Former Canberra Raiders captain Josh Hodgson has been named to return on the bench for their Magic Round clash against the Bulldogs at Suncorp Stadium on Saturday 15 May.
Hodgson stepped down as Raiders captain after their loss to the Eels in Round 6 before a calf injury saw him miss the last three matches. Tom Starling remains as the starting hooker while Siliva Havili has dropped out of the 17 and onto the extended bench.
The Raiders suffered a severe injury toll in their 24-16 loss to the Knights last week, with Jordan Rapana (hamstring), Joe Tapine (knee) and Ryan Sutton (elbow) all out. Rapana is expected to miss 1-2 weeks while Tapine and Sutton will miss 2-3.
Rapana’s injury opens the door for Semi Valemei to play his first NRL game this season while Ryan James and Dunamis Lui come onto the bench with Hudson Young to start at lock.
The Raiders are under serious pressure having lost their last five matches and are coming up against another team under the pump.
The Bulldogs sit last on the ladder with just one win for the season and are coming off a 32-12 loss to the Dragons last week.
After being benched during their last loss, Bulldogs halfback Kyle Flanagan has been dropped with Brandon Wakeham to partner Jake Averillo in the halves.
Nick Meaney moves to centre to replace Corey Allan with Tuipulotu Katoa coming onto the wing with former Raider Nick Cotric on the other wing. Dylan Napa returns and will start in the front row.
Raiders and Bulldogs team lists
| Raiders | Bulldogs | ||
| 1 | Caleb Aekins | 1 | Dallin Watene-Zelezniak |
| 2 | Bailey Simonsson | 2 | Nick Cotric |
| 3 | Seb Kris | 3 | Will Hopoate |
| 4 | Curtis Scott | 4 | Nick Meaney |
| 5 | Semi Valemei | 5 | Tuipulotu Katoa |
| 6 | Jack Wighton | 6 | Brandon Wakeham |
| 7 | George Williams | 7 | Jake Averillo |
| 8 | Josh Papalii | 8 | Dylan Napa |
| 9 | Tom Starling | 9 | Sione Katoa |
| 10 | Emre Guler | 10 | Luke Thompson |
| 11 | Corey Harawira-Naera | 11 | Adam Elliott |
| 12 | Elliott Whitehead | 12 | Chris Smith |
| 13 | Hudson Young | 13 | Renouf Atoni |
| Bench | Bench | ||
| 14 | Josh Hodgson | 14 | Bradley Deitz |
| 15 | Dunamis Lui | 15 | Corey Waddell |
| 16 | Corey Horsburgh | 16 | Ava Aeumanufagai |
| 17 | Ryan James | 17 | Matt Doorey |
| Reserves | Reserves | ||
| 18 | Sam Williams | 18 | Kyle Flanagan |
| 19 | Matthew Timoko | 19 | Joe Stimson |
| 20 | Siliva Havili | 20 | Aaron Schoupp |
| 21 | Harry Rushton | 21 | Ofahiki Ogden |
| Coach | Coach | ||
| Ricky Stuart | Trent Barrett |
