Michael Ennis still working to make Canberra Raiders' spine even more deadly

It doesn't bode well for the Raiders' rivals, given it's already one of the best spines in the competition and includes the hooker Ennis says has surpassed future Immortal Cameron Smith as the best rake in the game.

Raiders No.9 Josh Hodgson, halves George Williams and Jack Wighton, and fullback Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad form Canberra's spine, which is as dangerous a group of running players as any in the NRL.

Ennis has been remotely joining meetings with the key playmakers, where he can use his role as a Fox League expert commentator to provide insights to improve their combinations, as well as scouting their opposition - like the Newcastle Knights, who they face at Campbelltown Stadium on Sunday.

The Cronulla premiership hero joined the Green Machine coaching staff ahead of the 2019 NRL season, where he's been charged with not only improving their ruck, but also in their attacking 20-metres.

While the coronavirus pandemic means he can no longer attend training because he's not one of the 50 on the Raiders' Apollo register, he's still been providing invaluable insight.

"Until the restrictions are eased I can't come to the Raiders' training, so plenty of Zoom meetings, doing a lot of video stuff for [Raiders coach Ricky Stuart]," Ennis told The Canberra Times.

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"The last two weeks we've done meetings with Ricky and [analyst] Joel Carbone where we get Hodgo, Jack, George and Charnze all together, which they call the spine meeting, and Rick gets me Zoomed into that meeting and I've got some stuff prepared for the boys and chime in where need be.

"I'm watching a lot of footy over the weekend as well, and watching a lot of teams play so I try and pass on any advice that I can for them."

Part of his role has naturally seen Ennis work closely with Hodgson.

There's been plenty of debate this week over whether the England international has surpassed Smith as the best rake in the world.

Naturally, Melbourne coach Craig Bellamy backed Smith, who has played 415 NRL games, including seven grand finals, 56 Tests for Australia and 42 State of Origin appearances for Queensland.

While Hodgson clearly has a way to go to surpass that record, Ennis said his form over the past two seasons has him ahead of Smith in the hooking stakes.

He put that rise down to a trait the pair both share - hard work.

"Cameron's obviously been a great player for a really long time, but on current performances, on what we've seen ... probably from the mid-point of last year and to start this year, then regardless of who it is and what they've achieved in the game, if we're going off actual performance, then I think Josh has been the best dummy half in the game," Ennis said.

"He can [get better though], he really can. For a guy that's in the form that he's in and has the skills that come so naturally to him, the one thing that has impressed me most about Josh has been how hard he's been willing to work on his game.

"And that never deteriorates - whether it's round one or round 23 and you're in that grind and know you're going to play finals. He's still always looking for ways to get better, always asking questions.

"I still think there's that another three or four per cent that he can find in his game that will continue to push him to be the best."

NRL ROUND FOUR

Sunday: Canberra Raiders v Newcastle Knights at Campbelltown Stadium, 4.05pm.

Raiders team: 1. Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad, 2. Bailey Simonsson, 3. Jarrod Croker, 4. Curtis Scott, 5. Nick Cotric, 6. Jack Wighton, 7. George Williams, 8. Josh Papalii, 9. Josh Hodgson, 10. Dunamis Lui, 11. Joe Tapine, 12. Elliott Whitehead, 13. Corey Horsburgh. Interchange from: 14. Siliva Havili, 15. Emre Guler, 16. Sia Soliola, 17. Jordan Rapana, 18. Tom Starling, 19. Matt Frawley.

Knights team: 1. Kalyn Ponga, 2. Edrick Lee, 3. Enari Tuala, 4. Bradman Best, 5. Hymel Hunt, 6. Kurt Mann, 7. Mitchell Pearce, 8. David Klemmer, 9. Andrew McCullough, 10. Daniel Saifiti, 11. Aidan Guerra, 12. Sione Mata'utia, 13. Herman Ese'ese. Interchange from: 14. Tex Hoy, 15. Jacob Saifiti, 16. Tim Glasby, 17. Brodie James, 18. Gehamat Shibasaki, 19. Chris Randall.