The Canberra Raiders have signed Tongan international Siliva Havili as they look to fix a hooking crisis.
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Havili has joined the Raiders on a one-year deal for the 2018 season as coach Ricky Stuart looks to fill the void left by starting rake Josh Hodgson.
Hodgson ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament in England's World Cup campaign and Adam Clydsdale stunned the club when he announced his retirement aged just 24.
To make things tougher, the Raiders have been trying to offload Kurt Baptiste in a move that would make the club salary cap compliant.
But Havili's signing goes a long way to removing some of the headaches as he prepares to battle with Craig Garvey for the starting hooker role.
Raiders recruitment manager Peter Mulholland says Havili adds much-needed depth to the Green Machine's hooking stocks as pre-season ramps up.
"Siliva had a wonderful World Cup tournament for Tonga and he joins the squad to give us some depth to cover the unfortunate loss of Josh Hodgson," Mulholland said.
"We're looking forward to him joining the squad and having a solid pre-season with his new club."
The 24-year-old played a role in Tonga's surge to the World Cup semi-final, having spent time with the New Zealand Warriors and St George Illawarra across 24 NRL appearances.
