Josh Hodgson's future is reportedly one step closer to being sorted, with the Canberra Raiders' star set to return to the club for pre-season in the coming days.
The Raiders start pre-season this week, and while Hodgson has been heavily linked with a move away from the club, nothing has been formalised as yet.
Ricky Stuart's side will be desperate to climb back into the top eight this season, and a balanced pre-season could provide them the keys to make the first step in that direction.
According to The Canberra Times, Hodgson will report to the Raiders' pre-season on Friday alongside teammates, and officials are expecting him to remain with the club.
Hodgson was originally set to leave the Raiders with Tom Starling to play a bigger role in 2022.
Starling was a breakout weapon for Canberra off the bench in 2021, often pushing Hodgson to a lock forward role once he came onto the park.
It had been widely reported that Hodgson would join the Tigers, while the Raiders would receive either Jake Simpkin or Jacob Liddle in return to keep both squads within a healthy balance.
However, off-field issues for Starling seemingly put paid to the idea of Hodgson going to the Tigers for the time being, with the English veteran having his home in Canberra since arriving in Australia.
Hodgson had major problems with a knee injury last year and, like Starling, is off-contract at the end of 2022 with Canberra seemingly uncertain about which route to take forward in the critical role.
