The Canberra Raiders want to use their State of Origin snubbings to their advantage and climb up the NRL ladder during the draining representative period.
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The Raiders were overlooked when the NSW and Queensland teams for the opening game of the Origin series were named on Tuesday.
Second-rower Josh Papalii missed out on a spot in the Maroons forward pack, while fullback Jack Wighton and five-eighth Blake Austin were in the mix for the Blues.
All three will be out to show they deserve to be considered for the remainder of the series when a full-strength Raiders side take on an Origin-depleted Bulldogs at Canberra Stadium on Sunday.
Raiders prop David Shillington knows first hand the toll the Origin period can take on players both physically and mentally, having made eight appearances for the Maroons.
"[During the] Origin period you can see a huge shift in the ladder. The top teams obviously struggle to hold on because they are so drained and each week their squads are depleted," Shillington said.
"We can take advantage of that for sure, but at the same time I would like to think if something happens with either of the NSW or Queensland teams with this first game, there's a couple of our boys that could step up and fill the spots.
"That makes their performances important that they are the next in line to get picked.
"As a team, it's a big opportunity to move up the ladder a bit."
Des Hasler's men will be without NSW quartet Trent Hodkinson, Josh Morris, Josh Jackson and David Klemmer.
It's the only game during the representative period that the Raiders will face a team without their Origin stars.
The Raiders will host the Brisbane Broncos on May 30, just three days after game one.
The Broncos will be hoping their Maroons contingent of Darius Boyd, Justin Hodges, Sam Thaiday, Corey Parker, Josh McGuire and Matt Gillett can back up.
It's a similar situation for the red-hot North Queensland Cowboys, who will have their fingers crossed that superstar playmaker Johnathan Thurston and hard-nosed props Matt Scott and James Tamou are fit for the trek to the nation's capital on June 20.
The Raiders also have two games against the Newcastle Knights – who have Blues second-rower Beau Scott as their lone representative – and a date with the New Zealand Warriors in Auckland (Jacob Lillyman and Ryan Hoffman) during the next eight weeks.
Raiders lock Shaun Fensom said his side couldn't afford to underestimate the opposition during the Origin period. "Every club's got the depth to cover those players," Fensom said.
"There's 36 players training every week, so any team that loses players and tries to use that as an excuse mustn't have too much confidence in their players coming up."
Papalii's form put him back in contention to regain his Maroons jersey.
Wighton was talked about for a wing spot for NSW, while Austin's three-try haul in the City v Country match put him in the frame at five-eighth.
RAIDERS DRAW DURING ORIGIN PERIOD
May 24: Bulldogs at home – without Trent Hodkinson, Josh Jackson, David Klemmer and Josh Morris.
May 30: Broncos at home – Darius Boyd, Justin Hodges, Sam Thaiday, Corey Parker, Josh McGuire and Matt Gillett backing up three days after Origin I.
June 6: Knights away – Beau Scott available.
Bye
June 20: Cowboys at home – Johnathan Thurston, Matt Scott and James Tamou backing up three days after Origin II.
June 27: Warriors away – Jacob Lillyman and Ryan Hoffman available.
Bye
July 10: Knights at home – Beau Scott backing up two days after Origin III.
