Young Canberra Raider Harley Smith-Shields set for contract boost

The young Canberra Raiders centre's on the verge of re-signing with the Green Machine for at least one more year.

It's in stark contrast to 2022 when he was all set to start the campaign in the Raiders centres only to tear his anterior cruciate ligament at training five weeks before round one.

Smith-Shields' contract runs out at the end of this year, but it's believed an extension to keep the Canberra product in lime green beyond that's close to being finalised.

That's not the only good news for the 23-year-old.

He's back in full training and Raiders coach Ricky Stuart said he was back in the selection mix after another good pre-season.

Smith-Shields trained the house down last summer, propelling himself into one of the two starting spots for round one only for injury to strike.

It opened the door for Matt Timoko and Sebastian Kris to establish themselves as Canberra's centres, with Raiders co-captain Jarrod Croker (shoulder) also out injured for most of 2022.

Kris scored 14 tries from 20 games, while Timoko crossed nine times in his 26.

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But Smith-Shields was back and Stuart said he was in the selection mix with pre-season trials the chance to nail down a spot.

The Raiders travel to Moruya to take on the Canterbury Bulldogs in the first trial on Sunday week, before heading to Belmore to take on Wests Tigers a week later in their final one.

That second one's likely to give an indication to who will face the North Queensland Cowboys in Townsville in round one on March 4.

Stuart said the trials would play a role in deciding which young forwards would head to Far North Queensland and it's a similar situation for Smith-Shields.

"He's another player there fighting for a spot," he said.

Stuart was impressed with the mental strength Smith-Shields has shown since injuring his knee.

He was so close to adding to his nine NRL games only to have the whole season taken away from him.

The Raiders have given him plenty of time to get his body right and he's had another strong summer on the training track.

"He's had a really, really good off-season. He came back and started from day one with having that full season to overcome his ACL," Stuart said.

"We've given him time to get it right and he's done everything he has to do in rehabilitation and he's come back from day one, and he's had a really good off-season for us.

"He's a talented player and was unlucky he did his ACL in the pre-season last year.

"He's done a good job - even just mentally overcoming the fact he had to miss a full season.

"But he's a young boy and he's got a lot in front of him."

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