Canberra Raiders co-captain Elliott Whitehead took his second-half absence personally and he vows to get more involved to show what he's truly capable of in his new role at lock.
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After showing patches so far this season, Whitehead called on the Green Machine to put pressure on the Melbourne Storm in Wagga Wagga on Saturday - rather than putting it on themselves through their own individual errors.
The England international felt he hadn't adapted to his shift from the second row to lock as quickly as he'd like, but wanted to recapture his form from the opening game of the season.
He only played the opening 31 minutes in the 25-6 loss to Manly on Saturday, with Raiders coach Ricky Stuart not bringing him back on in the second half.
It stung Whitehead and he'll look to bounce back against the Storm.
"'Sticky' couldn't get me back on in the second half. I spoke to him and moved on from that," he said.
"It does bother me personally, but it's nothing there. I'm back there this week and I'm there to do a job.
"I'll be looking to do whatever I can to get the win this week and I'm sure the other boys will be rolling behind me."
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He was far less involved against the Sea Eagles compared with the opening round against the Sharks - especially in the first half.
Whitehead felt if the Raiders held on to the ball and completed their sets that would help him show what he's capable of in the ball-playing roll.
"It's been a little bit different for me. I probably haven't adapted as quickly as I'd like to. It's something I'm still working on and hopefully I keep getting better at," Whitehead said.
"I want to be more involved and I feel like at the moment I'm just not doing that.
"I feel like we have done a lot of defence when I've been on the field and I haven't been able to show the skills.
"In the game against the Sharks in the first half I showed what I can do when I'm there.
"The more we finish our sets where we want to finish it'll give me more of a chance to be involved and play the game I want to play."
Whitehead said countryman Ryan Sutton was ready to come into the side if the 17 continued to underperform.
Sutton ran for 149 metres in the NSW Cup win over the Blacktown Sea Eagles on the weekend and was named as 19th man for the Melbourne game.
With the exception of Joe Tapine and Corey Harawira-Naera, the whole Raiders forward pack struggled on the weekend and has Sutton breathing down their necks.
"Ryan's a great player and he's been unlucky to miss out over the last couple of weeks, but he's pushing for that spot," Whitehead said.
"We're going to have to up our game to keep our spot. I'll be looking to do that and hopefully keep him out for another week."
NRL ROUND FIVE
Saturday: Canberra Raiders v Melbourne Storm at Wagga Wagga, 3pm.
Raiders squad: 1. Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad, 2. Nick Cotric, 3. Matt Timoko, 4. Semi Valemei, 5. Jordan Rapana, 6. Jack Wighton, 7. Brad Schneider, 8. Josh Papalii, 9. Tom Starling, 10. Joe Tapine, 11. Hudson Young, 12. Corey Harawira-Naera, 13. Elliott Whitehead (c). Interchange: 14. Matt Frawley, 15. Emre Guler, 16. Adam Elliott, 17. Corey Horsburgh. Reserves: 18. Xavier Savage, 19. Ryan Sutton, 20. James Schiller, 21. Harry Rushton, 22. Jarrod Croker, 23. Trey Mooney, 24. Peter Hola.
Storm squad: 1. Ryan Papenhuyzen, 2. Nick Meaney, 3. Reimis Smith, 4. Justin Olam, 5. Xavier Coates, 6. Cameron Munster, 7. Jahrome Hughes, 8. Jesse Bromwich, 9. Harry Grant, 10. Nelson Asofa-Solomona, 11. Felise Kaufusi, 12. Kenny Bromwich, 13. Josh King. Interchange: 14. Brandon Smith, 15. Alec MacDonald, 16. Trent Loiero, 17. Tepai Moeroa. Reserves: 18. Tyran Wishart, 19. Chris Lewis, 20. Marion Seve, 21. Jayden Nikorima, 22. Jordan Grant, 23. William Warbrick, 24. Sualauvi Faalogo.