Canberra co-captain Jarrod Croker has welcomed news that Jordan Rapana is set to return to the NRL club.
Reports on Sunday claimed Rapana was finalising a short-term deal and would link with his former Raiders teammates as soon as Monday when players assemble for their biosecurity measures briefing.
While Canberra CEO Don Furner denied a deal had been done, he confirmed that they would speak with Rapana about playing for the Raiders again this week.
It was music to the ears of Croker.
“Hopefully he is back. He’s one of those blokes every team would love to have,” Croker told 2GB Radio.
“He has been such a big part of the club for a fair while now.
“He is a great asset to have back. It gives us a bit of depth where we were a bit skinny after losing Rappa and BJ (Leilua).”
Former New Zealand international Rapana is back in Canberra after his first season with Japanese Top League rugby outfit Panasonic Wild Knights was derailed by a coronavirus shutdown.
Furner sounded keen to welcome back Rapana, who was squeezed out of the Raiders following their 2019 grand final appearance due to salary cap pressure.
Rapana scored 69 tries in 113 NRL games with Canberra.
“Hopefully next week we can start seeing what he’s up to, seeing what he wants to do,” Furner told The Canberra Times.
“He’s keen and we’d love to have him there. It’s obviously money, the salary cap and the NRL have got to approve it – we’ll see.”