Matt Frawley's chance to prove himself as Canberra Raiders chase NRL finals

The 26-year-old Raiders junior will wear the club's No. 7 jersey for the first time against the New Zealand Warriors in Mackay on Friday night.

Canberra coach Ricky Stuart concedes options are limited in his search for a solution at halfback, with "nothing doing" in regards to Newcastle's Mitchell Pearce.

For now Stuart has placed his faith in off-contract half Frawley, in his fifth appearance for the club, as the 10th-placed Raiders enter must-win territory heading into the final fortnight of the NRL season

"Over the past two weeks we have played teams who are right up there in contention for the premiership and we've played some really good footy in those matches," Frawley said.

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"We can take a lot of confidence out of that. This week, we're into must-win territory now which is just how it is. We've had that mindset for the last couple of weeks anyway.

"We're all aware of the situation, but I don't think we need to heap too much pressure on ourselves. We've just got to go out there and play our style of footy and enjoy our footy. That's when we're at our best, when we're just playing for each other and enjoying it.

"We're well aware of the situation, but as a playing group, just being relaxed and going through our processes is the best way to go about it, and not worry too much about the end result."

The Canberra playmaker, though adamant "I'm ready to go every week", concedes he is "lacking a little bit of match fitness" after the NSW Cup was axed for the second successive season.

The Warriors clash marks his fifth NRL game in two years, during which time opportunities in reserve grade have been limited due to the impact of COVID-19.

"I feel for the boys that are a bit younger and trying to prove themselves," Frawley said.

"I do worry, I suppose I'm a little bit older now so it doesn't affect me as much. I've played enough first grade and over in the Super League to have a bit of footy under my belt.

"If I was in that position, when I was 20, 21, those years of playing NSW Cup and playing against men [when you are] coming out of under 20s is really important. Physically, it gets you ready for playing NRL, and mentally just playing consistent footy is really vital.

"Fingers crossed, it's going to be the last year of all the disruption, and hopefully next year everything can move forward and we can have a full season of footy."

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