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England coach Wayne Bennett has slammed the NRL for failing to help clubs when players are injured in representative matches, backing the Raiders' plea for salary cap dispensation to replace Josh Hodgson. Hodgson has been ruled out for up to nine months after rupturing his anterior cruciate ligament in England's World Cup semi-final triumph last weekend. He will miss most of the 2018 NRL season, leaving the Raiders without one of their best players and with just one fit hooker in their squad. The Raiders have been linked to Samoa No. 9 Siliva Havili and Ireland rake Micky McIlorum as coach Ricky Stuart searches for a replacement. Back-up Raiders hooker Adam Clydsdale quit the NRL as a 24-year-old just days before Hodgson's injury, but says he has no regrets about prematurely retiring despite the chance to wear Canberra's No. 9 jersey. Bennett became an unlikely Raiders ally when he leapt to Canberra's defence on Wednesday, defending England's handling of Hodgson's injury and hitting out at the NRL. "It's just so disappointing the game doesn't care enough about the contributions we make for them," Bennett said. "It shouldn't be a salary cap issue [for Canberra]. [Clubs] should be compensated by allowing them to get a player for a period of time. It's common sense. "...It defies logic to me we give our players to the game – which we're happy to do, whether it's Origin or this – and then an injury happens. "We all understand [it] is a part of it, and the game says, 'you've got to suck it [up] as well'. I give you something and you use it – it's mine. You break it and you don't want to compensate me for it? "We're not saying to the game, 'give us $100,000 because we've got a player injured here'. We're saying, 'let us go and spend some money on someone to get the job done because this guy is going to be out for seven to eight months'. It's totally unfair to the club. The game doesn't respect what we've done." The NRL has rejected Canberra's bid for salary cap dispensation despite Hodgson being one of the Raiders' highest-paid players. Hodgson will still be counted in Canberra's $9.4 million salary cap next year. Making matters worse is the sudden retirement of Clydsdale and the fact the club needs to release hooker Kurt Baptiste to comply with the salary cap. Baptiste and Clydsdale would have been the perfect combination to fill the void left by Hodgson, but neither will be at the Green Machine next year. Clydsdale is returning to Newcastle to work as a carpenter just four years after making his NRL debut. "It's crazy - football is a funny game. Obviously I've thought about what happened [to Hodgson] and what could have happened, but if I stayed he might not have been injured," Clydsdale said. "It's a very weird thing and a weird feeling that's hard to explain. It's all happened so quickly and [Hodgson's injury] does make you second guess yourself. "But I'm happy with my decision and I'm moving forward. I'm comfortable with everything and I'm looking forward to the next part of my life. "I'm just ready to move on. It's been on my mind for a few months and I spoke to a few people before coming to that decision to retire from the NRL." NRL clubs are growing frustrated at the risk they shoulder when their players are picked for representative duties, either internationals or State of Origin. The Cowboys were forced to play without superstar Johnathan Thurston last year after he injured his shoulder while playing for Australia in the Anzac Test. Bennett sympathised with the Raiders, but defended England's medical staff after Hodgson played on after suffering an initial injury. Asked about the Raiders' gripe with England's handling of Hodgson, Bennett said: "I don't think they should be disappointed, personally. "Josh was pretty much in control of his own destiny and Josh felt at the time he could play on. No one put him under pressure to play on. "I watched him for the next six or seven minutes and I thought, 'he's over this, he's OK. He's just taken a knock and it's nothing too serious'. Then all of a sudden his leg went underneath him when he changed direction. "And we obviously realised then and he realised it was a lot more serious than what we thought in the heat of the moment."

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