Canberra’s two leading options to replace departed club champion Jack Wighton in the halves remain waiting to hear if they’ve made the first team for the Raiders’ NRL season-opener against Newcastle next week.
Teenage prospect Ethan Strange and 22-year-old Kaeo Weekes are battling it out for the vacant No.6 jersey, with Canberra coach Ricky Stuart yet to tip his hand as to which way he’s leaning.
Weekes was the presumed front-runner after joining from Manly this past off-season, but uninspiring trial form might have opened the door for Strange after he flexed some playmaking muscle and defensive prowess.
Strange, who’s clearly not afraid to throw around his 190cm, 99kg frame, twice decked North Queensland second-rower Heilum Luki in Sunday’s contest to quickly win the hearts of the Raiders faithful.
“I like to be aggressive, and I do like getting out there and putting shots on, just to try and give the boys a lift,” Strange told AAP.
“I’m trying to mature a little bit, just to steer the boat, be that cool, calm head on the field – I try to be that anyway.
“We all want to play that game but I’m just happy to do whatever the team needs to be honest.
“It’s a motivation, but I don’t really put any pressure on myself. I just enjoy playing footy, and wherever that is, seriously, I’ll just play. I’m not fussed.”
Missing the first-grade cut would be a tough pill to swallow for Weekes, the lure of the vacant No.6 job surely swaying his decision to head to Canberra.
But the 12-game NRL talent was adamant he’d not been promised anything when he decided to sign a two-year contract with the club.
“It was very exciting and a big selling point, obviously you want to play first grade,” Weekes told AAP.
“But ‘Stick’ (Stuart) never promised me anything, he just said if you come in and you work hard, we’ll see what happens.
“Personally, trials were a bit hot and cold, some good and some not so good … whatever ‘Stick’ chooses, he’s done a lot in the game and he’s coached a lot of sides, what he sees is more than likely right.”
A recall to first grade would hopefully pan out better for Strange than his debut last season, where his Raiders were smashed 48-2 in clearly their worst performance of the campaign.
“Obviously no one wants their debut to go like that, but it was a really good learning experience for me,” he said.
“It showed me I’ve got a lot to work on, and whenever I play now, it can’t really get much worse than that.”
