Canberra Raiders fullback Jack Wighton was in so much pain with an injured sternum that he could barely talk as the Green Machine moved a step closer to the NRL's top four last weekend.
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But Raiders coach Ricky Stuart will give his No. 1 as much time as possible to prove he's fit enough to play the Newcastle Knights at Canberra Stadium on Sunday as the battered and bruised squad returned to the capital.
Stuart is set to name an unchanged line-up on Tuesday despite an injured quartet of Wighton, Sia Soliola, Josh Hodgson and Kurt Baptiste after their 30-22 win against the Gold Coast Titans.
The Raiders are now just one point away from a cherished top-four spot, but the volatile nature of the NRL ladder means one slip-up could cause a slide down the rankings.
Stuart conceded he probably would have taken Wighton and Soliola off the field against the Titans had Hodgson and Baptiste not been ruled out of the match because of concussions.
The four are now racing the clock to be fit later this week, and hardman Shaun Fensom is waiting for a recall to the beefed-up Canberra forward pack.
"Jack couldn't even talk out on the field [against the Titans] without pain in his sternum," said Raiders playmaker Blake Austin.
"For him to tough it out for 30 minutes was a big play for the team, and anyone who knows Jack knows how tough he is and how much the team means to him.
"It would take a bit to keep Jack out, so we'd be planning on him to play [against the Knights] at this stage."
The Raiders were at the Ricky Stuart House in Chifley on Monday to donate $17,775 to the Ricky Stuart Foundation after auctioning their one-off jerseys from the clash against the Bulldogs last month.
Austin's jersey raised the most money while skipper Jarrod Croker was just behind in the pecking order. The Raiders will wear the jersey again when they play the South Sydney Rabbitohs in round 21.
"The same message and the same result would be lovely," Stuart grinned.
"It created so much awareness and it was fun ... it's something that's very good for the community. You don't have these things come to fruition without the corporate partners and community."
The Raiders moved into seventh spot in a jam for ladder spots that has teams fighting for finals spots and potential charges to the top four. Just six points separate teams ranked fourth to 12th.
The Raiders can take another step towards a return to the play-offs if they beat the unpredictable Knights this weekend to make it five wins from their past six games.
However, the Raiders are aware how costly it would be to take the Knights lightly and underestimate the struggling Newcastle side.
"We're in a very congested part of the table where we could be sixth or seventh or down to 12th," Stuart said.
"Winning those games is very important ... the way we beat the [Titans last weekend] was confidence-boosting as well. We improved in areas we need to.
"We had two players there [Wighton and Soliola] who should have been on the sideline with me but it was a show of great character.
"The boys are pretty knocked around ... we want to get used to that [physical] style of game, it's a trademark we've got with a big football team – we're powerful and physical and we need to play like that if we want to keep winning.
"I'll name the same team and at the back end of the week we'll assess everyone with any sort of doubt over them."
NRL — ROUND 17
Sunday: Canberra Raiders v Newcastle Knights, Canberra Stadium, 2pm. Tickets. TV: Fox Sports 1.
