sport, raiders, canberra raiders, raiders, nrl, elliott whitehead, ryan sutton, melbourne storm, storm

It looks like the electric scooter did the trick, with the Canberra Raiders set to get an NRL finals boost through two English stars re-signing. Both Elliott Whitehead and Ryan Sutton are set to sign two-year extensions, potentially as early as mid-week, which would keep them in Canberra until at least 2022. Sutton had attracted interest from a couple of Sydney clubs, but the closeness of the Green Machine had them both intent on staying in Canberra. The 24-year-old has played 20 games in his first NRL season since joining the Raiders from Wigan. He's formed an important part of Canberra's forward pack, whether at prop, lock or coming off the bench. Whitehead's established himself as one of the best second-rowers in the NRL and has played 98 games in his four seasons with the Raiders. His teammates bought him a scooter for his birthday during the week, to replace the one he had stolen earlier in the year. It prompted Raiders coach Ricky Stuart to say his current squad was the closest one he'd worked with in his 18 years as a senior coach. The pair are part of the Raiders' growing Barmy Army, which numbered four this season - including co-captain Josh Hodgson and John Bateman - but will grow to five when George Williams joins them on a three-year deal next season. Both Whitehead and Sutton were off contract at the end of 2020 and were able to start talking to Canberra's rivals on November 1. But they've opted to re-sign early and extend their time in lime green. The Canberra Time revealed their manager was in town on the weekend and met with chief executive Don Furner and coach Ricky Stuart ahead of their shock 24-20 loss to the New Zealand Warriors on Saturday. Meanwhile, the NRL's English ranks look set to get bolstered even further with four Sydney clubs chasing St Helens prop Luke Thompson for the 2021 season. Thompson's played four Tests for England to go with his 145 first-grade appearances in the Super League. It's believed Canterbury, South Sydney, the Sydney Roosters and Manly are interested in the 24-year-old. NRL QUALIFYING FINAL Saturday: Canberra Raiders v Melbourne Storm at Melbourne, 5.40pm.

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