A dislocated patella has Croker facing eight weeks on the sidelines, and Raiders coach Ricky Stuart on the lookout for a new skipper, centre, and goal kicker ahead of Canberra's return to Seiffert Oval this Saturday.

Hodgson and Soliola loom as the most likely choices to have the "C" next to their name before Croker returns to action.

But winger Jordan Rapana says a by-product of the culture Stuart has built in the club is that they don't have just one leader - they have a squad full of them.

"No doubt [Croker] will still be a leader from the sidelines," Rapana said.

"We've got a lot of leaders here at the club and the culture's a good culture there, so I'm sure Ricky will have no problem putting someone in to take his spot.

"Obviously it's unfortunate. He's obviously our captain and one of our leading point scorers, but the wonderful thing about the culture at the club that we have, is that we have not just one player like Jarrod but a whole team of Jarrod's.

"I'm sure Ricky will have no problem being able to find someone to fill in for the few games that he's missing."

Stuart is a firm believer that depth wins premierships and he has a number of options to consider as Croker's replacement in Canberra's only trial match against the Newcastle Knights.

The majority of the squad will play in the match with the likes of Hodgson requesting a run to get some miles in the legs.

English recruit Jordan Turner got his first taste of the NRL for the World All Stars and has been floated as a potential replacement for Croker, while young guns Nick Cotric and Brent Naden also have the chance to impress at the Raiders' spiritual home.

Rapana is confident Canberra can go one better than last season's heartbreaking preliminary final defeat and still believes the club can get off to a good start in Croker's absence.

"We've got a lot of depth at the club, [and it's] entirely up to Ricky what he's going to do," Rapana said.

"It's a big loss for us but [with] the depth there, I'm sure we've got someone to cover him."

Boyd echoed Raiders great Alan Tongue in saying experienced heads Hodgson and Soliola were best equipped to take on the captaincy role.

The timing of Croker's injury allows the Raiders to find a replacement at centre to gel on the paddock, in a season where he hopes to pick up a New South Wales jersey to hang up next to his Australian one.

"I daresay it'll be Hodgo or Sia that'll be captain for the first couple of weeks but until Toots is back, they'll just fill in," Boyd said.

"They're always two teams that you strive to play for, so if [I] can get a Blues jersey, I would be stoked with that but happy enough to get an Aussie one and hoping to play in it again as well."

PRE-SEASON TRIAL

Saturday: Canberra Raiders v Newcastle Knights at Seiffert Oval, 6.30pm. Tickets available from raidersshop.com.au.