'The future of the club': Josh Hodgson rapt as Hudson Young re-signs with Canberra Raiders

Young has signed with the Raiders until the end of the 2024 season with Raiders co-captain Josh Hodgson backing the emerging prospect to start "knocking on the door for rep honours" this year.

It is a huge boost for the Raiders days out from their NRL season opener against the Wests Tigers at Canberra Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

Young will fill the void left by English international John Bateman in the second row as the Green Machine take their first step towards a drought-breaking premiership.

The Newcastle junior has played 30 NRL games for the Raiders and says the prospect of bringing a trophy back to Canberra is a key part of his decision to stay.

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"It's massive. Everyone wants to win a comp and I really feel like we've got the team to do so here," Young said.

"Everyone has worked hard in the off-season and hopefully we can put on a good performance in round one. Really excited to stay here, very proud to stay at the Raiders.

"I never wanted to go anywhere else. I'm really happy it's done before the season so I can get that out of my head and just focus on footy."

Young played a key role for Canberra in their charge to the preliminary final last year, featuring in the side for 18 successive games after returning from a suspension.

Now he joins a growing list of Green Machine stars locked down for at least 2022 and beyond with Hodgson hailing Young's contract extension as a "massive moment" for the title contenders.

Young adds ferocity to an imposing Raiders pack, with Hodgson backing the 22-year-old Maitland product to push for State of Origin honours if he can pick up where he left off last year.

"That's a massive moment, not only for him but for the club," Hodgson said.

"He's such a hard working boy, he works so hard on and off the field. He never stops training, sometimes we have to tell him to calm down. That's what we need.

"I was talking to Rick [Stuart] about it before. When I first came in at the end of 2014, it was just a transition of the full club.

"From where we were to where we are now is something me, the older boys, and the coaching staff who have been here a long time are really proud of. We want to try to keep it there as long as we can.

"To get young kids like Hudson signed up, he has certainly got some potential. If he plays the way he has been training this year and was playing at the back end of last year, he will certainly be knocking on the door for rep honours.

"We need to get those young kids tied up, they're the future of the club."

Bateman has already backed Young to shine, saying he could line up for NSW and Australia "in a couple of years" as he prepares to fill the vacancy on the right edge.

"That was one of my goals coming into pre-season, with Batty leaving. I had a few conversations with him as well and he was confident I could do so," Young said.

"I'm just happy I got that coming into round one. With the depth we've got here in the forwards and even the backs as well ... if you have a few rough games you'll be put on notice."

NRL ROUND ONE

Sunday: Canberra Raiders v Wests Tigers at Canberra Stadium, 4.05pm. Broadcast: Live on Channel Nine and Fox League. Tickets from Ticketek.

Raiders team: 1. Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad, 2. Bailey Simonsson, 3. Sebastian Kris, 4. Curtis Scott, 5. Jordan Rapana, 6. Jack Wighton, 7. George Williams, 8. Josh Papalii, 9. Josh Hodgson (c), 10. Dunamis Lui, 11. Hudson Young, 12. Elliott Whitehead, 13. Joe Tapine. Interchange:14. Siliva Havili, 15. Ryan Sutton, 16. Sia Soliola, 17. Ryan James. Reserves: 18. Sam Williams, 19. Tom Starling, 20. Emre Guler, 21. Harley Smith-Shields.

Tigers team: 1. Daine Laurie, 2. David Nofoaluma, 3. James Roberts, 4. Joseph Leilua, 5. AJ Kepaoa, 6. Moses Mbye, 7. Luke Brooks, 8. James Tamou (c), 9. Jacob Liddle, 10. Joe Ofahengaue, 11. Luke Garner, 12. Luciano Leilua, 13. Alex Twal. Interchange: 14. Tommy Talau, 15. Thomas Mikaele, 16. Stefano Utoikamanu, 17. Russell Packer. Reserves: 18. Jock Madden, 19. Michael Chee Kam, 20. Tuki Simpkins, 21. Alex Seyfarth.

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