![Raiders winger Nick Cotric has been ruled out with a hamstring. Picture by Keegan Carroll Raiders winger Nick Cotric has been ruled out with a hamstring. Picture by Keegan Carroll](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/reqbnGrLXyZFax2TwSi3Na/b8e3239e-93bc-4f83-9fcc-cbf1a51ac695.jpg/r0_77_5801_3351_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
The Canberra Raiders have been hit with another injury blow on the eve of their crucial clash with the Cronulla Sharks.
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They've lost winger Nick Cotric (hamstring), forcing Canberra Raiders coach Ricky Stuart to turn to James Schiller.
It means the Raiders' already young back five has lost its most experienced player for their clash at Canberra Stadium on Sunday.
Cotric was not only the oldest - in a back five that now has an average age of just 22 - but he was also the most experienced with 130 NRL games under his belt.
Now no one in their back five has played more than 50 games - with an average of just 23 games each.
But Stuart has full confidence in Schiller, who scored a brilliant match-winning try against the Melbourne Storm last year.
Meanwhile, for a glimpse into Trey Mooney's future, you need look no further than the Canberra Raiders prop's father Deon.
His dad's a big unit - tall and built like a brick proverbial too. He probably has his son covered at this stage, but Mooney's still only 20.
And even now he's not exactly small - 188 centimetres tall and weighing 106 kilograms.
But Stuart expected the young prop to keep growing and edging towards his old man.
Mooney comes into the side for the Green Machine's crucial clash against the Sharks, replacing the injured Ata Mariota (hand).
Like Mariota, Mooney has the chance to lay the foundation for his NRL career.
The winless Raiders desperately need a victory to open their account - against a team they've beaten the past eight times they've met.
Mooney, who made his NRL debut last year, has switched between the middle and the second row.
But Stuart was emphatic as to where he saw his future lying.
"A middle. I just don't want to take away from his learnings as a backrower as well - because he's played a lot of backrow," he said.
"I think for such a young boy to take away his learning capacity as a backrower is probably silly at this stage.
"Down the track, if you have a look at the size of his old man, you're going to understand why he's going to be a middle.
"He's a big fella and Trey's moving that way. He's still only a young boy and he'll take after dad - he'll be a big bloke that plays in the middle for us."
![Raiders prop Trey Mooney and his dad Deon are both big units. Picture by Keegan Carroll Raiders prop Trey Mooney and his dad Deon are both big units. Picture by Keegan Carroll](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/reqbnGrLXyZFax2TwSi3Na/97205290-75dd-4fe0-aee2-427689c38c71.jpg/r0_0_5000_2822_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Mooney's coming off a massive effort in the NSW Cup - running for 174 metres and making four tackle busts in 63 minutes of work.
He'd been up at Redcliffe with the NRL side the day before, travelling down to Canberra to play the following day.
It had Stuart confident the young forward could come straight in and do a job in just his second NRL game.
Stuart said it was a similar situation to what Mariota had been in - the young middle looked like he was finding his feet in the NRL before he broke his hand.
The Raiders' middle stocks have been depleted by injury, including several injuries in the NSW Cup squad, but they could welcome back enforcer Josh Papali'i (calf) next week.
"There's no ceiling on these younger players and Ata showed that after his second game at Redcliffe," Stuart said.
"He played very well and he was finding his conditioning and feet as a young NRL player.
"That's the opportunity now for Trey and they've got the opportunity to cement their position."
MORE RAIDERS NEWS
The Raiders-Sharks game will be played in extreme heat, with temperatures reaching 37 degrees in the lead-up to the game.
It's vastly different to the conditions Raiders fullback Sebastian Kris had to deal with last week - a hot and dry Canberra instead of a Redcliffe swamp.
The wet ground played a role in Kris's fumble that led to the first Dolphins try, with Stuart still happy with his fullback's performance.
"He was one of our best players last week in those conditions - it was very trying," he said.
"It was very heavy and everyone would've seen how difficult it would've been for a fullback, but I thought Sebby was one of our best.
"He's very calm. He knows the role - he's played the role as a junior. We've got all the confidence in the world in Seb at fullback."
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