe
Wayne Bennett has ramped up his poaching bid to bring Canberra five-eighth Jack Wighton to the Dolphins and has rewarded blockbusting back-rower Connelly Lemuelu with a new contract.
News Corp can reveal Bennett has formally contacted NSW Origin star Wighton’s management to set up a meeting with the Raider in his quest to deliver a marquee playmaker to the Dolphins.
Bennett is on a recruitmentand-retention hunt, with the
Dolphins super coach also handing Lemuelu an upgraded deal as the forward prepares to face his former club the Cowboys on Friday night in Townsville.
Already contracted to the Dolphins until the end of 2024, Lemuelu has clinched a further 12-month extension as a reward for his eye-catching performances in his first five games for the new franchise.
Now Bennett hopes to inject some strike to his backline as he attempts to convince Wighton to walk away from the Raiders and embark on a fresh NRL chapter at Redcliffe.
Bennett has had preliminary talks with Wighton’s management with a view to setting up a formal meeting in the coming weeks before the former Dally M Medallist makes a definitive call on his future next month.
The Raiders have tabled a revised $4.4m package to Wighton but Bennett said he was open to matching Canberra’s latest offer, with the Dolphins possessing a $2m salarycap war chest.
“If we thought he was the right fit for the club and brought the things that we need then we would probably pay more than $1m,” Bennett said of Wighton.
The 30-year-old Wighton would be the perfect strike weapon for a Dolphins side craving some depth and brilliance in their halves.