They took their medicine and now high-profile Canberra Raiders duo Josh Papalii and Blake Austin have convinced coach Ricky Stuart they are ready to aim up.
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Stuart has given the pair an NRL recall with State of Origin incumbent Papalii to come from the bench while Austin will start at five-eighth against the Parramatta Eels at Canberra Stadium on Saturday.
Stuart has also named Jack Wighton at fullback despite the 25-year-old preparing to face nine charges at the ACT Magistrates Court for his alleged role in a nightclub brawl.
Austin has spent the past fortnight languishing in reserve grade but has earned a repreive with halfback Sam Williams facing up to six weeks on the sidelines.
Papalii was axed last week and responded by running for 182 metres, making 21 tackles and busting the line four times for Mounties in the NSW Cup - it was just what Stuart was after.
It didn't stop there - Canberra's NRL squad had Tuesday off but Papalii headlined a handful of players that fronted up at Raiders headquarters to do extras.
"I’ve been very impressed with how Papa and Blake have taken their relegation. That’s why they’ve been selected again, they’ve taken their medicine," Stuart said.
"There was no other way to take it, you’ve got to be professional about the situation, and they both have. They’re a big part of our squad and I need them both playing very well.
"It was a wonderful contribution from every individual last week and we need to back that up with every individual buying in again and performing well, it’s our job.
"We’ve all got a job to do and a big part of that job is to perform well and to perform well consistently.
"[Papalii] went back [to NSW Cup] and bought right in, played some big minutes and he did what he had to do."
Liam Knight has fallen out of the top 17, while Aidan Sezer has shifted to halfback to accommodate Austin.
The Raiders have given themselves a shot at reviving their season following a gutsy win over Canterbury last week, but that was last week.
Stuart says the biggest challenge is replicating that effort every week as the Green Machine look to turn around a disappointing start to the season.
"The first three weeks we had been playing better football than where we were sitting on the table, but it’s always difficult for people to be looking at the quality parts of your football when you’re losing," Stuart said.
"It’s easier to be negative about the close losses and why or how. As a coach you do have to keep looking at the positives as well, keep building on the positives and keep working on the positives, and working on the areas that need fixing.
"It’s been well documented that we were all disappointed with our performance against Manly, and to their credit, the boys bounced back.
"It’s very important that we don’t leave last week’s performance to last week, we need to back it up again.
"It’s the biggest challenge to every team in the competition. That’s why this competition is so difficult to pick and why so many so-called experts are getting it wrong."
Eels coach Brad Arthur will welcome fullback Clint Gutherson into his squad for the first time this year as Parramatta aim to snap a five-match losing streak.
"I can tell they will be a very desperate footy team," Stuart said.
"It’s not a good feeling and we’ve been there. They’ve got a couple of players that will come back into their squad and it will make their team stronger. I know how hungry they will be."
NRL ROUND SIX
Saturday: Canberra Raiders v Parramatta Eels at Canberra Stadium, 7.35pm. Tickets available from Ticketek.
Raiders squad: 1. Jack Wighton, 2. Nick Cotric, 3. Jarrod Croker (C), 4. Joey Leilua, 5. Jordan Rapana, 6. Blake Austin, 7. Aidan Sezer, 8. Sia Soliola, 9. Siliva Havili, 10. Junior Paulo, 11. Joe Tapine, 12. Elliott Whitehead, 13. Luke Bateman. Interchange: 14. Ata Hingano, 15. Shannon Boyd, 16. Josh Papalii, 17. Dunamis Lui, 18. Liam Knight, 19. Michael Oldfield, 20. Brad Abbey, 21. Jack Murchie
Eels squad: 1. Clint Gutherson, 2. George Jennings, 3. Michael Jennings, 4. Kirisome Auva'a, 5. Bevan French, 6. Corey Norman, 7. Mitchell Moses, 8. Peni Terepo, 9. Kaysa Pritchard, 10. Tim Mannah (c), 11. Manu Ma'u, 12. Tony Williams, 13. Tepai Moeroa. Interchange: 14. Beau Scott, 15. Kenny Edwards, 16. Daniel Alvaro, 17. Kane Evans, 18. Will Smith, 19. David Gower, 20. Suaia Matagi, 21. Josh Hoffman
