HE may have once been dumped by the club but Todd Carney has done the Canberra Raiders a massive favour by helping them to land star English import Elliott Whitehead.

The athletic English backrower arrives in the nation’s capital having compiled an impressive resume in 174 appearances for the Bradford Bulls and French based outfit the Catalan Dragons, where he has spent his past three seasons.

Whitehead has notched up 70 tries in the Super League, as well as scoring a vital double in the decider of England’s end of season Test series win against New Zealand.

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Ironically, the man that played a major role in getting Whitehead to the Raiders was Carney, the one-time star player who was released by the club in 2008 following a series of alcohol-related incidents.

“Todd’s probably one of the main reasons I’m out here. He said it’d be a good place for me to come and play in the NRL,” Whitehead said of Carney’s influence.

“Obviously he’s played here before and he knows the place pretty well. He only had good things to say about the club and about Ricky Stuart.”

Whitehead will be reunited with the Green Machine’s star hooker Josh Hodgson who also played a key role in luring the former Dragon to Canberra.

“He only had praise for the club and the direction they were going. He said they had a young squad last year and they went well, so hopefully we can go one step further this year,” he said.

“It’s going to be good to play with Hodgey, I’ve played with him for England, he’s a class hooker and it’ll be good to hopefully line up with him week in week out.”

While the switch from the Super League to the NRL has brought many highly credentialed imports unstuck, Whitehead’s move has been accepted with praise from England coach Steve McNamara who believes he will be a ‘stand out’, while Catalans teammate Zeb Taia says he will ‘hit like Papalii and run like Soliola’.

Whitehead, selected as part of the Super League Dream Team in 2014 and was named the Catalan’s Player of the Year and Players’ Player in 2015, is well aware of the club’s back-row depth and knows he faces a tough challenge to clinch a spot in the forward pack.

“They’re two world class players (Papalii and Soliola) and then there’s Jarrad Kennedy who also plays back row,” Whitehead said.

“As long as they’re training hard it’s going to get the best out of me, so I’m happy to challenge them for that position.”

Joining a side brimming with young talent, Whitehead’s numbers will have fans bristling with anticipation at what the club can achieve in the coming season.

Whitehead was the Catalans second top try scorer with 11, he led the club with 79 tackle busts and was just three tackles off being the Dragons top defender. He was third behind only halves Todd Carney and Scott Dureau in try assists with 11.

Whitehead has hinted that he is aiming for a lengthy stint in the NRL as he looks to secure his place in the top grade.

“Hopefully I can play well and get another contract after this one.

“I’d like to hope my future will definitely stay in the NRL for a few years but we’ll have to wait and see.”