Why Ricky Stuart's Canberra Raiders can go to a new level

A crop of rising outside backs gave Ricky Stuart the ammunition to "protect Jarrod [Croker] from Jarrod" and keep the Raiders captain on ice, handing Seb Kris the No. 3 jersey.

Stuart could have picked two or three different combinations in his forward pack and he would still have "as strong a team" on his hands. That's with Corey Horsburgh and Corey Harawira-Naera suspended, mind you.

Emre Guler and Tom Starling will watch from the sidelines in the Raiders' season opener against the Wests Tigers at Canberra Stadium on Sunday.

And while one would expect Croker to slide back in once fit, Stuart says there is no guarantee any of them waltz back into the Green Machine's starting side if those in their way shine bright.

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"It all comes to performance. If you play well, you keep your spot. That's their job," Stuart said.

"Coming from the way they're training, they're very keen to get that jumper on and try to keep their spot in first grade. If you're a successful NRL team, you've got a successful squad.

"That's where it's built from, it's not built from the 17 that take the field each week. We've changed it up a little bit this year and added some higher loads, high expectations and standards of the players, and they have done a great job."

The Raiders are tipped to be in the hunt when the cream of the crop jostle for a grand final place come the end of the season as the Green Machine look to break a 27-year premiership drought.

The prospect of Stuart's side getting even better is enticing for Raiders fans as the club looks to build on grand final and preliminary final finishes over the past two years. They have bolstered their squad after injuries left the Raiders depleted last year, with Stuart conceding one more injury to a middle forward would have left them in strife.

"I show great respect to [Josh Papalii, Dunamis Lui and Joe Tapine], who really had to lead the middle last year because we had so many boys injured. Fortunately they stayed on the field and held the group together," Stuart said.

"It was a massive job for those middles last year because we were really depleted, we noticed that. This year we really wanted to stock up on areas that created depth.

"The quality of their off-season has been born out of the great competitiveness we've got with challengers in each position."

Kris will return after a year out of the game at centre while halfback George Williams has pipped Jordan Rapana and Elliott Whitehead to take the goal kicking duties in Croker's absence, which is a matter of conditioning rather than any lingering effects of a shoulder injury.

"Jarrod was very enthusiastic to play. I had to protect Jarrod from Jarrod. He was there wanting to play for the team, he wanted to make sure he filled his spot," Stuart said.

"I just get a gut feeling he still isn't 100 per cent yet, and I don't want Jarrod playing at 90 per cent, not at this stage of the year. I want him to come back at 100 per cent because it's a long year.

"Having a couple of young blokes there pushing for spots in the outside backs, it gave me a comfortable feeling that I could keep Jarrod on ice.

"No one hesitated in thinking Seb was ready. His performance over the off-season has been outstanding, he has been leading everything in fitness and been a credit to him and his family."

NRL ROUND ONE

Sunday: Canberra Raiders v Wests Tigers at Canberra Stadium, 4.05pm. Broadcast: Live on Channel Nine and Fox League. Tickets from Ticketek.

Raiders team: 1. Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad, 2. Bailey Simonsson, 3. Sebastian Kris, 4. Curtis Scott, 5. Jordan Rapana, 6. Jack Wighton, 7. George Williams, 8. Josh Papalii, 9. Josh Hodgson (c), 10. Dunamis Lui, 11. Hudson Young, 12. Elliott Whitehead, 13. Joe Tapine. Interchange:14. Siliva Havili, 15. Ryan Sutton, 16. Sia Soliola, 17. Ryan James. Reserves: 18. Sam Williams, 19. Tom Starling, 20. Emre Guler, 21. Harley Smith-Shields.

Tigers team: 1. Daine Laurie, 2. David Nofoaluma, 3. James Roberts, 4. Joseph Leilua, 5. AJ Kepaoa, 6. Moses Mbye, 7. Luke Brooks, 8. James Tamou (c), 9. Jacob Liddle, 10. Joe Ofahengaue, 11. Luke Garner, 12. Luciano Leilua, 13. Alex Twal. Interchange: 14. Tommy Talau, 15. Thomas Mikaele, 16. Stefano Utoikamanu, 17. Russell Packer. Reserves: 18. Jock Madden, 19. Michael Chee Kam, 20. Tuki Simpkins, 21. Alex Seyfarth.

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