Sam Williams returning to scene of bay Raiders' Shark attack

But the Canberra Raiders halfback isn't expecting the 17 set to face the Cronulla Sharks on Sunday to come to him or the baby Raiders who scored a famous victory at Kogarah Park last year.

Williams will take his snorkel to warm up with the Green Machine as they prepare to take on the Sharks in rain-drenched Sydney.

With the coronavirus pandemic forcing the cancellation of the NSW Cup after just one round, Williams spent most of last season training and watching on from the sidelines.

He got his one NRL game in the final round of the home-and-away campaign - leading an inexperienced Raiders side to a 38-28 victory at Kogarah.

While the NSW Cup has returned in 2021, Williams has still had limited game time.

He played a half against Western Suburbs in round one before coming off so he could warm up with the senior squad.

And he would have missed the round two NSW Cup clash against Parramatta on Saturday - even if it hadn't been washed out - to again be cover for the NRL team.

Williams led the Green Machine to victory over the Sharks last year, scoring a try in the process.

It was an extremely youthful Raiders side - Adam Cook, Semi Valemei, Matthew Timoko, Harley Smith-Shields, Kai O'Donnell, Darby Medlyn and Jarrett Subloo were all at the start of their NRL journeys.

That just made it all the more special for 30-year-old Williams.

"It's right up there, right up near the top. It's not something I thought I'd have the opportunity to do, but to be able to say I captained the Raiders it's an extremely proud achievement for myself," he said.

MORE RAIDERS NEWS

Despite the upset victory, which was part of the four-game winning streak Canberra are enjoying against Cronulla, Williams didn't expect any of the Raiders stars to be looking for any tips.

The Raiders were $1.45 favourites, having enjoyed a winning record of seven victories from their 11 games at Kogarah.

They knocked the Sharks out of last year's finals race the week after the Kogarah win.

"They haven't asked too many questions mate. I think they've got things under control," Williams laughed.

"The beauty of it was we did get to play them a week later in the semi-final and both teams are fairly aware of how each other play.

"Most of our players are now over 100 games [each] and there's plenty of experience there.

"It's an exciting place to be in."

Williams played just two games last year - the final round of the NRL and the opening round of the NSW Cup - due to the impact of the COVID-19 virus.

His role as one of the back-ups to Raiders halves George Williams and Jack Wighton meant he's played just 40 minutes of football in the opening two rounds this season.

But Williams said it was just part of his job to help the team succeed.

He's happy to do whatever's required and knew there could be opportunities during the State of Origin period, with Wighton likely to be part of the NSW Blues squad.

"The players on the fringe want to do everything they can to help this first-grade side and if that means I don't play as much footy as some of the younger kids at times then that's my role," Williams said.

"That's my job to make sure this squad and this side is as successful as possible."

NRL ROUND TWO

Sunday: Canberra Raiders v Cronulla Sharks at Kogarah Park, 6.15pm.

Raiders squad: 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.

Sharks squad: 1. Will Kennedy, 2. Sione Katoa, 3. Josh Dugan, 4. Mawene Hiroti, 5. Ronaldo Mulitalo, 6. Matt Moylan, 7. Chad Townsend, 8. Braden Hamlin-Uele, 9. Blayke Brailey, 10. Aaron Woods, 11. Briton Nikora, 12. Wade Graham, 13. Toby Rudolf. Interchange: 14. Connor Tracey, 15. Aiden Tolman, 16. Jack Williams, 17. Billy Magoulias. Reserves: 18. Nene Macdonald, 19. Teig Wilton, 20. Andrew Fifita, 21. Braydon Trindall.