NRL: Canberra Raider Tom Starling reveals pain of getting dropped

That's one of the reasons why the Canberra Raiders have re-signed him until the end of 2025, having taken up his option for next year and added another season on top of that.

The Raiders also confirmed on Tuesday the signing of Newcastle utility Simi Sasagi, also until the end of 2025, as revealed by The Canberra Times in June.

Starling wants to be part of the next wave of Raiders as some of the old guard's time in lime green comes to an end - both Jarrod Croker (retirement) and Jack Wighton (South Sydney) will move on at the end of the season.

The hooker's backed the Green Machine to go all the way this season, but was happy there was no hype around the team's prospects.

He said they needed to win Saturday's game against the second-placed Brisbane Broncos at Canberra Stadium to show their finals credentials.

But it was only a few weeks ago that he wouldn't have been playing in it, having been dropped to NSW Cup.

"To be honest I was a bit upset when I found the news out. Obviously you don't like getting put back," Starling said.

"But I've been raised by two good parents who said if things don't go your way just keep your head down and keep working hard. So that's what I did.

"I enjoyed my time down there [in NSW Cup] ... it definitely did help to get back there and get a bit of confidence again."

Starling said it had been an easy choice to extend his time at his "home away from home", having moved down from Newcastle.

The 25-year-old wanted to emerge as a leader in the next generation of the Green Machine.

He was excited by the young talent coming through the ranks, which included the likes of Corey Horsburgh, Hudson Young, Matt Timoko and Sebastian Kris.

Starling was also excited at the chance of taking on the high-flying Broncos.

The Raiders sit in sixth, with their spot in the eight all-but assured.

A win over Brisbane would not only lock them into the finals, but could be enough to earn them a home semi-final.

MORE RAIDERS NEWS

Starling felt it was the perfect opportunity to show the Raiders were capable of going all the way.

Canberra was expecting a crowd of about 18,000 for the Broncos clash.

"We're all in on this season. We believe we're going to go all the way," Starling said.

"These are the games we've got to win. It's a good one leading into the semi-finals, a big team that's flying high up there on top of the ladder and building into the semis for us.

"We don't get much hype around us most years and we don't mind it that way. We just fly under the radar and do our thing.

"We know what we're capable of doing and that's the most important thing - what's inside the group."

NRL ROUND 26

Saturday: Canberra Raiders v Brisbane Broncos at Canberra Stadium, 7.35pm.

Raiders squad: 1. Jordan Rapana, 2. Albert Hopoate, 3. Jarrod Croker (c), 4. Matt Timoko, 5. Nick Cotric, 6. Matt Frawley, 7. Jamal Fogarty, 8. Josh Papali'i, 9. Zac Woolford, 10. Joe Tapine, 11. Hudson Young, 12. Elliott Whitehead (c), 13. Corey Horsburgh. Interchange: 14. Tom Starling, 15. Emre Guler, 16. James Schiller, 17. Ata Mariota. Reserves: 18. Pasami Saulo, 19. Brad Morkos, 20. Jack Wighton, 21. Sebastian Kris, 22. Adrian Trevilyan.

Broncos squad: 1. Reece Walsh, 2. Corey Oates, 3. Kotoni Staggs, 4. Herbie Farnworth, 5. Selwyn Cobbo, 6. Ezra Mam, 7. Jock Madden, 8. Thomas Flegler, 9. Billy Walters, 10. Payne Haas, 11. Kurt Capewell, 12. Jordan Riki, 13. Patrick Carrigan. Interchange: 14. Tyson Smoothy, 15. Brendan Piakura, 16. Kobe Hetherington, 17. Corey Jensen. Reserves: 18. Jesse Arthars, 19. Keenan Palasia, 20. Martin Taupau, 21. Tristan Sailor, 22. Deine Mariner.

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