Red and Blue Knight said:
As an outsider but a massive admirer of the great Canberra side of 89-94 it always puzzled me why they (Canberra legends) all seemed to move along from anything to do with Canberra quickly after their careers ended. Like rats on a sinking ship. You don't even hear any of them speak fondly of their time in such a successful side, perhaps some egos clashed a fair bit.
Then you obviously haven't been paying much attention to what they have been saying.
Let's have a look at the players who "moved along from anything to do with Canberra quickly after their careers ended."
Mal Meninga - coached the Raiders after Tim Sheens left
Glen Lazarus - went on to play for Brisbane and Melbourne, before returning as a trainer with the Raiders once his playing career finished
Steve Walters - played for North Queensland and Newcastle before becoming a Raiders scout for the South East Queensland area
David Furner - played for Leeds before becoming Raiders Premier League coach, and now assistant coach
Dean Lance - coached the Raiders in the lower grades after finishing his career. Coached Adelaide Rams, and is now an assistant at Melbourne.
Craig Bellamy - coached the Raiders in the lower grades after finishing his career. Moved to Brisbane as an assistant to Wayne Bennett, now coaching at the Storm.
OK, not a good strike rate for you so far, what about others who could have come back?
Laurie Daley - became a Fox Sports commentator after his playing career ended, mostly a Sydney-based job. Also a Dragons consultant.
Ricky Stuart - shafted by the club for the final years of his career. Went on to coach at the club he ended his career at, before becoming first grade coach of the Roosters.
Brad Clyde - shafted by the club for the final years of his career. Walked straight into an off-field role with the Bulldogs, where he finished his career.
As for the rest, to my knowledge none of them stayed in league after their careers ended apart from Belcher who went to Brisbane. There was also talk of friction between some of the people at the club and some of the former legends, particularly over the handling of the Stuart/Clyde fiasco, and also the Kennedy/Pearson (Costin) saga. Whilst those people are now gone from the club, the fact that they were still there probably influenced a lot of our former legends in their decision not to return immediately, and though those people are now gone, as you said a lot of the former players have moved into other successful careers.