Hodgson and Raiders back-rower Elliott Whitehead were named in Wayne Bennett's 20-man England squad to take on Samoa in the Pacific Test on May 6 at Campbelltown Stadium.

The pair were always expected to be named in the English squad, with much of the speculation in the capital centred upon Jarrod Croker and Joey Leilua.

However it looks likely the Raiders pair will both miss out on maiden Australian jerseys with Mal Meninga reportedly opting in favour of Melbourne's Will Chambers and St George Illawarra star Josh Dugan.

Melbourne centre Will Chambers is expected to be picked at left centre on Wednesday, while Dugan will pip Leilua on the right despite the Canberra star holding the statistical advantage.

The news slices two hopefuls off Canberra's international radar, but New Zealand incumbents Jordan Rapana and Joe Tapine are likely to come up against Canberra's resident Kangaroo Josh Papalii, with Shannon Boyd and Junior Paulo also in the mix.

Walters admits he knew little of Hodgson before he arrived in Canberra but he wasn't overly surprised at how fast the former Hull KR hooker adapted to the NRL.

The 27-year-old was considered one of the favourites for the Dally M medal in his second season down under and he is beginning to rediscover that form after a slow start to 2017.

Walters says Hodgson has been one of Canberra's keys to success and Walters says impressive showings in big games could elevate him into the NRL's best hooker debate.

Melbourne, Queensland and Australian hooker Cameron Smith has held that title for over a decade and his exposure to the big games has elevated his standing in the game, with many considering him a future Immortal.

But Walters says if Hodgson can play a role in a drought-breaking Raiders premiership, he would deserve to be mentioned alongside the likes of Smith.

"It's hard to measure things like that, Cameron's been the top dog for a while now," Walters said.

"[Smith has] done really well, still playing at a very high standard now. The next step for Josh is to be dominant in those big games.

"He can't play Origin obviously because he's English, so what I'd love to see from him is the Raiders involved in finals or grand finals, and him involved in that. That'd be the next big thing for him.

"Then you start to look at comparisons. Those blokes get looked at like that because they perform in those finals games, grand finals, you name it. That's when the big guns are playing.

"I think he did really well too, he did in the finals last year."

Walters played 19 Tests for Australia at dummy-half and says Hodgson has plenty of strings in the bow that makes him one of the NRL's premier hookers.

"I'm sure he would have been hoping to get picked, he's certainly played well enough to make the team, that's for sure," Walters said.

"I think he's got a great temperament, he competes really well, he's obviously really good with the ball in hands, he reads the game well, he runs the ball well, he does a lot of things good."

Raiders back-rower Papalii is a near certainty for the Kangaroos and had eyes on linking up with Croker and Leilua in Australian camp.

Canberra coach Ricky Stuart endorsed Leilua as the best right centre in the game but Meninga looks confident Chambers will handle the shift to the other side of the paddock.

NRL ROUND NINE

Saturday: Canberra Raiders v Canterbury Bulldogs at ANZ Stadium, 5.30pm. Live on Fox League.

Raiders squad: 1. Jack Wighton, 2. Nick Cotric, 3. Jarrod Croker (C), 4. Joey Leilua, 5. Jordan Rapana, 6. Blake Austin, 7. Aidan Sezer, 8. Junior Paulo, 9. Josh Hodgson , 10. Shannon Boyd, 11. Josh Papalii, 12. Elliott Whitehead, 13. Joe Tapine. Interchange: 14. Adam Clydsdale, 15. Luke Bateman, 16. Clay Priest, 17. Sia Soliola. Reserves: 18. Dunamis Lui, 19. Scott Sorensen, 20. Makahesi Makatoa, 21. Lachlan Croker

Bulldogs squad: 1. Brett Morris, 2. Kerrod Holland, 3. Josh Morris, 4. Brenko Lee, 5. Marcelo Montoya, 6. Josh Reynolds, 7. Moses Mbye, 8. Aiden Tolman, 9. Michael Lichaa, 10. James Graham (c), 11. Josh Jackson, 12. Greg Eastwood, 13. David Klemmer. Interchange: 14. Sam Kasiano, 15. Danny Fualalo, 16. Adam Elliott, 17. Raymond Faitala-Mariner. Reserves: 19. Francis Tualai, 20. Matt Frawley, 21. Reimis Smith, 23. Will Hopoate

PACIFIC TEST

Saturday May 6: England v Samoa at Campbelltown Stadium.

England squad: Sam Burgess, Thomas Burgess, Luke Gale, James Graham, Ryan Hall, Zak Hardaker, Chris Heighington, Chris Hill, Josh Hodgson, Jermaine McGillvary, Mike McMeeken, Chris McQueen, Sean O'Loughlin (capt), Mark Percival, Scott Taylor, Alex Walmsley, Kallum Watkins, Elliott Whitehead, Gareth Widdop, George Williams.