'Something had to give': Stuart explains Raiders backline reshuffle for gutsy Storm loss

That's why he swung the axe that almost completely reshaped the backline.

Adam Cook in at halfback for his first NRL game in four years. Kaeo Weekes to fullback. Jordan Rapana to the wing. Albert Hopoate into the centres.

Plus Xavier Savage and Ethan Strange switched sides of the field, with Sebastian Kris dropped.

It led to some of the response Stuart was looking for, with some defensive resolve.

But the Raiders kept shooting themselves in the foot by turning possession over cheaply and ultimately that led to them losing 16-6 to the ladder-leading Storm in Melbourne on Saturday night.

When asked what prompted the reshuffle, Stuart said he had no choice.

"You've seen our last two performances, something had to give," he said.

"I can't just sit on my hands, I've got to make changes to try and spark a revival and that was there tonight.

"But we were just poor with the ball."

Those repeated handling errors led to the Storm dominating possession (57 per cent) and territory (62 per cent), while they also had more than 500 more run metres - and forced the Green Machine to make 150 more tackles.

The Raiders did well to limit Melbourne to just one first-half try, but a couple of costly errors in the second stanza let in two more.

"Of course I was pleased. That was probably our best defensive display of the year," Stuart said.

"I think we had 420-220 tackles or something.

"But you don't want to have to keep handing possession over in our end of the field. It was set after set."

The defensive effort also drew praise from Storm super-coach Craig Bellamy.

"In the first half especially, they were hardly over halfway so they did a great job to hang in there," he said.

"I don't know how many times they came up with a one-on-one or just a real scramble effort to stop us down on their tryline.

"I thought they defended really well."

The Raiders were also on the wrong side of the six-again count, losing it 7-4.

Stuart felt it was a lottery.

"We were just on the wrong side of the guessing game again," Stuart said.

"They're just guessing. Those six agains - they just guess. I'll give one away here. I'll give one away there."

Ricky Stuart reshuffled the Canberra Raiders backline and got the response he was looking for, but it wasn't enough to get the better of the Melbourne Storm.

The Storm ground their way past the Green Machine, winning 16-6 in Melbourne on Saturday night, but the win will come at a cost for not only the home side but Queensland's State of Origin one as well.

Rumours of a backline shake-up emerged at the start of the week and they all proved true - Kaeo Weekes to fullback, Adam Cook in at halfback, Albert Hopoate at centre, Jordan Rapana to the wing.

There was also Xavier Savage and Ethan Strange swapping sides of the field, while Sebastian Kris was dropped.

There were varying degrees of success, with Weekes struggling under the high ball at the back.

Cook made a good start with his kicking game - putting up Jamal Fogarty-esque bombs - but was starved of the football after that.

It was his first NRL game since since 2020, after the COVID-19 pandemic temporarily ended his professional career as he returned home to Queensland.

Hopoate made a brilliant try-saving tackle on Storm winger Will Warbrick in his NRL return.

Canberra hooker Tom Starling got a 100th-game present from Jahrome Hughes - an accidental boot to the head that cut his eyebrow open.

While that was superficial, the Raiders could have concerns again with Matt Timoko's shoulder - which he hurt again in the first half.

Canberra lost three players to head knocks - debutant Jordan Martin's night ended after just five minutes, while Ata Mariota and Rapana also went off.

They could also have concerns with the match review committee with captain Elliott Whitehead put on report for a hip drop tackle on Shawn Blore.

Hopoate was also put on report for a high shot on Melbourne centre Jack Howarth, while Storm five-eighth Tyran Wishart was also put on report.

Maroons coach Billy Slater will also be worried after Storm winger Xavier Coates went off with a hamstring injury that looked set to rule him out of Origin III at Lang Park.

Stuart challenged the Raiders' toughness after last week's loss to Wests Tigers and they certainly responded with a much-improved display, but they did struggle with handling errors in the wet conditions.

They produced a big defensive effort in the first half - in stark contrast to the past two weeks where they conceded 82 points across both games.

The Raiders had just 42 per cent possession, 36 per cent of territory, they made 34 tackles inside they're defensive 20-metre and 51 more tackles than the Storm - who ran for 360m more in the opening 40.

But they eventually cracked just three minutes before the break, with Bronson Garlick picking out Josh King to cross untouched - after a Savage error on a high ball and a Whitehead defensive misread.

They were the only errors the Raiders couldn't defend in the first stanza as they went into half-time 6-0 down.

Weekes had a torrid first half under the high ball, but he showed how dangerous his pace can be - splitting the Melbourne defensive line and then sprinting 90m to level the scores.

But a defensive lapse - after the bunker reversed a Raiders scrum feed to a Storm penalty - allowed Blore to put the home side back in front.

Howarth scored off the back of four repeat sets to seal the win.

AT A GLANCE

MELBOURNE STORM 16 (Josh King, Shawn Blore, Jack Howarth tries; Tyran Wishart 2 goals) bt CANBERRA RAIDERS 6 (Kaeo Weekes try; Jordan Rapana goal) at Melbourne. Referee: Grant Atkins.

Canberra Raiders coach Ricky Stuart has rung a late change in a bid to snap their two-game losing streak.

Adam Cook will play his first NRL game since 2020, after the COVID pandemic temporarily ended his professional career.

He's been named to start in the centres in place of Sebastian Kris, but there were rumours early in the week suggesting Cook would start at halfback prompting a backline reshuffle.

The rumours suggested Kaeo Weekes would switch to fullback, with Jordan Rapana returning to the wing and Albert Hopoate slotting into the centres.

It'll be interesting to see how the Green Machine lines up at kick-off against the Melbourne Storm in Melbourne on Saturday night.

It will be Tom Starling's 100th NRL game and Jordan Martin's debut.