Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad has been named to return for the Canberra Raiders against the Penrith Panthers at Panthers Stadium this Saturday night, 9 August.

Nicoll-Klokstad required surgery on his little finger after suffering a nasty dislocation in the Raiders’ round 11 victory over the Rabbitohs, but a quick turnaround will see him miss just the one match.

His return to fullback means that Jordan Rapana will shift back to his usual spot on the wing, and Semi Valemei drops out of the squad after suffering a knee injury during the Raiders’ 14-12 victory over the Cowboys last Saturday, 1 August.

The rest of the Raiders starting 17 remains the same as last week with John Bateman backing up after a stellar 80-minute performance against the Cowboys and Corey Harawira-Naera named to start on the bench once again.

In another positive for the Raiders’ depth, veteran outside back Michael Oldfield has overcome a hamstring injury and has been named in the reserves list.

The Raiders escaped Townsville with a close win but will need to improve their performance against a Panthers side that has won seven games in row and sits on top of the ladder.

The Panthers are fresh off dismantling the Manly Sea Eagles 42-12 last Saturday at Lottoland and will no doubt be full of confidence when they return to play at their home ground.

They have been forced into one change with the young try-scoring machine Charlie Staines suffering a hamstring injury against Manly. He has been replaced on the wing by Malakai Watene-Zelezniak.

Full teams

For more stories:

• NRL round 12 review: Perfect Panthers
• Kurt Baptiste to return to Raiders
• Giants rise over setting Suns
• Brumbies make changes for Rebels clash