Raiders sign prop David Shillington

CANBERRA Raiders have boosted their prop depth for 2008 after pinching in-form Roosters bookend David Shillington in an impressive 4-year agreement.

The Raiders have always struggled to attract and keep quality players and coaches in the past decade or so, making this a key signing and big step forward for the ACT club.

Shillington, 24, has been chased by the Raiders for some time, and with the loss of Michael Weyman from 2009 to the Dragons, their will be huge expectations on the improving Shillington to lead the young Raiders forward pack

Shillington said he’s looking forward to the challenge of moving to Canberra, and is excited about the direction the club is heading.

“The Raiders are moving ahead well, and after chatting to ex-team mate’s Nigel Plum and Joel Monaghan it looks like they have a big future,” Shillington said.

“They have a good young side with plenty of talent, and there Toyota Cup team is also strong at the moment.

“I’m looking forward to moving to Canberra next year, but until then I’ll be looking to finish the season strongly at the Roosters.”

Raiders Assistant Coach David Furner said the signing of Shillington was a huge boost for the club going forward, and looked forward to him arriving in Canberra next season.

“Front row is a position we’ve been looking at boosting, and I think he’s signing is a very good one for the club,” Furner said.

“His size, his aggressiveness, his off-load ability and ball playing ability makes him a great asset.

“He’s still young, and he’ll add a bit of starch to the pack.”

Shillington made his debut in 2005 for the Roosters, and has played 56 first grade matches.