Canberra Raiders halves Jack Wighton and George Williams silence the NRL doubters

But they soon fell silent and now they've been replaced by praise for the Canberra Raiders playmakers Jack Wighton and George Williams.

And given they've only played 20 games together, Wighton says their best is yet to come.

That's great news for the Green Machine, given the form the pair showed in the lead-up to their knock-out semi-final against the Sydney Roosters at the SCG on Friday.

Such was the impact in their win over Cronulla - they each scored two tries and set one up for the other - it drew praise from Raiders coach Ricky Stuart.

It's also brought Wighton into the picture to wear the NSW Blues No.6 jersey at the upcoming State of Origin series, which begins at Adelaide Oval on November 4.

They've scored 18 tries between them and had 21 try assists since teaming up as the Raiders halves at the start of the season.

But the fact they were similar types of players had some doubting they'd work as a pairing in the NRL.

Wighton had established himself as a devastating runner of the football last year, while Williams was also a try-scoring No.6 for English Super League club Wigan.

But those doubters were wrong.

When the Raiders lost star hooker Josh Hodgson to a season-ending knee injury it meant Williams had to take on even more responsibility in steering the Green Machine around the park.

He's done so so well, Canberra's attack is flying - averaging 30.6 points over their past eight games.

"It's been great to be fair. We had a lot of people asking a lot of questions and doubting us at the start of the year because we're two running halves," Wighton said.

"George has stepped up and is steering the boys around well and taking on that little bit more responsibility with Hodgo gone.

"I feel like we've both done it and we're only going to get better as we go and as George settles in more. I'm pretty excited about our partnership growing."

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Williams has relished that new-found leadership role.

The naturally quiet 25-year-old has started to become more vocal around Raiders HQ after initially taking his time to settle in.

He was happy to let Wighton and Raiders co-captain Hodgson do most of the talking as he started his first NRL campaign.

Especially given the bizarre nature of 2020, where there were lockdowns and restrictions more commonly associated with wartime, along with the advent of the sporting bubble.

"It's been a good transition for me. I played a lot of six back home in England. Obviously with Jack here I've moved to halfback now," Williams said.

"That combination is building each week. We've only played 18 or 19 games together, it's not a lot and we're still learning each other's game, but it's been good.

"[Hodgson and Wighton] were both pretty vocal so I was just trying to earn my stripes and not say too much early doors, just listen and learn.

"I've got a bit more [vocal] and I'm really enjoying having that control."

Raiders second-rower Elliott Whitehead feels the bizarre nature might have actually helped the duo. It gave them a bit more time to get to know each other.

Whitehead played with Williams for England before the halfback's arrival Down Under and felt he was starting to come out of his shell.

He also felt Raiders fullback Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad had also stepped up in Hodgson's absence.

"The COVID break helped as well - having that extra training, their combination got better and better," Whitehead said.

"Obviously Jack's running game is massive for us and his kicking game, but George stepping up and taking that little bit of leadership in calling the plays - it's really improved his attack over the back end of the season.

"Jack's more comfortable with his running game. Even CNK as well, he chips in and he's going to keep improving.

"Hopefully we'll go all the way this year, but I'm sure they'll get better and better."

NRL SEMI-FINAL

Friday: Canberra Raiders v Sydney Roosters at the SCG, 7.50pm.

Raiders squad: 1. Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad 2. Semi Valemei 3. Jarrod Croker (c) 4. Jordan Rapana 5. Nick Cotric 6. Jack Wighton 7. George Williams 8. Josh Papalii 9. Tom Starling 10. Sia Soliola 11. John Bateman 12. Elliott Whitehead 13. Joe Tapine. Interchange: 14. Siliva Havili 15. Dunamis Lui 16. Hudson Young 17. Corey Harawira-Naera. Reserves: 18. Sam Williams 19. Matt Timoko 20. Kai O'Donnell 21. Michael Oldfield.

Roosters squad: 1. James Tedesco 2. Daniel Tupou 3. Josh Morris 4. Joseph Manu 5. Brett Morris 6. Luke Keary 7. Kyle Flanagan 8. Jared Waerea-Hargreaves 9. Jake Friend 10. Siosiua Taukeiaho 11. Boyd Cordner 12. Angus Crichton 13. Isaac Liu. Interchange: 14. Lindsay Collins 15. Sitili Tupouniua 16. Mitchell Aubusson 17. Sonny Bill Williams. Reserves: 18. Nat Butcher 19. Daniel Fifita 20. Matt Ikuvalu 21. Lachlan Lam.