Canberra halfback Aidan Sezer is closing in on career-best form but will still likely be relegated to reserve grade for the final year of his contract in 2020.
Sezer has played his two best NRL games this season over the past fortnight, in the wake of the Raiders signing England halfback George Williams on a three-year deal from 2020.
It means Sezer will battle NSW State of Origin star Jack Wighton and England No.7 Williams for a spot in the halves next season.
It’s shapes as a similar predicament to what’s happening at Wests Tigers with former NSW Blues representative Josh Reynolds earning $800,000 per season to play reserve grade.
Reynolds is stuck behind veteran Benji Marshall and young gun Luke Brooks and has played just nine NRL games since the start of 2018. He’s contracted until 2021.
Sezer joined the Raiders from Gold Coast in 2016 and Canberra coach Ricky Stuart described his performance against St George Illawarra two weeks ago as his best at the club.
The 28-year-old playmaker said he’s not worried about next year and emphasised he was committed to helping Canberra play finals for just the second time in seven seasons.
“Next year is a long way away, anything can happen in footy and I’m just trying to perform for the club. I’ve been here four years now so whatever happens, happens. It’s out of my control,” Sezer told AAP.
“The only thing I can control is my performance on the field and my contribution to this club at the moment, so that’s all I’m focused on.
“We’ve got 24 competition points so we’re in a pretty good position obviously to move forward and build a foundation for the back end of our year.
“But we just need to keep ticking over and getting wins and put ourselves in the best position possible.”