Fan favourite Jordan Rapana and star on the rise Albert Hopoate have re-signed with the Canberra Raiders ahead of their clash with Manly on Sunday afternoon.
Rapana will continue his stellar NRL career for another season after signing a one-year extension with the Raiders. The 33-year-old is putting together a terrific 2023 season and is showing he’s still got it.
“I’ve surprised myself with how my bodies been holding up and I’ve decided to go again for another year,” said Rapana.
“I want to thank the club and Stick (Ricky Stuart) for giving me another opportunity.”
“At my age form plays a big part of re-signing and I want to keep playing well. We’ve still got a long season ahead of us and we’re hitting some form and I’m looking forward to finishing this season strong and then carrying that into next year.”
Rapana currently sits on 99 career tries with 94 of those for the Raiders and said it’s a couple of milestones he’s looking forward to achieving.
“It’s a cool little achievement, but the most important thing is winning games and making finals and if I can get those little accolades along the way that’s pretty cool.”
Hopoate has re-signed for two seasons which will see him remain with the club until the end of the 2025 season.
Both Hopoate and Rapana have been in top form for the Green Machine over the past few weeks, with both players finding the try line and helping the Raiders on their current five game winning streak.
22-year-old Hopoate has improved in leaps and bounds in 2023 and his career best form has seen him rewarded with consistent first grade selection.
“It was a no brainer for me (to re-sign) and it was great to get Joel (Carbone) and my manager together and make it happen and I feel very blessed,” he said.
“It’s been a really good development stage for me over the past couple of years and I’ve great role models here like Jordan Rapana and Nick Cotric who have played over 100 games, and I’ll look to keep learning from them.
“I’m just looking to keep playing well and try and secure a spot and play as many NRL games as I can and keep learning.”
