Canberra Raiders' Jack Wighton puts 2019 behind him for State of Origin of success

Wighton's one of two Raiders in NSW coach Brad Fittler's extended squad, along with young gun Nick Cotric.

Canberra prop Emre Guler and recruit Curtis Scott were also part of the emerging Blues squad.

Wighton had a stunning 2019, where he not only transformed himself from a fullback into one of the premier five-eighths in the NRL, but he also won the Clive Churchill in a losing side and made his Origin and Australian debuts.

He'll use the pre-season and the opening rounds of next season to stake his claim to return to Fittler's side as the Blues go for an Origin threepeat.

"[The camp is] awesome. It's something that really brings us back together," Wighton said.

"It's a long season and I'm really excited to see the boys.

"It's all about forgetting 2019 and building myself as a player, and worrying about week-in, week-out and we'll go from there.

"I'm there to do a job and if I get that chance I'll be stoked."

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While he's established himself in the Raiders' No.6 jersey, Wighton will be happy to slot in wherever Fittler wants him to.

This year he filled the utility role on the bench in Origin I before slotting into the centres for final two games.

"Anywhere that takes the park, I'll be very happy," Wighton said.

Wighton's Blues camp comes off the back of an Indigenous leaders camp on the Gold Coast.

He was invited by former Manly premiership player George Rose, who is a friend of his family.

Wighton was part of the Indigenous senior players group before, but was "kicked out" when he ran into trouble with the law in 2018.

Now he's hoping to become an Indigenous role model for his community.

The 26-year-old wants to be able to use his experiences, which include bouncing back from a court case that earned him a suspended jail sentence, to help others.

He's already doing that on a weekly basis through his work with the PCYC at Erindale.

"I always help out in my community and it's something I'm really into," Wighton said.

"I've put a lot of time into making sure I can help out wherever I can ... I'm always here to help out with anybody that needs it."

Wighton loved the Coolangatta camp, where he joined the likes of Latrell Mitchell, Cody Walker, Ryan James, Joel Thompson and Dean Widders.

They spent time reconnecting with Indigenous culture and traditions - something Wighton said he hasn't had many chances to do.

Dancing and fishing were both on the menu of an experience Wighton will always cherish.

"It was a good camp mate. A few of us older boys got together and they got us dancing and interacting in activities that reconnect us to our [Indigenous] ways," he said.

"A lot of us have never danced in our lives you know so to do stuff like that was amazing.

"We were up at Coolangatta and we were on the mission, and we had a time that we'll never forget.

"It's just a good learning curve. We all got together. We had good laughs, we were learning off the elders.

"Every day was a learning curve. That's all you could ask for.

"Everything at the camp was put in place for a reason. We really learnt a lot."