Jordan Rapana return to Canberra Raiders refuses to go away

Given he's playing for the Panasonic Wild Knights in the Japanese Top League that won't be until after the season finishes in May.

But just in time to beat the June 30 deadline.

The Raiders have completely overhauled their right edge following the departures of Rapana, Joey Leilua (Wests Tigers) and Aidan Sezer (Huddersfield), plus the injury to John Bateman (shoulder) ruling him out of the first six rounds.

How that right side copes will be crucial in setting up the Raiders' season.

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Nick Cotric, Curtis Scott, George Williams and Corey Horsburgh will form a new right edge until Bateman returns.

Cotric and Bailey Simonsson, on the left, have the chance to establish themselves on the wings, meaning Rapana might be coming back as depth.

The Raiders are a bit light on in the outside backs with Michael Oldfield, Harley Smith-Shields and Semi Valemei the only ones in the top 30 - given Sebastian Kris is on indefinite medical leave and unlikely to play in 2020.

Smith-Shields and Valemei are yet to debut, although both Cotric and Simonsson are proof of what youth can do when given the opportunity.

It ended in heartache, but at least they put themselves in a position to get that heartache.

Now's their chance to turn it around. Five months later. With the pain of that grand final loss driving their pre-season.

The Raiders need only look back to 2017 to find a team that turned a grand final loss into a premiership the next year when the Melbourne Storm did it.

They did it again in 2009 and 2007 - although both of those were stripped for salary cap cheating - and Manly did it in 2008.

It means almost 25 per cent of the time in the past 13 years the NRL runners-up have bounced back with a premiership.

George Williams holds the key to unlocking the Raiders' trophy cabinet.

How quickly he gels with five-eighth Jack Wighton is crucial to Canberra's chances in 2020.

Stuart has added another running playmaker to his attacking arsenal, giving them offensive threats on both sides of the park.

Williams has already shown glimpses of a creative kicking game and the willingness to throw a cut-out pass to open up space for his outside backs.

While the man he replaced, Aidan Sezer, had his critics, having guided the Raiders to last year's decider, he's left big boots for Williams to fill.

Boots, it seems, that will be unlaced.

In the Raiders' book of Revelations, penned hundreds of days ago in 2019, there's two central figures.

In the Bible's version there's the Serpent and the Beast - for Canberra it's Jack Wighton and Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad.

Both of them enjoyed second comings - Wighton to the role of five-eighth and Nicoll-Klokstad to his second NRL club - that went a long way to the Green Machine's charge to the grand final.

Wighton's shift opened the door for Nicoll-Klokstad to shine. And Nicoll-Klokstad's shining allowed Wighton's stocks to grow.

If they can raise the bar again it could result in the second coming of Canberra's golden era.

Josh Papalii. There should be a picture of him alongside the definition of warrior.

He's on the verge of repeating a feat only the great Laurie Daley has managed. Winning three consecutive Mal Meninga Medals.

Papalii has won the past two - and three of the past four - putting him in the company of Daley, Ricky Stuart, Gary Belcher, Ruben Wiki, Shaun Fensom and Chris O'Sullivan to claim two in a row.

But if he manages the threepeat then he'll solely sit alongside Daley, who did it from 1995-97 - as well as winning it on three other occasions.

It will also mean the Green Machine is purring nicely, driven forward by the best prop in the NRL.

NRL ROUND ONE

Friday: Canberra Raiders v Gold Coast Titans at Canberra Stadium, 6pm. Tickets available from Ticketek.