But the 20-year-old was confident he could handle it and was excited by the prospect of what he could produce in the future.

Given what he's shown during his 16-game career, especially in last week's win over St George Illawarra, it doesn't take a leap of faith to see him turning that pressure into diamonds over the next three years.

Savage was contracted until the end of next season, but has extended that deal for another two years - keeping him in lime green until at least the end of 2025.

It's a massive boost for the Raiders ahead of their must-win clash against the Newcastle Knights in Newcastle on Sunday.

It's also a sign of the faith the Green Machine have the young gun can replace Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad as their long-term fullback.

Nicoll-Klokstad's returning to New Zealand at the end of the season to be closer to his young family, opening the door for Savage to establish himself.

He showed he could do exactly that with his efforts against the Dragons - setting up two tries as he chimed into Canberra's attack on both edges.

And he felt with another pre-season under his belt he could only continue to grow.

"There's a lot of trust there and I appreciate that from the club," Savage said.

"There is a little bit of pressure now, but I'm going to handle that pretty well.

"I feel like I'm more mentally tough than I was 12 months ago and I will be [even tougher] 12 months from now.

"Come April-March when the season starts next year I'll be ready to go."

The Cairns product said the Raiders had become his family away from home.

His pace meant he grew up as a winger, but he's been working hard on his craft to become an elite fullback.

He's seventh for kick-return metres with 834m this season - despite having only started 11 games, with two of those on the wing.

Savage has been watching video of Melbourne Storm great Billy Slater to help develop his custodian craft.

Slater's widely recognised as one of the best fullbacks in the history of the game.

"I've been watching some of Billy Slater's stuff. He's someone anyone would love to mould their game around," Savage said.

"Billy Slater's someone I would love to mould my game around, but also add my bit of flair to it."

Raiders centre Matt Timoko was hoping to benefit more and more from Savage's forays into the offensive line.

Savage chimed into attack on both edges against the Dragons - using his pace to put Jordan Rapana over in the corner on the left and putting in a deft grubber for Albert Hopoate to score on the right.

He also can be seen sniffing around the ruck in the middle with the big boppers.

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"He's really maturing into that role," Timoko said.

"When he first burst onto the scene he was young, he was a raw talent, whereas now he's realising his potential and he's going to be a great player for the future."

Savage said he was starting to get used to the rigours of being an NRL player.

He was given a week off in round 21 to refresh his body after picking up a few knocks and returned with a bang against the Dragons.

"I'm still getting used to the week-in, week-out. It's pretty tough, this year's been pretty tough," Savage said.

"At the back end of the season your body's pretty fatigued, but I'm definitely getting used to it. I'm loving it. I wouldn't want to be anywhere else."

NRL ROUND 23

Sunday: Canberra Raiders v Newcastle Knights at Newcastle Stadium, 4pm.

Raiders squad: 1. Xavier Savage, 2. Nick Cotric, 3. Matt Timoko, 4. Sebastian Kris, 5. Jordan Rapana, 6. Jack Wighton, 7. Jamal Fogarty, 8. Josh Papalii, 9. Zac Woolford, 10. Joe Tapine, 11. Hudson Young, 12. Elliott Whitehead (c), 13. Adam Elliott. Interchange: 14. Tom Starling, 15. Emre Guler, 16. Corey Horsburgh, 17. Corey Harawira-Naera. Reserves: 18. Albert Hopoate, 19. Ata Mariota, 20. Matt Frawley, 21. Ryan Sutton, 22. Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad.

Knights squad: 1. Tex Hoy, 2. Edrick Lee, 3. Dane Gagai, 4. Krystian Mapapalangi, 5. Dominic Young, 6. Anthony Milford, 7. Adam Clune, 8. David Klemmer, 9. Jayden Brailey (C), 10. Daniel Saifiti, 11. Tyson Frizell, 12. Brodie Jones, 13. Jacob Saifiti. Interchange: 14. Phoenix Crossland, 15. Pasami Saulo, 16. Simi Sasagi, 17. Mathew Croker. Reserves: 18. Sauaso Sue, 19. Chris Randall, 20. Jack Johns, 21. Oryn Keeley, 22. Hymel Hunt.

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