Star fullback Josh Dugan says the potential in the Canberra Raiders team is the main reason why he’s agreed to a new two-year contract with the NRL club.

Dugan has ended months of speculation by agreeing to stay in the national capital until the end of the 2014 season.

“This is my home town,” said Dugan.

“All my family and friends are here and we have a great group of players here as well which I think can go a long way and I think that was the main reason for me wanting to stay.”

Dugan said he never really considered moving to another club and said the delay in his re-signing was more due to coming up with the best deal for him and his future.

“There was a lot of talk about me leaving, but I never really had any meetings with any other clubs and my heart was always here with Canberra,” he said.

“I definitely see myself here long-term but, as a player, you have to test your worth now and then and I’ve always been a player that backs my ability.”

Raiders CEO Don Furner said the news was a huge positive for the club ahead of the season and proved they were able to keep high-profile players.

“We work hard to ensure we can keep our home-grown talent and Josh’s re-signing is certainly a massive example of this,” Furner said.