Carney to remain a Raider
14 Mar, 2008
Star Raiders halfback Todd Carney will remain in Canberra until at least 2010, after today agreeing to a new deal with the Green Machine.
The four year deal will see Carney in the nation's capital until the end of the 2010 season, with an option on the remaining two years of the contract.
Carney said although it had been a long process, he was more than happy to be remaining in Canberra, and looked forward to fulfilling his potential and repaying the faith the club had shown in him.
“I really want to stay in Canberra and the big thing for me is that I want to achieve something here, and I feel like I can achieve something here,” Carney said. “If I was to walk away I’d have felt like I’d left here with something unachieved, so the next four years will be driven by me wanting to do something for Canberra.”
Carney said his decision was never about chasing the biggest dollars, rather rewarding his team mates and the Canberra community by staying, and taking the Raiders forward into the future.
“Canberra’s home and I feel like we’ve got a great basis of players here and we can achieve something,” he said.
“At the end of the day it wasn’t going to come down to money, if it was the deal could have been done a long time ago, I just want to stay here and try and win a comp with the players we have and I think we’ve got the team that can do it.
“At the end of the day my heart was here. Money doesn’t buy happiness and I feel I have my happiness here.”
Carney thanked everyone for their support during the tough re-signing period, and said the Canberra community had once again come through and proven how much they get behind their local teams.
“The community has been great, from my Facebook to my mobile phone to just people walking through the streets, I’ve had plenty of messages and I can’t thank them enough, and the best way I can do that is by signing here to day and that’s what I’ve done” he said. “Canberra’s always been a real community team and they’ve got behind the Raiders in this, so I guess it plays a part in signing because you know you’re wanted and you’re welcome.”
Raiders Coach Neil Henry said he was happy that Carney had re-signed before the beginning of the season, and the news was certainly a huge positive for the club and the people who support them.
“It’s great news for the club and we wanted it done before the first round, and its perfect timing leading into the first game of the year,” Henry said.
“There’s no doubt that he’s decided to stay for less money than what was offered in Sydney and that’s a real positive for the organisation, the fans of the club and for the region.
On field Henry believes Carney is a player that the Raiders can build a team around, the type of player which can lead the Raiders to success in the years ahead.
“His potential is enormous in the game and he’s highly regarded as a player that can possibly play representative football, so he’s one of these marquee players that everyone needs,” he said. “The clubs that figure in the finals have good halves and he’s certainly up there with the best in the competition. He’s got a lot of developing left in his game and it certainly sends the message out there that this is a great place to play football.”
Raiders CEO Don Furner said he was confident the Raiders would be able to keep the young half in Canberra beyond the initial two year period in the new contract, and his signing had shown players want to stay with the Raiders.
“Initially it was a four year deal and it still is, but Todd has an option after two years, so we back ourselves to put a good team around him and be competitive and that he’ll stay for another two. So he’s contracted to 2010 with the option for 2011 and 2012,” Furner said.
“My understanding is that we certainly didn’t win it on dollars and that we were well behind the other offers, but thankfully Todd has shown some loyalty here and has appreciated what has been done for him and he’s certainly stayed for less, so we’re pleased about that.”
The Raiders play there first game of the season tomorrow night against the Newcastle Knights at EnergyAustralia Stadium.
http://www.raiders.com.au/2008/detail_desc.php?news_id=572