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Message: [QUOTE="Morkel, post: 2551108, member: 8215"] [h=1]Anthony Milford to honour final year of Raiders contract after returning to Canberra[/h] [COLOR=#000000][FONT=Trebuchet MS][B]WHEN Virgin flight VA1210 touched down at Canberra airport at 11.40am yesterday, a massive weight was lifted off the shoulders of new Canberra Raiders coach Ricky Stuart.[/B] [/FONT][/COLOR] [COLOR=#000000][FONT=Trebuchet MS]Emerging from the airport lounge 10 minutes later was none other than Anthony Milford.[/FONT][/COLOR] [COLOR=#000000][FONT=Trebuchet MS]His future at the Canberra Raiders had been the subject of speculation for the last two months.[/FONT][/COLOR] [COLOR=#000000][FONT=Trebuchet MS]Stuart and his assistant coach Matt Parish were at the airport to personally collect Milford off the flight from Brisbane - the final confirmation the Broncos had failed in their audacious bid to snare the boom youngster for 2014.[/FONT][/COLOR] [COLOR=#000000][FONT=Trebuchet MS]He was whisked off straight to training to begin preparations for his final season in the national capital.[/FONT][/COLOR] [COLOR=#000000][FONT=Trebuchet MS]"Anthony has stuck by his word and that's what we expected all along," Stuart said.[/FONT][/COLOR] [COLOR=#000000][FONT=Trebuchet MS]"It provides a tremendous buzz around the place for the players, our supporters and our members."[/FONT][/COLOR] [COLOR=#000000][FONT=Trebuchet MS]The young fullback did have a get-out clause in his contract to return home to Brisbane to be with his sick father.[/FONT][/COLOR] [COLOR=#000000][FONT=Trebuchet MS]Speculation increased he would take up the clause on compassionate grounds when the Broncos announced his signing from 2015 and onwards. [/FONT][/COLOR] [COLOR=#000000][FONT=Trebuchet MS]But Stuart and the Raiders never gave up hope.[/FONT][/COLOR] [COLOR=#000000][FONT=Trebuchet MS]"Both Anthony and his manager Sam Ayoub have done the honourable thing," Stuart said.[/FONT][/COLOR] [COLOR=#000000][FONT=Trebuchet MS]"I watched a lot of his performances last year and he's a very special young player.[/FONT][/COLOR] [COLOR=#000000][FONT=Trebuchet MS]"We're all delighted to have him on board."[/FONT][/COLOR] [COLOR=#000000][FONT=Trebuchet MS]Milford's return to the Raiders is a blow to the Canterbury Bulldogs' chances of snaring disgruntled fullback Josh Hoffman from the Broncos.[/FONT][/COLOR] [COLOR=#000000][FONT=Trebuchet MS]Brisbane would almost certainly have released Hoffman if Milford had triggered the escape clause in Canberra.[/FONT][/COLOR] [COLOR=#000000][FONT=Trebuchet MS]It's now highly unlikely they will release him.[/FONT][/COLOR] [COLOR=#000000][FONT=Trebuchet MS]The Broncos signed Milford for 2015 three weeks ago and tried desperately to get him on board 12 months in advance.[/FONT][/COLOR] [COLOR=#000000][FONT=Trebuchet MS]``Anthony is an elite talent and is a great signing for us," said coach Anthony Griffin, when the deal was done.[/FONT][/COLOR] [COLOR=#000000][FONT=Trebuchet MS]The Broncos' recruitment methods have attracted plenty of criticism around the NRL.[/FONT][/COLOR] [COLOR=#000000][FONT=Trebuchet MS]They've not only signed Ben Barba while under contract to the Bulldogs but are also trying to persuade Test captain Cameron Smith to quit Melbourne Storm.[/FONT][/COLOR] [COLOR=#000000][FONT=Trebuchet MS]The Daily Telegraph understands the Broncos are also still discreetly chasing Manly's and Australia's outstanding half-back Daly Cherry-Evans. ----------------------------------------------- The Stuart BS machine is in full swing: [/FONT][/COLOR] [COLOR=#000000][FONT=Trebuchet MS] So did he have a clause that could be activated or not? Canberra said no, and that's why they wouldn't release him. They're saying here that he did, but Milford 'chose' not to activate it. [/FONT][/COLOR] [COLOR=#000000][FONT=Trebuchet MS] Barba & the Bulldogs chose to terminate the contract, not us. Again, from what we hear, DCE's terms of contract have been broken. That's the grounds for him to get a release, otherwise we wouldn't be chasing him.[/FONT][/COLOR] [/QUOTE]

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