Canberra should have gone for George Williams, says Jamie Soward

NRL pundit Jamie Soward believes Canberra should have attempted to sign Wigan half-back George Williams ahead of 2019.

The Raiders lost their key half-back Blake Austin at the end of last season, with the Portugal international joining Warrington Wolves on a marquee contract.

Soward believes Canberra are lacking a star half now and thinks they should have made an offer to sign Williams from the Warriors.

As a pundit on The NRL Podcast, Soward said: “It baffles me how the Raiders don’t have a strike half.

“No disrespect to Sam Williams or Aiden Sezer, but they just don’t scare me in terms of their attack.

“The Raiders have missed their chance and I think it’s because they have not got a strike or a top 10 half-back over the last four or five years, and now they have lost their x-factor player in Austin.

“The market dictates [who you can and cannot buy]. George Williams in England – this guy from Wigan…

“John Bateman has gone [to the Raiders] and their coach [Shaun Wane] over there has just left… Surely the Raiders could have a crack at him. He would be fantastic in the NRL.”

England international Williams has previously expressed his desire to play in the NRL one day, but admitted in October that he is enjoying life at Wigan and is committed to the Warriors for at least the next two years.