NRL: Raiders welcome injured half Jamal Fogarty returning to training as comeback nears

In a tantalising sight for Raiders fans, on social media Fogarty proudly shared images of himself training with the team at Braddon, captioning the post: "Progress".

The former Titan was signed as a much-anticipated play-making addition to the Raiders, to work alongside star five-eighth Jack Wighton.

Unfortunately the Fogarty-Wighton combination didn't get much of a chance to take flight after a shock pre-season blow.

Scans in March following a trial match revealed Fogarty had suffered meniscus damage to his left knee that required surgery.

A bomb kicked during a warm-up was the innocuous cause of the injury that was initially predicted keep him out until round 15-17. That thrust youngster Brad Schneider into the starting 13 at halfback where he's performed admirably since.

However the Queenslander could soon face competition from Fogarty for that role.

"It was really good to see Jamal back out there," Raiders fullback Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad said.

"It was a big loss - losing Hodgy [Josh Hodgson] and to lose Jamal right before the season as well - it was a bit of a tough ask.

"But the boys that have stepped have done a really good job.

"Getting Jamal back will be a big boost for us as a team. He's a great leader.

"There's a lot of great qualities in him and that's the reason why we brought him into our club and I'm really looking forward to rubbing shoulders with him eventually."

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Current five-eighth Matt Frawley believes after what he saw at training, Fogarty's comeback is near.

"I don't think it'd be too far off to be honest," Frawley said. "He's still got a few hurdles but he's doing everything he can to get back.

"I think today was his first day on the field doing a bit of skills so he's tracking really well.

"He's ticking every box and he's moving around well, so the physios and high performance staff are really happy with him."

Fogarty has done what he can to help the Raiders while sidelined with the knee injury, willingly sharing his experience with his teammates as they await his return.

Frawley said the relationship he has with Fogarty and the rest of the halves group is a special one, with everyone pushing each other to get better, even if out through injury, suspension or even form struggles.

"We're really lucky," he said.

"We all help each other out and the beauty of it is we're all really eager for all of us to do well.

"We compete for our spots, but whoever is there has the full support of the group.

"Sometimes you don't have that, but we definitely have that here, which is a real positive."

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