Canberra Raiders coach Ricky Stuart has made mass changes to his side in an attempt to get the Green Machine back on track, dropping Curtis Scott and tinkering with his back line.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
Scott has been moved from right centre to the interchange bench, Jordan Rapana has been ruled out a calf injury and Joe Tapine returns to replace Corey Horsburgh.
Stuart revealed Horsburgh could miss the entire season after having scans on a foot injury this week.
In other changes, Nick Cotric will move to the left wing, Bailey Simonsson is on the right wing and Michael Oldfield gets his opportunity at right centre.
The right edge has been one of the Raiders' biggest issues since the NRL restart in May, with Cotric and Scott failing to strike a dangerous combination.
Stuart moved Rapana back to the right wing last week in search of stability, but the veteran flyer has now been ruled out for at least one week.
Scott arrived in the capital this year as a major off-season recruit, leaving the Melbourne Storm to sign a four-year deal in Canberra.
He has previously been touted as a State of Origin hopeful, but has struggled to get back to his best form this season and his off-season was derailed by a late-night incident in Sydney.
MORE CANBERRA SPORT
Tapine's return is a major boost after he missed the heartbreaking loss to Parramatta last week.
The Raiders have lost three of the five games since the NRL relaunch a month ago and will be desperately trying to avoid a hat-trick of defeats when they host the St George-Illawarra Dragons on Friday night.
Raiders fans have snapped up the 1500 tickets available for the first game in Canberra since March 13, with the Raiders forced to play home matches at Campbelltown until this week.
Raiders squad: 1. Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad, 2. Nick Cotric, 3. Jarrod Croker (c), 4. Michael Oldfield, 5. Bailey Simonsson, 6. Jack Wighton, 7. George Williams, 8. Josh Papalii, 9. Josh Hodgson (c), 10. Sia Soliola, 11. Hudson Young, 12. Elliott Whitehead, 13. Joe Tapine. Interchange: 14. Curtis Scott, 15. Emre Guler, 16. Ryan Sutton, 17. Siliva Havili. Reserves: 18. Tom Starling, 19. Dunamis Lui, 20. Matt Frawley, 21. Kai O'Donnell.
More to come
Chris Dutton
Chris Dutton has been a sport journalist since 2008, covering rugby union, rugby league, basketball, cricket and soccer. He has covered World Cups and Olympic Games in print and online. Chris has had a stint as news director, but is back in sport to follow the ups and downs. Email: chris.dutton@canberratimes.com.au
Chris Dutton has been a sport journalist since 2008, covering rugby union, rugby league, basketball, cricket and soccer. He has covered World Cups and Olympic Games in print and online. Chris has had a stint as news director, but is back in sport to follow the ups and downs. Email: chris.dutton@canberratimes.com.au
