Canberra Raiders look to link with rival NRL clubs for fringe-player scrimmage sessions

Each club will play 18 games straight before the finals this season, and Stuart is wary of managing workloads with the Raiders tipped to feature deep into October.

It means the likes of halves Sam Williams, Matt Frawley and outside back Michael Oldfield could be drafted into the NRL side at some stage as they wait in the wings for their chance.

Raiders football manager Matt Ford has been speaking with rival clubs about playing modified matches designed to give fringe NRL players much-needed game time.

Penrith and Melbourne had organised a sevens match for their fringe players on Friday afternoon but Stuart would rather pit his reserves into a 10-a-side match at the very least.

MORE RAIDERS

The chance to get some sort of match fitness into the remainder of his squad in the absence of the NSW Cup competition could be a huge boost in an NRL season without bye rounds.

"How many players you actually have in a scrimmage will make a determining factor on how it will assist them," Stuart said.

"If we've only got six or seven, it's only going to be a contact thing and a little bit of timing. I think we can get that at training. The competitiveness, having 10 versus 10 or 11 versus 11 would be ideal.

"We can get the contact and fitness at training. It's more the competitiveness and the timing in collision is what you need when you need a few more numbers on the field.

"I'm sure this goes for a lot of the clubs, but my guys here at the Raiders outside the 17 have been nothing but professional towards helping the players that are playing prepare towards the weekend.

"I don't think they understand how much appreciate what they do and how they're doing it. It's a privilege for those boys to be involved in the bubble, it's a privilege for those boys to be able to train in an elite capacity.

"They'll get their opportunity, the rookies to the other guys such as Sammy Williams, Matty Frawley, Michael Oldfield. They're sitting in the wings waiting for their opportunity."

Stuart is toying with the idea of a rotation policy in the forward pack following the return of Hudson Young and Corey Horsburgh for Canberra's clash with Manly at Campbelltown Stadium on Sunday.

Dunamis Lui has shuffled back to the extended bench with Stuart adamant the decision was not based on form but a matter of finding the right dynamic to beat the Sea Eagles.

NRL ROUND SIX

Sunday: Canberra Raiders v Manly Warringah Sea Eagles at Campbelltown Stadium, 4.05pm.

Raiders squad: 1. Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad, 2. Jordan Rapana, 3. Jarrod Croker (c), 4. Curtis Scott, 5. Nick Cotric, 6. Jack Wighton, 7. George Williams, 8. Josh Papali'i, 9. Josh Hodgson (c), 10. Sia Soliola, 11. Joe Tapine, 12. Elliott Whitehead, 13. Corey Horsburgh. Interchange: 14. Siliva Havili, 15. Emre Guler, 16. Ryan Sutton, 17. Hudson Young. Reserves: 18. Dunamis Lui, 19. Bailey Simonsson, 20. Matt Frawley, 21. Tom Starling.

Sea Eagles squad: 1. Tom Trbojevic, 2. Tevita Funa, 3. Brad Parker, 4. Brendan Elliot, 5. Reuben Garrick, 6. Dylan Walker, 7. Daly Cherry-Evans, 8. Addin Fonua-Blake, 9. Danny Levi, 10. Taniela Paseka, 11. Joel Thompson, 12. Curtis Sironen, 13. Jake Trbojevic. Interchange: 14. Lachlan Croker, 15. Jack Gosiewski, 16. Sean Keppie, 17. Morgan Boyle. Reserves: 18. Toafofoa Sipley, 19. Abbas Miski, 20. Haumole Olakau'atu, 21. Cade Cust.