Fed up with the lack of junior development incentives offered by the NRL, the Raiders will no longer have a permanent presence at Souths Logan for the first time in a decade, and will devote more energy to harvesting talent from Canberra and the Riverina.

Anthony Milford's defection to Brisbane proved the final straw for Canberra, which have been a vocal advocate for junior development to be better rewarded.

Canberra's decision to offload Tookey follows their move to sever ties with Queensland Cup side Souths Logan for next season, with NSW Cup team Mounties to be the sole feeder club.

Raiders recruitment and development officer David Hamilton said the decision to offload Tookey wasn't taken lightly, given his success in identifying a host of star talent.

There are concerns the Broncos will use their five Queensland Cup affiliates to stockpile the region's best youngsters, with only a small percentage of those realistic chances of graduating to the NRL.

"I don't know whether we employ someone up there or just let the Broncos develop them, then have a crack at them," Hamilton said.

"It's a big chunk of money we invest up that way, to just relocate a player is $22,000 minimum.

"The NRL needs to reward those clubs [who develop]. If we bring Milford down, only get one season out of him and don't get a transfer fee or something like that, why do it?

"There's been a lot of time and energy spent there, it's a hell of a lot of time to build it up and then walk away. I know 'Tooks' has been a sensational ally of ours, but at the end of the day it's business."

Canberra will target more experienced Queensland players in their mid-20s like rising prop Luke Page, who has joined the club on a two-year deal after being named the Queensland Cup player of the year.

"Don't get me wrong, it's not going to stop us grabbing a Queensland guy but I'd say he'd be matured and developed by that stage, about 23 to 25," Hamilton said. "We'll still be there, we've got contacts up there. When they have schoolboys carnivals we'll have a look."

The NRL is investigating introducing a fairer system next season that acknowledges clubs that develop juniors, with NRL boss David Smith telling Fairfax Media in July it's a "loose end" he wanted to address by the end of this year.

Hamilton hinted the Raiders would eventually return to the Souths Logan region on a full-time basis, but wanted to ensure they adopted the right long-term approach first.

"Of course it will [make it harder] but we have to work out the best strategy, whether you align with a school I don't know," Hamilton said.

"We don't want to rush into something straight away, we want to be certain about what we're doing."