In bid to replace Jack Wighton, Canberra Raiders begin work on talented youngster Kaeo Weekes

Replacing a club legend isn’t easy but in Canberra it can be especially difficult.

The top of the transfer market has not been kind to them in recent years. As the Raiders do not buy stars, they try to make them — and that takes time. There’s rarely a quick fix available in the capital.

It’s the difference between being a destination club and one known for development; Canberra made the finals in four of the past five seasons on a mix of homegrown players and value recruits transformed into consistent and productive first graders.

The Raiders no doubt hope Kaeo Weekes can join that list of success stories, but the former Manly playmaker faces intense pressure as he attempts to fill the shoes of Jack Wighton, Canberra’s most high-profile and decorated player of the past 25 years.

It isn’t fair to expect any player to immediately replace Wighton, a former Dally M and Clive Churchill Medal winner, but Weekes is the sort who has succeeded at Canberra in the past – a talented youngster whose career needed a jump-start.

The 22-year old has 11 NRL games to his credit and made his Raiders debut in last week’s trial win over Parramatta, scoring a try in the 38-16 victory.

He will line up at five-eighth again this weekend against North Queensland and is keen to showcase both his running game and the on-ball attack coach Ricky Stuart has stressed over the pre-season.

“Confidence is a big thing and Stick has instilled that in me this pre-season,” Weekes said.

“Just be on the ball more a lot, have that footy IQ to know that if there’s a quick play-the-ball there’s no rules, just flood onto the ball, push up with everything.

“That’s a big thing Ricky has instilled, be on the ball and push and you never know, just put yourself in the frame.

“He doesn’t beat around the bush. He tells you how it is and that’s what you need if you want to play consistent first grade. You need to know the truth.

“He’s done it all in the game, having him as a coach was a big selling point and I’m eager to learn off him.”

Weekes has the tools to succeed somewhere in the top grade. He possesses a fine turn of pace, strong footwork and runs with an elusive quality that helps him slide past tacklers.

He’d been on the books at Manly since he was 14 but only saw sporadic duty in first grade over the past two seasons, mainly at fullback or as a bench dummy half.

A former New South Wales Under 18s representative, Weekes is no guarantee to start the season at five-eighth. Ethan Strange, another promising youngster, is also in contention to partner Jamal Fogarty against Newcastle in Round 1.

Fogarty will not play in Canberra’s second trial in an effort to give both players an extra chance to impress.

“Jammer is a really good leader, he’s a good person. When I first signed with Canberra he was the first one who messaged me to say ‘welcome, if you need anything just let me know’ and it made me feel really welcome,” Weekes said.

“He just guides you around, he frees me up, but we have done a lot of swapping so it hasn’t just been me out there.

“We (Strange) built a pretty good combination through the pre-season, we know how to play footy and we know the game plan. We both stood up when needed.”

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