A young star will make his NRL debut for the Raiders in their crucial clash against the the Sharks on Sunday afternoon.

Hohepa Puru has been named on the bench to make his debut and will become Raider #392. The 21-year-old joined the Raiders from Penrith at the end of last year and has impressed playing lock at NSW Cup level.

The Raiders have stuck with the same reshuffle they deployed in last week’s loss to Brisbane, with Jordan Rapana at fullback, Seb Kris on the wing, Jack Wighton at centre, Matt Frawley at five-eighth and Jarrod Croker on the bench.

Veteran prop Josh Papali’i has been ruled out for the rest of the season after surgery on a torn bicep tendon.

Lock Corey Horsburgh has been named despite facing a three-match suspension for a shoulder charge on Brisbane forward Corey Jensen. Horsburgh will learn his fate when the Raiders attempt to overturn the ban at the judiciary tonight. If they are unsuccessful, the 25-year-old will miss a fourth match and would be unable to return until the grand final, should Canberra qualify.

The Sharks have received a huge boost with Dally M Medalist Nicho Hynes named to return after missing last weekend’s loss to Newcastle.

POSSIBLE LADDER FINISHES FOR CANBERRA

The 7th-placed Raiders’ finals hopes are in the balance heading into the final round and they will know if they have to win to make it before their match starts.

With the Rabbitohs (8th) and Roosters (10th) playing each other on Friday night, the winner will leapfrog Canberra. In the highly-unlikely event of a draw, the Raiders’ top 8 spot would be secured.

If the Cowboys beat the Panthers in Penrith on Saturday evening, they will also jump ahead of the Raiders meaning Canberra will need to beat Cronulla to make finals. If the Cowboys lose, then Canberra’s spot in the finals will be secured. There was talk during the week that Penrith may rest some stars for the match, but they have named a strong squad with Jarome Luai the only notable omission through injury.

Should the Raiders win, they will likely finish 6th and play the Sharks for the second week in a row in an Elimination Final at GIO Stadium. The Raiders would finish 5th if they win and the Knights suffer an upset loss to the Dragons on Saturday night.

So, the Raiders can finish as high as 5th win a win and as low as 9th with a loss. Check out the NRL ladder here.