Ricky Stuart admires Savage toughness of Canberra Raiders young gun

Savage played on despite injuring his shoulder in the second half of the 34-18 victory over the Sharks at the Gold Coast on Saturday.

He even scored a try - his first in the NRL - with his left arm hanging limply by his side.

It capped off a stunning display of sizzling pace, where another of his line breaks also led to a Jack Wighton try.

The 19-year-old finished with 244 run metres and seven tackle busts to go with his two line breaks and try.

But he also injured his shoulder - although he was able to finish the game and there was optimism he'd back-up against the Parramatta Eels on the Gold Coast on Thursday night.

Stuart said he wouldn't hesitate to bring in new faces to play the top-four side.

It wasn't the blinding speed or the deadly goose step that impressed the Raiders coach the most.

Stuart was also full of praise for Canberra winger Jordan Rapana, who switched to fullback when Savage first suffered the injury - before returning to the wing later on once Savage felt more comfortable.

"That was his biggest credit on the night - that he played on with injury," Stuart said.

"So for me that was where he got a great tick of approval because a lot of players can't play under duress like that and for a young boy who is just out of school he did a really good job in handling that pain.

"And I thought Jordan Rapana did an outstanding job in protecting him, pushing himself back to fullback."

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Wighton (ribs) was also full of praise for Savage, saying his down-to-earth nature would stand him in good stead going forward.

It's been a whirlwind few weeks for Savage, who came on as an illegal substitute against St George Illawarra before making his legitimate NRL debut in the win over Manly.

"He was very good. Hopefully he can keep improving on that and keep his head and we'll go from there," Wighton said.

"He's a good boy and all he wants to do is learn. It's really good to see the big fella go alright.

"It's all about keeping your head now and putting in the work - the work that got him here - and he'll do that.

"He's got good boys around him. He's a good kid and a good bloke and very happy for him."

The Eels pose a big test for the resurgent Raiders, who have won back-to-back games for the first time since round two.

They've drawn with points differential of the eighth-placed Dragons to come back into finals contention.

Wighton felt it was too soon to get too confident about their return to form.

"They're right up there and they've got good ball movement so it's going to be a great challenge. Hopefully we'll rise to the occasion and see how we go," he said.

"It's going to be a tough game. They're full of skills. [Friday] night you could see the ball movement they have."

NRL ROUND 19

Thursday: Canberra Raiders v Parramatta Eels at the Gold Coast, 7.50pm.