Hodgson is set to depart Canberra next season for Parramatta, and Starling has been groomed to fill his position for the Green Machine.

Hodgson will miss up to three weeks after scans revealed cartilage damage in his right knee, giving Starling a prime opportunity in the No.9 jersey.

"He's been a massive help in my career," Starling said of Hodgson.

"Not just in playing footy - it's on and off the field. Just the way he conducts himself as a man, I've definitely drawn a lot off Hodgo.

"I'm looking forward to sending him off here well. He's a very good leader and player."

Starling said a character like Hodgson is going to be a great loss to the club, and to the 23-year-old personally, having made a big contribution to his development at the Raiders since arriving from Newcastle in 2019.

His very first encounter with the British import is something he will never forget.

"When I first came down here, in the first session he saw I was throwing some dummy-half passes and straightaway he was helping me," Starling said.

"He's a very well-rounded dummy-half. I'm just sponging off him and I'll do it till the last day he's here."

In the coming weeks Starling will be put to the test as a starting hooker in Hodgson's place, with Adrian Trevilyan named on the bench to make his NRL debut in the No.14 jersey this Saturday in Townsville against the Cowboys.

When Hodgson went down early against the Sharks last weekend, Starling more than adequately rose to the occasion, with three tackle breaks, a team-high tackle count (38) and a deft try-assist grubber to set up Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad to score.

MORE RAIDERS NEWS:

He'd done it before with Hodgson's ACL injury in 2020 when his performance for the Raiders had NSW coach Brad Fittler singing praise for the "very impressive, ninja" hooker, and compared his game to that of Blues star Damien Cook.

But coming off contract at the end of the season, and having encountered some off-field drama too in recent years, Starling has a bit to prove in 2022 if he is to replicate the same scintillating form he showed two years ago and allow his NRL career to blossom.

"It's been a tough period for me and my family," Starling said of the two Central Coast bar incidents that landed him in strife with authorities following the past two NRL seasons.

"There's been one side of the story being told and I know the facts and what's happened. So I can move on with it and focus on my footy, that's all I've been wanting to do."

Starling's talent on the field was almost immediately overshadowed by his off-field controversies.

With the help of his support network, coach Ricky Stuart and the "close-knit" Raiders, Starling is confident he can still get his name back in the headlines for the right reasons.

"My family have been there every step of the way. All the boys have been really supportive too. It's sort of a safe haven here," he said.

"It can get hard at times, but once I come in here and see the boys, they have gotten me through it for sure.

"Sticky is really good at bringing in people that are good people first and foremost.

"I don't know where I would be without them. And I tell them how much they do mean to me."

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: