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Photo by Colin Whelan copyright © nrlphotos.com :  Dane Tilse sizes up Elijah Taylor      NRL Rugby League, Telstra Cup Round 5 Penrith Panthers v Canberra Raiders at Penrith, Saturday April 5th  2014.

Canberra Raiders prop Dane Tilse will be with the Raiders until the end of 2016, after signing a new two year deal with the club today.

Tilse has played 179 NRL matches, with 176 of those for the Raiders, after he arrived at the club in 2006 after making his debut with the Newcastle Knights in 2005.

After another strong start to the season Tilse said he’s thrilled to remain in green for another two years and said the mood in the club this season is the best he can remember.

“I’m really happy to have re-signed with the Raiders, I’ve played pretty much my whole career here so far and I’m really looking forward to another couple of years here,” Tilse said. “It’s the happiest I’ve been here at the club and it would have been really hard to leave.

“There’s a great bunch of guys here at the moment. We’ve had a reasonable start to the season but I think with some consistent performances we’re in for a really strong year.”

Tilse said having young players like Shannon Boyd and Paul Vaughan coming through the ranks inspired him to be a better player and hoped to work with them as they developed into their NRL careers.

“The young guys are doing a really good job for us and I’m hoping my experience can help their development as well,” he said. “That’s part of your job as a senior player is to help develop the younger players and it’s a challenge I’m keen to take on over the couple of seasons.”

Raiders Australian representative Josh Papalii said the re-signing of Tilse was a huge boost for the Raiders and said having a core group of players remain at the club was a huge positive.

“Dane is one of the most liked blokes in the club and he’s always there to help you out whenever you need him, on top of that he’s a great player and has been one of our best so far this year,” Papalii said. “It’s great news that he’s re-signed with the Raiders and great to have a group of guys here playing together for the club in the long term.” 

Acknowledgement of Country

Canberra Raiders respect and honour the Traditional Custodians of the land and pay our respects to their Elders past, present and future. We acknowledge the stories, traditions and living cultures of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples on the lands we meet, gather and play on.