NRL: Five Canberra Raiders to watch in 2023

Not that it should be an issue for Xavier Savage.

The 20-year-old has quickly adapted to life as an NRL No.1 and with another pre-season working on the defensive side of the game under his belt he's well on his way to becoming one of the premier custodians in the game.

But with Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad having left to rejoin the New Zealand Warriors - and be closer to his young family in the process - that leaves Savage as the main man when it comes to the Raiders' fullback duties.

With that comes its own type of pressure.

But the softly spoken Queenslander has answered every question asked of him so far in his 21-game career.

There's not only the electrifying pace that can split opposition defensive lines in the blink of an eye, but he's also started to show he's got a skilful passing game and a deft boot as well.

He's also shown his work ethic by rolling up his sleeves at training - while also finishing last year fourth for kick-return metres - despite only starting 14 games at fullback.

Canberra fans will be licking their lips at the prospect of what 2023 could bring for the Indigenous young gun.

He's modelled his game on Melbourne legend Billy Slater and has set his sights on forcing his way into Slater's Queensland State of Origin side.

It might have been Matt Timoko and Sebastian Kris who finished the season having established themselves as NRL centres, but it was Harley Smith-Shields the Raiders were raving about last pre-season.

Smith-Shields trained the house down and was set to be one of the starting centres for the Green Machine's round-one clash against Cronulla.

But disaster struck and he tore his anterior cruciate ligament five weeks out from that opening game.

It was a cruel blow for the 22-year-old, who has played just nine NRL games.

His family stepped in to help where they could, his older brother Jese donating a piece of his hamstring to rebuild his knee.

He will have had a full year to recover from his reconstruction by the time the 2023 campaign comes around and the Green Machine's medical staff have a proven track record of bringing their injured athletes back in tip-top shape.

While the Raiders coaching staff won't be putting any pressure on Smith-Shields it will be interesting to see how quickly he can come back to the form that had him set to light up last season.

Especially since the Raiders have plenty of depth in the centres.

There's not only Timoko, Kris and Smith-Shields, but Jarrod Croker is returning from a shoulder reconstruction as he chases 300 NRL appearances, and Brad Morkos has returned from a World Cup campaign with Lebanon.

Jamal Fogarty arrived in Canberra with so much hope he could be the perfect foil for Jack Wighton in the halves - only for a knee injury to rule him out of the opening 11 rounds just days before the season-opener.

It's meant he's only played 12 games with Wighton, but there were promising signs with the Green Machine winning 10 of their 15 games with Fogarty steering the ship.

The Raiders No.7 was expecting that halves partnership to continue to blossom as they played more games together in 2023.

Fogarty is a dangerous runner of the ball and provides another kicking option.

His inclusion on the right edge meant teams simply couldn't focus on trying to stop Wighton on the left - he scored three tries in his final four games of the season.

The 29-year-old has also impressed Raiders insiders with his leadership and was part of the dinner organised with former top public servants Allan Hawke and Dennis Richardson.

Fogarty has embraced life in the capital and has quickly begun working with the Canberra community as an ambassador for Ronald McDonald House.

He is also a highly popular member of the playing group, with his teammates joking he could talk under water with a mouthful of marbles.

You wouldn't normally have a 29-year-old as a player to watch, but how his partnership with Wighton continues to grow will be crucial to the Raiders' hopes in 2023 as they set their sights on making the top four.

The departures of Adam Elliott (Newcastle) and Ryan Sutton (Canterbury) have opened up a hole in the Raiders' middle that needs to be filled.

Elliott, in particular, had made the No.13 jersey his own in an impressive one-year stint in Canberra before joining the Knights.

Trey Mooney leads a group of young forwards who will be looking to cover his loss in the 2023 NRL season.

Peter Hola, Ata Mariota and recruit Pasami Saulo (Newcastle) will also be using the pre-season to stake their claims for a spot in Canberra's 17.

Mooney made his NRL debut last year and didn't look out of place against the Sydney Roosters in his only appearance of the season.

The Raiders have a fairly settled forward pack, with Josh Papalii and Joe Tapine starting in the middle and the likes of Corey Horsburgh, Emre Guler and Corey Harawira-Naera also part of the middle rotation.

But there's at least one spot up for grabs - and potentially more during the State of Origin period when at least Papalii will be called up - opening the door for Mooney to press his claims.

Hola has yet to make his Raiders debut, having played 12 NRL games for the North Queensland Cowboys, and has yet to take up an option for the 2024 season.

But he was the Raiders' NSW Cup player of the year, highlighting how close he was to playing seniors for the Green Machine.

Mariota made his NRL debut when he replaced Sutton, who failed his head injury assessment, against Penrith.

Danny Levi is an interesting addition to the Raiders squad.

It's not so much that Levi is a player to watch next season, but the dummy-half role in general will be one to watch following his addition to the squad on a two-year deal.

The hooker is fresh off the back of helping Samoa reach the pointy end of the Rugby League World Cup before leaving the squad for personal reasons ahead of the semi-final.

He has spent his time off in New Zealand and began his first pre-season with the Green Machine last week.

The 27-year-old, who English Super League club Huddersfield released on compassionate grounds to return Down Under, adds depth to the Raiders' hooking stocks.

He will push incumbents Zac Woolford and Tom Starling, Canberra coach Ricky Stuart looking to add cover for the injured Adrian Trevilyan (knee).

Young gun Trevilyan won't return from a knee reconstruction until halfway through next season, meaning Woolford and Starling would have been the Green Machine's only senior rakes in the squad.

Hence why Stuart signed Levi, who has 112 NRL and 30 Super League games under his belt.

He's certainly good enough to push his two young fellow No.9s for at least a spot on the Canberra bench.

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