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BOOM Manly halfback Trent Hodkinson yesterday declared his intention to re-sign with the club to build his flourishing partnership with rising Kiwi star Kieran Foran.
On a high after his eye-catching representative debut for City on Friday night and a Dragon-slaying performance against St George Illawarra 24 hours later, Hodkinson's stocks have skyrocketed.
And although Manly officials are keen to keep a lid on any publicity surrounding contract negotiations, the 21-year-old yesterday told The Daily Telegraph he has no intention of leaving the Northern Beaches.
"I'm 100 per cent loving it at Manly," Hodkinson said yesterday, ahead of Monday's showdown with his former club Parramatta.
"They gave me my opportunity, so 100 per cent I want to stay here. I'm just loving my footy."
Hodkinson, who was signed from the Eels at the end of 2008, admits: "I wasn't expecting to be playing first grade so soon, but I've loved every minute of it and I've grabbed it with both hands."
Parachuted into the No. 7 for the controversial round-two loss to the Eels, Hodkinson has seamlessly handled the rise from Queensland Cup, where he was the 2009 player of the year for Manly's feeder side Sunshine Coast, to help steer Des Hasler's team to third on the ladder with six wins from nine games.
Together with 20-year-old Foran, the NRL's youngest halves pairing have shown why there was no panic in the Eagles' nest when premiership-winning captain Matt Orford accepted a big-money deal to join the UK Super League in November.
Composed in attack and with a faultless defensive game, Hodkinson's shock selection for City after just eight NRL appearances marked him as one of the game's greenest rep selections.
But with the same poise he's carried in his rise to the NRL, he showed he was right at home at the next level, setting up a try for former Cabramatta and Eels juniors teammate Kris Keating with a clever inside ball at the line before narrowly missing his own four-pointer with a chip-kick and regather.
With Foran - who is battling a hamstring strain for the Parramatta match - set to sign a new four-year deal to stay in the maroon and white, the duo have the potential to be the club's next great halves combination.
And with more than a decade of football potentially ahead of them, it's a prospect Hodkinson is relishing.
"Definitely," he said. "It's only early days, but we're striking up a good combination as each game goes so it's something I definitely want to keep going for many years to come."
But while Hodkinson is keen to stitch up a new long-term deal and is hungry for another crack at the rep scene, he says there is still plenty of improvement in his game.
"As time goes on I want to start taking more control at the back end of games," he said.
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sp...-trent-hodkinson/story-e6frexnr-1225865272338
On a high after his eye-catching representative debut for City on Friday night and a Dragon-slaying performance against St George Illawarra 24 hours later, Hodkinson's stocks have skyrocketed.
And although Manly officials are keen to keep a lid on any publicity surrounding contract negotiations, the 21-year-old yesterday told The Daily Telegraph he has no intention of leaving the Northern Beaches.
"I'm 100 per cent loving it at Manly," Hodkinson said yesterday, ahead of Monday's showdown with his former club Parramatta.
"They gave me my opportunity, so 100 per cent I want to stay here. I'm just loving my footy."
Hodkinson, who was signed from the Eels at the end of 2008, admits: "I wasn't expecting to be playing first grade so soon, but I've loved every minute of it and I've grabbed it with both hands."
Parachuted into the No. 7 for the controversial round-two loss to the Eels, Hodkinson has seamlessly handled the rise from Queensland Cup, where he was the 2009 player of the year for Manly's feeder side Sunshine Coast, to help steer Des Hasler's team to third on the ladder with six wins from nine games.
Together with 20-year-old Foran, the NRL's youngest halves pairing have shown why there was no panic in the Eagles' nest when premiership-winning captain Matt Orford accepted a big-money deal to join the UK Super League in November.
Composed in attack and with a faultless defensive game, Hodkinson's shock selection for City after just eight NRL appearances marked him as one of the game's greenest rep selections.
But with the same poise he's carried in his rise to the NRL, he showed he was right at home at the next level, setting up a try for former Cabramatta and Eels juniors teammate Kris Keating with a clever inside ball at the line before narrowly missing his own four-pointer with a chip-kick and regather.
With Foran - who is battling a hamstring strain for the Parramatta match - set to sign a new four-year deal to stay in the maroon and white, the duo have the potential to be the club's next great halves combination.
And with more than a decade of football potentially ahead of them, it's a prospect Hodkinson is relishing.
"Definitely," he said. "It's only early days, but we're striking up a good combination as each game goes so it's something I definitely want to keep going for many years to come."
But while Hodkinson is keen to stitch up a new long-term deal and is hungry for another crack at the rep scene, he says there is still plenty of improvement in his game.
"As time goes on I want to start taking more control at the back end of games," he said.
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sp...-trent-hodkinson/story-e6frexnr-1225865272338
