Canberra Raiders co-captain Elliott Whitehead reveals his international career for England could be over

The star second-rower hasn't officially retired. He just felt like this World Cup could be the last time he represents his country.

The news comes as Raiders teammate Jordan Rapana expected new Canberra assistant coach Michael Maguire to add a hard edge to the Green Machine.

Whitehead's played 24 Tests for England, and another four for Great Britain, in an international career where he's made the World Cup final (2017) and the semi-final (2022).

The 33-year-old slumped to his haunches after Samoa had ended his World Cup dream of winning on home soil - a golden-point victory.

Samoa players, including Jarome Luai, consoled Whitehead in the aftermath.

He was one of England's stars throughout the tournament - and especially in that semi - but it was hollow comfort for the hard-as-nails forward.

"I know I played well, but it's disappointing the way it ended. It's probably the last time I'll play for England," Whitehead told The Canberra Times.

"That's not official, I don't know what will be, but in my head I felt like it would be my last time.

"I wanted to finish on a high and obviously that didn't happen.

"It was disappointing, but for the international game Samoa did something special - a bit similar to Tonga in 2017.

"We saw the support that got behind them and it's only going to be good for the international game as a whole."

Rapana's World Cup campaign also ended in the semis - New Zealand going down to eventual winners Australia.

When he begins pre-season training in the New Year he'll be reacquainted with his Kiwis coach Maguire, who has already started as Ricky Stuart's senior assistant.

Rapana said he'd add a hard edge to the Raiders in 2023 - something the evergreen winger felt they lacked at times this year.

Maguire's coached Rapana at the international level for half of his 16 Tests for the Kiwis, since the South Sydney premiership-winning coach took the reins in 2018.

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Rapana shone a light on what the rest of the Raiders playing group could expect from him.

"He's a pretty intense coach man. He's full on and I mean that with all respect," Rapana said.

"It's probably something we need. There's probably patches throughout last year where we weren't able to get up and close out games that were important.

"But Madge seemed to get us up for every single game - regardless of whether it was Jamaica or Australia.

"He's got a knack for knowing how to get the boys up and that's pretty much what we lacked last year at patches throughout the season. And I think he'll bring that."

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