Staying with the Raiders was a no-brainer: Starling
On the eve of his first NRL finals campaign, Canberra Raiders hooker Tom Starling, has re-signed with the Green Machine on a two year deal.
Starling, along with Siliva Havili, has stepped into the breach, after Josh Hodgson suffered his second ACL injury in the Round 9 clash with the Storm. No one replaces Josh Hodgson, but Starling has brought a different dimension the team at dummy half. It's been critical to the Raiders making the top eight.
Starling is very pleased to be "sticking around" in the nation's capital.
"I'm pretty happy that I've re-signed," Starling said today.
"It's been a work in progress over the last couple of weeks. I'm happy to put pen to paper before the finals start and I can focus on the finals now."
"This club gave me a second opportunity, to come down here on a train and trial deal, and give me another crack at becoming a first grade player."
"It was a no-brainer for me. As soon as it got brought up I was happy to stay here, for sure."
"It's an awesome club here. The people that are in the club, really care about the club, and that's a massive thing for me. I like people who care about things and want to make people better. So I'm happy to be here."
Starling has now played in 11 matches this season and he's looking more at home all the time.
"It's easy with the boys around me," Starling said.
"They're all very experienced players, with Georgie and Jack in the halves and Charnze at fullback. Obviously, I've got a really good forward pack either side of me. So I'm feeling more comfortable each game I play."
Coach Ricky Stuart rested nine first graders from last Saturday's game against the Sharks in Sydney. Against the odds, the "Rookie Raiders" won the game, 38-28.
The 22 year old hooker, with 12 NRL games to his name, was man of the match. He scored a try, made three line breaks and produced three try assists and two line break assists. He also ran for over 100 metres, 56 of them from dummy half. He was just dynamic.
"It was an exciting game for the whole club," Starling said.
"Sticky spoke about it being an exciting week. We had four club debutants, and three NRL debuts. We tried our best to make that a special day for them and I think it was.
"I will definitely remember that game for the rest of my life. We were out there having fun."
"It was a good fun game. I said to a few people after the game that that was one of the most fun games I've played in, because of the excitement levels around the club and the build up we had before it."
Raiders second rower Elliott Whitehead welcomed the news of Starling's re-signing today.
"He's played really well since Hodgo's gone down," Whitehead said.
"He's stepped up and really helped us around that middle. You saw what he did on the weekend. He's still a young kid and he's just going to keep learning the game better as well, so it's pleasing to have him on board for the next two years.
The other half of the Raiders' stand in hooking duo, Siliva Havili, says Starling's contract is well merited because of his performances on the field. But Havili says "Starlo" also brings something else to Raiders HQ.
"We've all seen the revelation Starlo's brought into the team," Havili said.
"It's well deserved for him. It couldn't happen to a better person, because he's the sort of person you want in your team. He brings that bit of life, that bit of energy, and that laughter that we need too."
Starling is now looking forward to Saturday night's elimination final against the Sharks at Canberra Stadium.
"Exciting times. Everyone wants to play in an NRL semi final. I've been watching these games my whole life, the pointy end of the season. I'm looking forward to getting out there and giving my all," Starling said.
Though Starling did not play in the Raiders' 2019 finals campaign, he was with the squad. He'll draw on that in preparing for his first finals series.
"Being in and amongst the team last year, I definitely learned a lot about getting ready for a finals campaign," he said.
"I'll be drawing from a few of the senior players about what to expect."
A report for The Greenhouse
VIDEO: Starling: This is an awesome club:
https://www.raiders.com.au/news/2020/09 ... some-club/
VIDEO: Starling repaying the faith with contract extension:
https://www.nrl.com/news/2020/09/29/sta ... extension/
Canberra Raiders re-sign rising star Tom Starling before NRL finals bid
Tom Starling was Christmas shopping with his Mum when a blocked phone number started flashing on his phone. "I thought it might have been a Telstra scam but it was Pete [Mulholland] so I was pretty happy to get that call," Starling said.
Raiders recruitment guru Mulholland had been looking for a back-up number nine ahead of the 2019 season, and recent recruit Hudson Young suggested the fleet-footed Starling would be a perfect fit.
Read more:
https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/ ... /?cs=14280