The Canberra Raiders have re-signed rising star Kaeo Weekes on an extended deal, which will see him remain with the club until the end of the 2029 season.
Weekes had already signed with the club until the end of 2027 after extending his contract last year, but the club has moved to secure him long-term with another two-year extension.
Weekes said there was no hesitation from him when it came to extending his time in Canberra and looked forward to what lies ahead for him and the current squad.
“It’s really exciting actually, and I want to repay the faith that the club has shown in me,” Weekes said. “There will be a few good years coming ahead, and I can’t wait to be a part of it.”
“When my manager told me I was like ‘oh yeah cool’ I knew I wanted to stay here and if that means long-term I’m all for it. As soon as I got that contract I signed as quickly as I could.”
Weekes said he puts his improvement and form this season down to the work he’s been putting in with the coaching staff and playing group, and he’s excited about the squad staying together in the years ahead.
“I think the way I’m playing comes down to the coaches and the boys. We had a really big pre-season coming back after missing finals. Pre-season was a really big stepping stone for us and the coaches. They put so much confidence into you and they prep so well during the week to help you nail your role and go out there and do a job. So I think it does come back to the coaches and the boys.
“Having Strangey (Ethan Strange), Sav (Tamale), Mokes (Matt Timoko), Xavier (Savage), Owen (Pattie); there’s a lot of boys that have signed here for a long time and that was a really big selling point for me to stay, we’re going to build some really big connections and hopefully the coming years are good ones.”
Raiders Coach Ricky Stuart said the re-signing of Weekes was another key step into ensuring the club's future, and the club was still yet to see the best of what he could offer.
“Kaeo’s re-signing continues our plan to sign and re-sign players to look after the future of our club,” Stuart said. “We’ve worked hard on identifying, recruiting and developing young talent and Kaeo is a great example of this.”
“We knew what we were getting when we re-signed Kaeo. He’s been able to work hard on his game this year, and he’s seeing the benefits of that hard work,” he said. “We know he’s still got more improvement in his game and I think having him here long term means we’ll see him continue to improve as a player over the coming seasons.”
