Josh Hodgson’s Canberra Raiders career has fallen apart the past year – and a lot of that is down to the departures of John Bateman and George Williams, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.
Hodgson has endured a turbulent 12 months at the Raiders, with the Herald stating that things have been seemingly going downhill after close friends John Bateman and George Williams left the club without seeing out their contracts.
Bateman left Canberra at the end of the 2020 season, whilst Williams exited midway through 2021, with both stars citing family reasons for their departures.
And, though the English hooker Hodgson still has a year left to run on his Raiders deal, Canberra have given him permission to negotiate with other clubs – with the Wests Tigers in the driving seat.
Hodgson was recently informed that he would not be offered a new deal past his 2022 contract, with Tom Starling set to be given the nod at number nine instead, though the Raiders were willing for Hodgson to see out the rest of his contract.
The English international is believed to be on almost a million Australian dollars at Canberra for 2022, so the Tigers will not be paying his whole salary which means that could be a stumbling block when trying to come to some sort of agreement between the two clubs.
Wests have been under fire for the past few months considering their serious lack of form which saw them miss out on a finals spot yet again.
