Canberra Raiders reserves readying for action

While the NRL is set to resume in less than two weeks, with the Raiders to play the Melbourne Storm in round three on May 30 - probably in Melbourne - there's nowhere for the players that miss out on the 17 to play.

It means the the rest of the Green Machine's 30-man squad will only have training to either stake their claim for a promotion or to get match fit.

St George Illawarra coach Paul McGregor floated the idea of what would effectively be a second-tier nines competition.

But that wasn't on the Green Machine's radar, who were investigating several options of their own.

One was playing friendlies against either Sydney clubs or the Storm to give their fringe players some game time.

That could see a Raiders second 13 taking on their Storm counterparts when the NRL resumes in two weeks.

Raiders chief executive Don Furner said the first step was getting the NRL back under way and then working from there.

The Canberra Raiders Cup could be a possibility, but their potential return date of July 18 would mean Raiders players would be without any games for seven weeks after the top tier kicked off.

"We're looking at some different models of games against other teams, almost like trial games against other teams in Sydney. Or maybe the Storm," he said.

"We're just looking at some different options there.

"Most importantly get the NRL kicked off then we'll look at what we can do with the other 12 players to give them a regular hit-out.

"The local comp might not have started until July so that might be too late.

"There's a couple of different proposals we're looking at and we're just working through those logistically."

Raiders winger Michael Oldfield had floated the Canberra Raiders Cup as a possibility for the squad players.

He felt there also needed to be care taken to ensure the mental well-being of those players.

The prospect of a year-long pre-season could be a daunting one, especially if there was no prospect of playing games in sight.

Hopefully, the Raiders' plans for some sort of games will help alleviate those concerns.

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"They lose that motivation. When you're not playing footy everyone knows your training is a lot harder so they get topped up in terms of fitness and what not," Oldfield said.

"It's going to feel like a year-long pre-season for them. That's definitely something we need to take into account for them."

Furner said they were on the lookout for a replacement for Luke Bateman, after the popular prop decided to end his time in lime green on Friday and head home to his native Queensland.

But he said it would depend on how they fared with injury in the opening rounds as to how urgent that search was.

Usually, the Raiders would only have until June 30 to finalise their squad, but the chaos caused by the coronavirus means that won't be enforced this season.

Furner praised Bateman for his contribution to the Green Machine since he moved to Canberra as a 17-year-old.

"We'll keep looking. We don't have to [find a Bateman replacement]," Furner said.

"The season, once it starts, you don't know about injuries and all sorts of things so we'll wait and see how that goes.

"But it was a shock because he's been a fantastic servant for our club and a terrific fella.

"As [Raiders coach Ricky Stuart] said, he'll be the first bloke invited back. He's a Raider, terrific guy."

NRL ROUND THREE

May 30: Canberra Raiders v Melbourne Storm at 7.35pm. Venue TBA.