NRL talking points: Jack Wighton, Canberra Raiders in hot seat with 'rocks or diamonds' efforts, Bunker howler baffles league great

It's the nerve-racking play that sums up the rollercoaster experience of watching Jack Wighton lately.

Wighton is a key playmaker, team leader and face of the Raiders, and the success and failure of their season will likely be determined by how he performs.

But on Sunday night against the Tigers, former Kangaroos and Blues star Braith Anasta described Wighton's effort as "rocks or diamonds", and the final play couldn't have summed it up better.

It's been all too common in recent games for the Raiders, and it's not going unnoticed by rugby league pundits as Wighton both set up - and botched - tries in Canberra's victory on Sunday.

"He's done some great things, but has also been costly at times too," Blues assistant coach Greg Alexander said on Fox Sports.

Wighton wasn't the only rusty nail in the Raiders shed though, with a 26/40 completion rate and 14 errors.

"We played some really dumb footy in the second half," coach Ricky Stuart said.

"The only thing that got us over the line was our toughness. You're not going to get to your standard when you're four out of 10; that's what happened with our completion rate."

Wighton has stated his desire to win a premiership for Canberra before he departs for South Sydney next season, but he and his teammates have to rediscover their 2019 grand final-run form for the Raiders to go deep in 2023.

There's clearly no love lost between Raiders fans and John Bateman.

The former Raider who had a messy exit from the club, and later returned from England to the NRL with Wests, was booed on multiple occasions on Sunday.

From Bateman's introduction by the pre-game announcer, to shots of him on the big screen, to his standoff with former back-row apprentice Hudson Young, and every touch of the ball, the crowd was keen on letting Bateman know he wasn't welcome.

At full-time Young exchanged pleasantries with Bateman and told the crowd: "He's still a Raider at heart."

What's a forward pass and what's offside? The NRL bunker had a battle determining that at Canberra Stadium on Sunday.

The worst two decisions resulted in tries to each side which could be argued cancels out the controversy, but what's the point of the extra video review if not to eliminate errors everyone on their couch could even see?

Seb Kris' super dash to score certainly wouldn't have happened without a forward pass being fortuitously missed, and in the second half Luke Brooks looked offside to score a try for the Tigers.

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League great Cooper Cronk could nearly be heard falling off his seat in commentary when the replay was shown.

"No, he's not [onside]," Cronk said.

"From the first angle I can't say he's onside, no way."

Tiger coach Tim Sheens said he would be speaking with NRL officials over some of the decisions that cost Wests, including Kris' try.

"I was pretty disappointed with a few of the decisions," Sheens said post-game.

"The ball bounced their way and we had the opportunity to win and didn't."

It was a masterclass in shuffling the deck by Stuart as head injury assessments and injuries hit the Raiders in their victory.

Kris' hamstring issue saw second-rower Young shifted to centre in attack and Wighton to centre in defence, and HIAs for back row skipper Elliott Whitehead and winger Nick Cotric caused further reorganising.

Though he didn't return so late in the game, Cotric passed his HIA. However, if Kris' injury is serious, co-captain Jarrod Croker could be set to come back on the left edge.

Last week Croker was thought to be out up to two weeks with a hamstring problem which forced the veteran to miss Sunday night's game.

Other options to slot in for Kris at centre include Harley Smith-Shields or James Schiller, who have had NRL minutes on the edge.

"I don't know how bad Sebby is, but those things happen," Stuart said.

"If you don't take your opportunity in the first half, like what was presented to us then Seb Kris, Nick Cotric goes, Elliott Whitehead goes, and I had three middles playing centre. It was a massive effort defensively."

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