Soliola signed a 12-month extension to his Raiders contract towards the end of last season, and will likely angle for a similar arrangement later this year should he decide to play on.

But the veteran has an eye towards his non-playing future, and has started coming into the Raiders on his days off to work with staff behind the scenes, and learn more about the organisation.

He is also working on a certificate 4 in career development with teammates Elliott Whitehead and Hudson Young, and the Raiders' NRL wellbeing manager Andrew Bishop.

"I'm not saying this is something I'll be doing next year but it's just a stepping stone, whatever decision I make - this is contributing to life after footy basically," Soliola said.

"Whether it's next year or the year after. I dare say I'll need to do a lot more as well, more qualifications in order to get me on my feet, I've done a fair few with the youth work and community courses.

"It's really put me in good stead in terms of really understanding operations of the organisation in that area. It's nice to know that I'm doing things that I'm getting to where I want to go and the club's been very accommodating with all that.

"They're things that you understand more yourself and what areas you want to be in after footy. This is something I'm really looking forward to in terms of understanding what it's all about."

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Soliola has played every game for the Raiders in 2021, although coach Ricky Stuart dropped the prop ahead of Saturday's crunch clash North Queensland.

New Zealand international Joseph Tapine was also dropped this week, while Josh Papalii has been demoted to the bench as Stuart looks to halt a two-match losing skid.