Hodgson loving life as a Raider as England prepare for Kiwis

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English International and Canberra hooker Josh Hodgson has praised the Raiders and says he’s enjoying life in the NRL.

“Living in Canberra has been amazing. The club have been fantastic with me and my family from minute one and I can’t speak highly enough of them,” he told The Hull Daily Mail.

“I say that to everyone who interviews me. Anything that we’ve needed, they’ve been straight there and sorted it out for us. They’ve really made it feel like a home away from home.

“That’s a massive thing when you’re so far away from your friends and your family. We’ve really settled there and we love it. They’re a fantastic club with a great group of lads, players and coaches too.”

“It’s pretty tough [NRL]. Every week is full-on and the easiest way to describe the NRL is that there are no off-weeks,” Hodgson added.

“Every week is a high-tempo game no matter who you’re facing and if you’re not at your best, you tend to get beat. You have to be 100 per cent as a team and an individual and it’s bringing the best out of me.

“I’m going into my last year there. There have been no talks yet but I’m just concentrating on my international stage at the minute, enjoying myself and enjoying life at the minute. Whatever happens, happens.”

Hodgson is in England ahead of their test series with New Zealand which begins this weekend and despite the Kiwis missing plenty of stars, Hodgson says they will still be dangerous.

“. Obviously when you’re missing people like Shaun [Johnson] it’s a massive loss, but when you’re the number one team in the world you’ve always got a great back-up waiting in the wings. They’re going to be a great side,” Hodgson added.

“If people want to say that they are under-strength then that’s their decision but I still feel they’re going to be a fantastic team and we definitely won’t be taking them any less lightly.

“The thing is with the Kiwis, we all know what to expect. They are strong, physical, play some good rugby and score a hell of a lot of tries. We’ll work on that during the week and try to work on areas we can exploit.”