Enigmatic centre Joey Leilua will leave Newcastle at the end of the season after exercising a get-out clause to terminate the final year of his Knights contract.
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Leilua, who joined Newcastle three seasons ago after he was sacked by the Sydney Roosters, is expected to join Canberra.
The Samoan international signed a two-year deal with Newcastle in April last year that was supposed to tie him to the club until the end of 2016.
But the terms and conditions of that contract included a clause entitling him to explore his options should then coach Wayne Bennett leave Newcastle.
It is understood that Leilua has been considering his position since the pre-season, when he earned the ire of coach Rick Stone and his teammates for his physical condition and attitude.
Leilua's manager, Paul Sutton, said two weeks ago "a few different clubs" had expressed interest in the 23-year-old, but the presence of his cousin Sia Soliola at Canberra makes the Raiders hot favourites.
Given that the Knights have recently extended the tenures of outside backs Dane Gagai, Jake Mamo and the Mata'utia brothers, Sione, Chanel and Pat, they were not devastated about the prospect of losing Leilua, whose professionalism and work ethic have regularly attracted scrutiny since he burst into first grade with the Roosters at the age of 18.
Without specifically referring to Leilua, Knights chief executive Matt Gidley made the club's position quite clear last week when he said that if players were not "hungry to work hard, succeed and win premierships ... then this is not the club for you".
Gidley added: "We want players here who are desperate to win comps, desperate to represent our town, and we want them to work as hard as they possibly can to achieve those things, and we don't shy away from that."
In a statement issued by the Knights on Thursday, director of football Michael Hagan: "Joey is a quality player and we are disappointed to lose him for next season, however, we certainly wanted to work with him to reach an amicable outcome for both parties."
Leilua was quoted as saying: "This is a personal decision for me and I want to thank the Knights for working through it with me.
"Now that it is finalised, I want to focus on playing good football for the Knights and finishing off the season well."
The 112-kilogram centre has been a fixture on Newcastle's left edge since round six, 2013.
He remains one of their most potent attacking weapons, having scored 33 tries in 50 games.
To put that in context, he has scored more tries in fewer games than Newcastle's regular right-side centre, Dane Gagai (21 in 68).
It is unlikely that the Knights will try to sign a centre to replace Leilua, preferring to use the funds freed up under their salary cap to bolster their pack.
Leilua is the third established player to announce he is parting company with Newcastle, following skipper Kurt Gidley (Warrington) and enforcer Beau Scott (Parramatta).
The futures of veteran forwards Jeremy Smith and David Fa'alogo remain uncertain.
Interest from the Roosters has complicated Newcastle's hopes of re-signing Smith, while Fa'alogo is weighing up whether he has another season in his 34-year-old legs.
