It’s the first Team List Tuesday of the year for the Raiders and after months of speculation, Ricky Stuart has unveiled his starting 17 for the season opener against the Knights on Thursday night.

In a blow for the club, captain Elliott Whitehead will miss the first 3-4 weeks of the season due to a calf injury with Joe Tapine named to replace him as skipper. Jamal Fogarty will remain as vice-captain. Offseason recruit Zac Hosking has been named to replace Whitehead in the second row alongside Hudson Young.

In possibly the most talked about spot up for grabs, youngster Ethan Strange has won the battle for the five-eighth spot, edging out Kaeo Weekes who has been named on the reserves list.

With limited experienced fullback options in the squad, Jordan Rapana has been named in the 1 jersey, with exciting youngster Chevy Chase left out of the squad for now.

Nick Cotric and Xavier Savage have been named on the wings, with Matt Timoko and Albert Hopoate in the centres. James Schiller is the unlucky outside back to miss out.

The hooker race was a battle in three all offseason. Danny Levi gets the nod to start with Tom Starling named on the bench, meaning Zac Woolford is the unlucky one to miss out.

Veteran duo Tapine and Josh Papali’i are the starting props, while English recruit Morgan Smithies gets a chance to cement himself at lock in the absence of the suspended Corey Horsburgh.

Given the Raiders’ abundance of NRL-calibre forwards, the competition for the remaining three bench spots was always destined to be fierce. Emre Guler, Ata Mariota and Pasami Saulo are all on the bench, with Trey Mooney stiff to miss selection.

The Raiders take on the Knights in Newcastle on Thursday 7 March at 8pm.

Raiders and Knights team lists