The Canberra Raiders are emulating the premiership blueprint of the Melbourne Storm, locking in star fullback Jack Wighton to keep its core group of playmakers together for the next three years.
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Wighton is the latest cog in the Green Machine's engine to sign on until 2018, joining the exciting halves pairing of Blake Austin and Aidan Sezer.
Getting English international Josh Hodgson to agree to a contract extension is the last piece of the puzzle as the Raiders take another step to ending their 21-year title drought.
The Raiders have missed the finals for the past three years, but the retention of their young stars along with the addition of Sezer has them primed for an assault on the top eight.
It's a formula the Storm has used to great effect over the past decade with its big three of Billy Slater, Cam Smith and Cooper Cronk.
Wighton hoped the Raiders could do something similar now they had the opportunity to build their partnership over the next few years.
"You have a look at Melbourne, they had that core from when they were young and they stuck together and it really helped them," Wighton said.
"Our goal is to come together as a team like they did and get that core group to really run the show.
"We're all locked in for a few years and we're all becoming at that good age of our careers where we should start maturing as footballers a little bit more.
"It's going to work well for us."
Wighton, Austin and Sezer are at similar stages of their careers.
Wighton is 22 and has played 67 career games with the Raiders since making his first-grade debut in 2012.
Austin, 24, is coming off a breakthrough season where he was named the Dally M five-eighth of the year after having bounced around at Penrith and the Wests Tigers.
His game is sure to go to another level with the addition of fellow 24-year-old Sezer, who showcased a classy kicking game in his 71 appearances for the Titans.
The core group of the Raiders extends past that terrific trio.
Captain Jarrod Croker (25 years of age, 164 games), centre Joey Leilua (23, 119 games) and hulking prop Shannon Boyd (23, 41 games) are also locked in for the next three seasons.
Raiders coach Ricky Stuart said Wighton had the chance to become a fixture at the club for the next decade.
"It's very important because it is all a big part of the plan going forward," Stuart said.
"Jack is a very young NRL player who has played nearly 70 games of football and he'll have an opportunity to play 200, 250 games here.
"He's a big part of the plan going forward as are a number of the guys we have re-signed."
While the Raiders have never struggled retaining talented juniors, it's a different story when it comes to attracting players from other clubs.
That seems to have changed.
"For a little while we had trouble getting players here and having near hit and misses with a lot of players, but now they're all rolling in and it's a really good sign for the club," Wighton said.
"It's got a lot to do with our attitude on the field this year.
"We showed a lot of positive signs and a lot of people like watching the style of footy we play.
"Even though we lost six games by two points, we never give up."
The Raiders will turn their focus to extending the contract of Hodgson along with Queensland second-rower Josh Papalii and Country Origin prop Paul Vaughan.
