Raiders prop Dane Tilse wants to be a mentor for the next generation of Canberra forwards after re-signing with the NRL club for another two years.
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The Raiders received a boost for Saturday's match against the Newcastle Knights at Canberra Stadium when Tilse put pen to paper on a new contract until the end of 2016.
He has played 176 of his 179 first-grade games with the Raiders and is on track early next year to become the 10th player in the club's 33-season history to reach the 200-game milestone.
The Raiders are undergoing a transition in their forward pack, with second-year prop Paul Vaughan, 22, and 21-year-old rookie Shannon Boyd earning their stripes among the established faces of Tilse and representative trio David Shillington, Brett White and Tom Learoyd-Lahrs.
White, 32, and Learoyd-Lahrs, 28, are off contract at the end of the year, while Shillington, 30, is signed until the end of next season.
''[Vaughan and Boyd] are doing a really good job for us and hopefully my experience can help them as well,'' Tilse said. "You always need your experienced core to show the young guys the way in tight games, so I'll be looking to do that.
''There was a bit of interest [from other clubs], but I've been here for a while so I didn't want to go anywhere else.''
Tilse joined the Raiders in 2006 after making his first-grade debut with the Knights the previous season. He said he would be happy to finish his career in Canberra.
"I'll be 31 when my contract finishes so we'll see what happens after that,'' he said. "It's probably the happiest I've been here for a while so it would've been hard to leave.''
With Tilse locked away, the Raiders will now turn their attention to retaining Josh McCrone and Matt Allwood, while also extending the deal of Joel Edwards.
They will also be hoping gun full-back Anthony Milford changes his mind about joining the Brisbane Broncos next season.
Australian representative Josh Papalii, who was in a similar situation last year when he signed with the Eels before remaining at the Raiders, hopes Milford follows suit.
"Fingers crossed, hopefully he can stay and I'll support him 100 per cent,'' Papalii said. "I've been through it and it is pretty hard.
"It'd be good if he stays, but if he doesn't there's a reason why.''
