The Raiders, who will play in their first NRL grand final in 25 years on Sunday, played a premiership match against Penrith in Wagga this season and will return again next year, with hopes it will turn into a long term deal.

Canberra's under-20 Jersey Flegg side narrowly lost their grand final to South Sydney on Sunday, with Wagga product Tyson Hodge among their standouts up front.

Mulholland, regarded as having one of the best eyes for talent in the game, said it's vital the club continues to boost their presence in the region.

Five Riverina products played for GWS Giants in Saturday's AFL grand final, highlighting the need for rugby league to continue to be vigilant in the region.

The Raiders have established academies in the Riverina where they work with Group nine and Group 20 coaches on Mondays and follow programs mapped out by Raiders staff, before the players in the Jersey Flegg and Harold Matthews under-18 squads head to Canberra on Wednesdays.

"We'd love to one day see a Riverina side called the Riverina Raiders, it would be absolutely superb," Mulholland said.

"To get a twenties side based out of Wagga, if we can build that up well enough, it would be absolutely wonderful.

"At the moment it's a pipe dream but it's something we'd like to think we can do, to base a side out of there. It makes sense, it's Australia's biggest inland town that's produced some of the best players the game's ever seen, and we have to keep working on it."

Mulholland said the idea would depend largely on buy-in from the NSW Rugby League, which oversees the Jersey Flegg competition.

"It depends on what talent you're getting through and the support from the NSWRL on helping develop that too," he said.

"From my way of thinking it would be wonderful to keep the kids in town, keep them in the Wagga junior league and build it up.

"We're getting quite a few good kids out of the Riverina at the moment. We've got Matty Fellows here again next year, we've had Ryan Cronin up here.

"It's about putting something back in the game in the region, working with coaches and elite players and hopefully that filters down into the grass roots.

"It's about educating the coaches as much as the kids. If you're a dad that's thrust in front of a group of 11-year-olds without much arsenal to throw at them, you're at a loss."

Over 10,000 fans packed out Equex Centre for Canberra's 30-12 win over the Panthers at Equex Centre in round eight.

It was the Raiders' sixth win in their first eight games, setting the platform to have a shot at their first premiership in a quarter of a decade.

"We'd love to do it (play games at Wagga) for the next few years," Mulholland said.

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