Son of a gun Albert Hopoate to seize NRL recall with Canberra Raiders

"He was more of a dirty player than a footy player," the Canberra Raiders winger said.

But you don't tell him that, do you?

"He would probably give me a high-five to the body if I said that," Hopoate laughed as he prepares to fill a void left by Jordan Rapana on Canberra's flank against the Dolphins in Redcliffe on Saturday.

"I don't remember any of [his career], I just see videos here and there. I was still a baby when he was coming to the back end of his career."

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Hopoate was four years old when father John Hopoate hung up the boots, bringing down the curtain on one of rugby league's most turbulent careers.

John was among the game's most polarising characters, having won a premiership with Manly, played for Australia at a World Cup and pulled on the sky blue of NSW - but leaving the game as the most suspended player of the modern era.

He calls himself a crash test dummy for his sons Will, Jamil, and Albert. All three have played in the NRL. Will is now playing with World Club Challenge winners St Helens, while former Brisbane Bronco Jamil has been jailed for drug supply.

Now Albert has a chance to create his own legacy after being called into Ricky Stuart's starting side for a clash with the NRL's new kids on the block.

Rapana will miss three weeks after being banned for a shoulder charge, giving Hopoate a chance to prove himself in the NRL during clashes with the Dolphins, Cronulla and Newcastle.

Hopoate is the first to admit he fell short of his own expectations during Canberra's trial matches - "but I know deep down in my heart, I am ready".

"My dad calls me before a game and tells me what he thinks I should do before a game, just because he has been there and done that," Hopoate said.

"He'll just tell me to get involved, run hard, and run with purpose, not just running for a carry, and make sure you're in the right place at the right time.

"It's good having his advice and his help. It was more exciting [watching my brothers play in the NRL]. Kids these days grow up looking up to their dads. I was one of them, wanting to play the NRL."

The absence of Rapana and prop Josh Papali'i robs the Raiders of 445 games' worth of NRL experience, with Stuart to plug the gaps with Hopoate and Pasami Saulo, who boast 40 NRL caps between them.

Saulo impressed during a round one loss to North Queensland, with Ata Mariota, Emre Guler and Corey Horsburgh joining Tom Starling as Canberra's reinforcements on the bench.

"Our bench did really well. Stick made a decision to run Emre and Corey off the bench because they've got experience, and it really paid off. They changed the game when they came on," Raiders front-rower Joe Tapine said.

"Pasami went really well for his first hitout and Ata did a job too, it's only his second game and he'll build into it.

"[The Dolphins] have got a lot of experience but I'm not looking at it like we need to stop them or anything. There are little details in defence and in the middle [we need to improve], not much to fix but tweaking what we did."

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