The Canberra Raiders have continued securing their squad for the future, with Emre Guler committing to the club until the end of the 2023 season.
Guler, 23, who is currently on contract until the end of 2021, has signed a two-year extension on his current deal with Canberra.
A breakout season in 2019 saw Guler play in the NRL Grand Final, but an ankle injury sidelined him for the second half of 2020. Guler used the time to ensure his ankle was fully recovered and with a full pre-season he’s looking for an opportunity to get back into the Raiders NRL team.
A highly-rated prospect, Guler was one of two Raiders who recently joined Brad Fittler in Sydney as part of the NSW Blues emerging Origin camp.
Guler said he’s excited to extend his time in Canberra and he’s looking forward to getting back on the field after a frustrating 2020 season.
“I’m really happy to get it done. I just want to look forward to training hard and getting myself ready for round one,” Guler said. “It’s good to get it out of the way and focus on footy now.”
Guler said the Raiders depth in the forwards will make it a challenge to secure a place in the 17 for round one, but he would be doing everything he could to give himself an opportunity.
“You look at the [forward pack] on paper, there are such good names there. It’s going to be a tough year, there’s a lot of competition and you can just tell that here at training,” he said. “I’m hoping to have a strong trial and put myself in a position to get back into the team.”
Raiders Recruitment and High-Performance Director Peter Mulholland said the re-signing of Guler was a vital part of the club’s retention strategy and he would continue to improve and develop over the next three seasons.
“It’s another great sign for the club to have young players wanting to re-sign and continue their development in Canberra,” Mulholland said. “We're still yet to see the best of what Emre can bring on the field and we’re looking forward to seeing him continue to establish himself in the NRL.”
