Raiders hooker Josh Hodgson was full of praise of fellow Englishman and club recruit Jordan Turner upon returning to pre-season training this week.
Hodgson's commencement of pre-season training was delayed due to the star dummy half playing part in the Four Nations tournament at the end of last year.
Turner made a quick impression among his new Raiders teammates according to Hodgson, who believes the 28-year-old's versatility will be vital for the club's fortunes in 2017.
Turner comes to the NRL with 213 games of Super League experience under his belt. Predominantly a centre, Turner is no stranger to playing in the halves or at lock.
"I think he has settled in really well. All the boys that I've spoken to say he's trained really hard and he's strong in the gym," Hodgson said.
"He's a good kid. He's switched on, he's skilful and I think he's a great addition to the squad.
"He'll be someone we'll be able to rely upon every week and that can play a number of positions. You tend to need that in this day and age so he's a good addition."
Hodgson's season preparations remain unhindered despite fellow rake Kurt Baptiste set to sit out the majority of the season due to a ruptured Achilles suffered in December.
"It won't impact me personally. I'll keep training as hard as I can and keep preparing as if I'm going to play 80 minutes every week," Hodgson said.
"I'm not sure what Sticky is thinking if he wants [me] to play 80 or is he thinking of having somebody else in the team like Clydie (hooker Adam Clydsdale)."
Kangaroos prop Shannon Boyd also commenced pre-season training this week and was hoping to use his newfound international experience in a constructive way at the Raiders.
Boyd played four Tests for the Kangaroos throughout their victorious Four Nations campaign.
"I learnt a lot being over there with all those high profile players," Boyd said.
"If I can bring a little bit of that back to the club itself, it will be good for me and the club to help the younger fellas out in the long run.
"You always see the guys here who have played rep footy leading by example and I guess it's time for me to step up and do that too."
Fellow internationals Elliott Whitehead, Jordan Rapana and Joe Tapine also kick-started their preparations for the 2017 Telstra Premiership season at Canberra this week.
