Canberra Raiders on hunt for hookers

With Hodgson (knee) out for the rest of his final season in lime green before joining Parramatta, Starling's looking to use the rest of the NRL campaign to establish himself as an 80-minute dummy half.

The Raiders only have Matt Frawley and young rake Adrian Trevilyan as their back-up No.9s now that Hodgson's undergone a knee reconstruction.

Raiders chief executive Don Furner said they were looking to further strengthen the position and had salary cap space to do so.

It's slim pickings for hookers off-contract at the end of this season, with Parramatta's Mitch Rein the pick of the bunch.

There's a few more options contracted until the end of 2023, including South Sydney No.9 Damien Cook, while the Sydney Roosters' signing of Brandon Smith could open the door for Sam Verrills to explore his options despite being contracted until the end of 2024.

"We'll keep our eye out for sure, definitely," Furner said.

"We're looking at the moment. We've still got Trevilyan, but you need depth in that area so we're continually looking."

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Starling's shouldered the dummy half load largely on his own since Hodgson injured his knee in the round one win over Cronulla.

Trevilyan's been out with hamstring issues and illness, leaving Frawley as the only back-up - although Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad came off the bench to cover Starling when he went for a head injury assessment.

Starling said he was relishing the role, but there were areas he still needed to improve on.

"I'm enjoying the longer minutes and the added responsibility," he said.

"I feel like I have [settled into it], but there's still a few things I need to work on - we'll get there.

"[Nicoll-Klokstad] has been doing a bit of training there, he's playing that utility role at the moment, which he's really good at.

"I'll take the brunt of the minutes, but if I need a spell here and there he'll jump in there.

"That's where I want to get my game, I want to be the nine at the club here for many, many years to come.

"I like the responsibility of being the starting nine and I've got to take the wins and losses and make sure I'm taking responsibility for my game and the team's performance."

NRL ROUND EIGHT

Saturday: Canberra Raiders v New Zealand Warriors at Redcliffe, 3pm.

Raiders squad: 1. Jordan Rapana, 2. Nick Cotric, 3. Matt Timoko, 4. Semi Valemei, 5. Xavier Savage, 6. Jack Wighton, 7. Brad Schneider, 8. Josh Papalii, 9. Tom Starling, 10. Joe Tapine, 11. Hudson Young, 12. Elliott Whitehead (c), 13. Ryan Sutton. Interchange: 14. Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad, 15. Corey Harawira-Naera, 16. Adam Elliott, 17. Corey Horsburgh. Reserves: 18. Harry Rushton, 19. Matt Frawley, 20. Jarrod Croker, 21. Emre Guler, 22. Trey Mooney, 23. James Schiller, 24. Peter Hola.

Warriors squad: 1. Reece Walsh, 2. Rocco Berry, 3. Jesse Arthars, 4. Adam Pompey, 5. Viliami Vailea, 6. Chanel Harris-Tavita, 7. Shaun Johnson, 8. Addin Fonua-Blake, 9. Wayde Egan, 10. Matt Lodge, 11. Euan Aitken, 12. Bayley Sironen, 13. Jazz Tevaga. Interchange: 14. Taniela Otukolo, 15. Bunty Afoa, 16. Eliesa Katoa, 17. Jack Murchie. Reserves: 18. Edward Kosi, 20. Ben Murdoch-Masila, 21. Daejarn Asi, 22. Pride Petterson-Robati, 23. Junior Ratuva, 24. Valingi Kepu, 25. Jackson Frei.

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