After two heavy defeats, Canberra Raiders coach Ricky Stuart has made a host of changes to his side for their clash against the North Queensland Cowboys in Townsville on Saturday night.
Stuart made strong comments about certain individuals not carrying their weight after the 35-10 loss to the Eels last week and has backed those statements up at the selection table.
Joe Tapine and Sia Soliola have been dropped from the 17 while Corey Harawira-Naera and Corey Horsburgh have been named on the bench for their first NRL game in 2021.
Ryan James returns to the side and will start alongside Emre Guler in the front row with Josh Papalii relegated to the bench.
Josh Hodgson will miss the next 2-3 weeks with a calf injury which opens the door for Tom Starling to get his first start at hooker this year. With Hodgson out, Elliott Whitehead has been named captain alongside Jarrod Croker.
Bailey Simonsson is out with concussion with the impressive Sebastian Kris taking his spot on the wing.
Caleb Aekins remains at fullback after impressing in his debut for the club last week while Jarrod Croker and Curtis Scott keep their spots at centre.
In some good news for Raiders fans, Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad will not require surgery on his neck and will be assessed weekly.
Raiders and Cowboys team lists
| Raiders | Cowboys | ||
| 1 | Caleb Aekins | 1 | Valentine Holmes |
| 2 | Seb Kris | 2 | Kyle Feldt |
| 3 | Jarrod Croker | 3 | Justin O’Neill |
| 4 | Curtis Scott | 4 | Connelly Lemuelu |
| 5 | Jordan Rapana | 5 | Murray Taulagi |
| 6 | Jack Wighton | 6 | Scott Drinkwater |
| 7 | George Williams | 7 | Ben Hampton |
| 8 | Ryan James | 8 | Coen Hess |
| 9 | Tom Starling | 9 | Reece Robson |
| 10 | Emre Guler | 10 | Jordan McLean |
| 11 | Hudson Young | 11 | Shane Wright |
| 12 | Elliott Whitehead | 12 | Ben Condon |
| 13 | Ryan Sutton | 13 | Lachlan Burr |
| Bench | Bench | ||
| 14 | Siliva Havili | 14 | Jake Granvilee |
| 15 | Corey Harawira-Naera | 15 | Mitchell Dunn |
| 16 | Corey Horsburgh | 16 | Francis Molo |
| 17 | Josh Papalii | 17 | Corey Jensen |
| Reserves | Reserves | ||
| 18 | Matthew Timoko | 18 | Esan Marsters |
| 19 | Iosia Solia | 19 | Peter Hola |
| 20 | Matt Frawley | 20 | Jake Cifford |
| 21 | Joe Tapine | 21 | Tom Gilbert |
| Coach | Coach | ||
| Ricky Stuart | Todd Payten |
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