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As part of a series profiling the expected Round 1 sides for all 17 NRL clubs in 2023, Canberra are as always a difficult team to predict.
Canberra fullback Xavier Savage has been ruled out until Round 7 after breaking his jaw in the Raiders’ trial loss to Canterbury on the weekend at Moruya.
Savage will undergo surgery on Tuesday to repair the fracture but with an expected recovery period of around eight weeks, it means he won’t be sighted again in a Raiders jersey until April.
After passing before the line, Savage was collected by Bulldogs forward Jackson Topine.
It’s a bitter blow for the Raiders who will enter 2023 on the back of a hot-and-cold campaign with an otherwise relatively unchanged squad.
Ricky Stuart (Photo by Mark Evans/Getty Images)
The Raiders have an ageing roster with some of the final survivors from the 2019 Grand Final team in the twilight of their career like injury-plagued centre Jarrod Croker, winger Jordan Rapana and English forward Elliott Whitehead.
Their campaign last season was thwarted from the get-go with a season-ending ACL tear in Round 1 to hooker Josh Hodgson and halfback Jamal Fogarty’s club debut being delayed until the end of May due to a knee injury.
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They managed to sneak into the top eight once their spine was settled midway through the season and then upset the Storm in Melbourne in week one of the finals. Ricky Stuart claimed after their semi-final loss to Parramatta that they had a top-four roster when all players are available.
Newcastle prop Pasami Saulo is the only new face in the national capital with first-grade experience, bolstering their already strong forward depth. He is no certainty to crack the 17 for Round 1.
Hodgson has joined Parramatta while Ryan Sutton (Bulldogs) and Adam Elliott (Knights) are also experienced campaigners who have left the pack. Veteran back-up halfback Sam Williams has retired while Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad has returned to the Warriors after losing the fullback spot to Savage.
Xavier Savage. (Photo by Mark Nolan/Getty Images)
Savage being out means Stuart could switch Jordan Rapana to the back from the wing or bring in a utility back like Albert Hopoate or Harley Smith-Shields in the No.1 jersey.
Jarrod Croker’s recovery from a serious shoulder injury could force a reshuffle in the centres but he is likely to have to play his way back into the NRL side after such a lengthy layoff while Stuart could switch Whitehead to lock with Elliott no longer around or use a middle forward in the No.13 jersey like Joseph Tapine.
Zac Woolford cemented the starting hooker’s spot mid-season with Tom Starling reverting to his bench role and Ricky Stuart now has another option with Danny Levi at the club.
1 Jordan Rapana
2 Nick Cotric
3 Matt Timoko
4 Sebastian Kris
5 Semi Valemei
6 Jack Wighton
7 Jamal Fogarty
8 Josh Papalii
9 Danny Levi
10 Joseph Tapine
11 Hudson Young
12 Corey Harawira-Naera
13 Elliott Whitehead
Interchange
14 Tom Starling
15 Emre Guler
16 Peter Hola
17 Corey Horsburgh
Other squad members: Xavier Savage (injured until Round 7) Pasami Saulo, Adrian Trevilyan, Albert Hopoate, Ata Mariota, Brad Schneider, Clay Webb, Zac Woolford, Harley Smith-Shields, James Schiller, Jarrod Croker, Matt Frawley, Trey Mooney.
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