South Sydney have confirmed the signing of Raiders star Jack Wighton until at least the end of the 2027 season.
On Tuesday news broke that the 30-year-old would be taking his talents to Redfern after turning down million dollar-plus offers from his current club and NRL newcomers the Dolphins.
The Raiders later confirmed Wighton would leave following the 2023 season, and that the club "did everything possible" to keep the Dally M medallist.
His departure sparked a less-than-impressed response from the nation's capital.
According to NewsCorp, the Raiders have lodged a formal complaint with the league's chief executive Andrew Abdo who will solicit a look over of the Bunnies' deal by the salary cap auditor to assess market value once officially submitted to the NRL.
There are concerns Souths' offer is "laced with third-party arrangements".
On Wednesday Canberra coach Ricky Stuart said the loss of Wighton "hurts" in an impassioned statement to fans.
"Yesterday, Jack informed the club that he would not be re-signing with the Raiders beyond this season," Stuart said.
"I want to reassure you all that the club did everything possible to keep Jack at the Raiders and we wanted nothing more than to see him reach 300 games and become a one-club player."
Wighton has played 225 games for the Raiders since his debut in 2012.
Stuart also took aim at the NRL's negotiation rules which currently allows for players to sign with rival clubs in the final year of their contract.
"As a club, we believe the current contracting system where players can sign well out from the end of their current contract is flawed. It is not fair to you who I see as our major stakeholders, the club, and as importantly the players," he said.
"I know it would have been hard for you, our Raiders fans, because I know what the feeling was like for me, to see an image of Jack in a Souths jersey (digitally altered) on the back page of a Sydney paper today."
Wighton's move is said to have been motivated by a desire to win a premiership, knocking back a reported $1.1 million a year to stick with Canberra for a $800,000-$900,000 a season in red and green.
Souths have progressed to the preliminary finals in each of the last five NRL seasons.
Speaking on Sky Sports Radio's Big Sport Breakfast, Canberra great Laurie Daley said ambitions to chase grand final wins with another club might leave a sour taste in the mouths of his Raiders teammates.
"If that's the case that means he's playing at a club at the moment that he doesn't believe will win the comp this year or doesn't believe will win the comp in the next four years," Daley said.
"That mightn't go down too well with some of the players if that's the reason why he's leaving."
On Wednesday afternoon the Bunnies confirmed their signing of "one of the best and most versatile players in the game" with a motivating factor closer to culture.
South Sydney head of football Mark Ellison said Wighton, a Wiradjuri man, "is attracted to the great Indigenous heritage of our Club, to the respect and recognition we have for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and causes, and the fantastic work of Souths Cares in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities across Australia."
"He spoke to us about the family feel at the Club and the obvious brotherhood amongst the playing group," Ellison said.
"Here he will be able to play alongside some of his great mates as well as representative and former club teammates in Latrell Mitchell, Cody Walker, Cameron Murray, Damien Cook, Campbell Graham, Alex Johnston, Isaiah Tass, Shaquai Mitchell and Siliva Havili,"
Wighton will be 34 when his contract at South Sydney expires.
