The Canberra Raiders have received a huge boost ahead of week one of the NRL Finals, with hooker Tom Starling signing a new two-year deal with the club.
Starling has been a huge part of the Raiders charge towards the finals this season and has worked alongside Siliva Havili to cover for Captain Josh Hodgson who was ruled out for the season in round nine with a knee injury.
Since coming into the team in round 10 Starling has played all the remaining 11 matches of the regular season and is set to make his first NRL Finals appearance against the Sharks on Saturday night at GIO Stadium.
Starling said he’s excited and happy to be re-signing with the Raiders and is thankful for the opportunity he’s been able to have to continue his NRL career.
“I’m really happy to get the chance to extend my time in Canberra, especially since the Raiders are the club that gave me an opportunity to train last year and get myself into their squad,” Starling said. “To sign for a further two years is really exciting, and I can’t wait to play in my first finals game this weekend.”
Raiders Coach Ricky Stuart said the re-signing of Starling was due to the effort and application he’s put into his game and taking his opportunity when it presented itself.
“It’s key position at hooker and when Josh was injured, there were a lot of heads that went down. I’m fortunate because I see what work Tommy does. I see all the hard work he puts in and the work he puts into the combinations with his halves,” Stuart said. “That’s a credit to him for sticking and committing to all his training and being patient. He got his crack and he’s got an extra two years out of that too. We’re very fortunate to have Tom Starling at the club.”
