Huge Canberra Raiders boost as Xavier Savage set to re-sign

The Green Machine young gun has agreed to terms to a contract extension that will take him through until the end of 2025 and was expected to be finalised next week.

It comes in the lead-up to the Raiders' massive clash against St George Illawarra at Canberra Stadium on Sunday - where the home side must win to keep their finals hopes alive.

The game could also be the launching pad for more good news for the Raiders, who were looking to start discussions to keep the world's best prop Joe Tapine in lime green long term.

Like Savage, Tapine's off contract at the end of next season, but it's believed his manager Jim Banaghan was coming to Canberra for the game on Sunday to open contract talks.

There's been reports of the Green Machine offering a massive four-year, multi-million-dollar deal, but it's believed talks haven't progressed that far.

It's not all good news for the Raiders though, with young English forward Harry Rushton set to head home immediately for personal reasons.

Rushton's imminent departure is a shame given the 21-year-old looked at home in his three NRL games this season.

But the Savage boost comes as the fullback returns full of energy following a week off.

He'll return to the Canberra No.1 jersey to face the Dragons as the Green Machine hopes to win at least three of their remaining four games in a bid to force their way into the top eight and finals contention.

They're also looking for revenge following their controversial loss to the Dragons in Wollongong last month.

Raiders assistant coach Andrew McFadden was excited by the energy he expected Savage to bring on Sunday.

The Queenslander's set to become Canberra's long-term custodian with Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad joining the New Zealand Warriors at the end of the season.

"I think it was important for [Savage] last week to have a bit of a freshen up," McFadden said.

"It's a very big job for a young kid to come in and play every single game throughout the year, and he's played a lot of footy.

"He's only very young in his development so it's timely he had a rest and he's certainly looking very fresh for us this week.

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"He certainly looked like he was bouncing a little bit more this week. The week-to-week footy can be a grind and having that freshen up will really be beneficial for him."

McFadden backed his forwards to cover the absence of Tapine, who's out with a rib injury.

The Raiders have named Emre Guler to start in the front row alongside Josh Papalii, while Corey Horsburgh returned to the bench following pneumonia.

Horsburgh played NSW Cup last weekend after losing a substantial amount of weight due to the illness that ruled him out in the lead-up to the win over the Melbourne Storm four weeks ago.

"It's a big hole to fill in terms of the way Joe's been playing, but Corey Horsburgh was playing exceptional before he got sick," McFadden said.

"He had a really good run in the NSW Cup on the weekend and he'll just step straight in.

"We're still very strong in the forwards and we've just got to get back on track."

NRL ROUND 22

Sunday: Canberra Raiders v St George Illawarra Dragons at Canberra Stadium, 2pm.

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

Dragons squad: 1. Moses Mbye, 2. Mat Feagai, 3. Jack Bird, 4. Zac Lomax, 5. Tautau Moga, 6. Talatau Amone, 7. Ben Hunt (c), 8. Jack de Belin, 9. Andrew McCullough, 10. Blake Lawrie, 11. Josh McGuire, 12. Jayden Su'a, 13. Michael Molo. Interchange: 14. Tyrell Sloan, 15. Aaron Woods, 16. Tyrell Fuimaono , 17. Billy Burns. Reserves: 18. Jayden Sullivan, 19. Jackson Ford, 20. Jaiyden Hunt, 21. Cody Ramsey 22. Jack Gosiewski.

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