A banged up Nick Cotric says his body is still adjusting to life in the NRL but the rookie sensation promised to do everything in his power to ensure the rise continues.
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Cotric, the youngest player in the NRL this year, is preparing for a showdown with Queensland State of Origin winger Dane Gagai when the Canberra Raiders play the Newcastle Knights on Sunday.
The teenager has played every minute of every game for the Raiders in his debut season, scoring three tries and cementing his play on Canberra's left edge.
The bye last weekend gave Cotric a chance to recuperate after a brutal initiation, but the 18-year-old says bumps and bruises won't slow him down.
"The time off was good to get away to refresh the mind a little bit," Cotric said.
"But it's going to be a big game against the Knights and I know we've got to work on the little things to get them right and get us the win.
"I definitely feel good after a week off. My body is still a bit sore, and is getting sorer and sorer every week. But I'm just stoked to get out there - I'm still pinching myself every week.
"I'm loving it, and going up against Gagai is another tough challenge because he's a rep player. But we've got the calibre of players, we've just got to get the little things right."
The Raiders hope they can get their season back on track when they travel to Newcastle. They have lost their past two games in a row and sit just outside the top eight.
The Knights are struggling at the bottom of the ladder with just one win from their first nine games, but the Raiders know the dangers of underestimating the Newcastle side.
Gagai is one of the Knights' biggest weapons and looms as a linchpin for Newcastle's hopes of causing a major upset.
He will have added incentive this weekend as the NRL celebrates an indigenous round.
"What it means to me is recognising the traditional owners in Australia and embracing that," Gagai told NRL.com.
"It's great I get to do that by doing the thing I love [in rugby league]. We're a multicultural and diverse country that should all live together in peace and get along."
Cotric said the Raiders were just focused on stabilising their ship and relaunching their premiership hopes.
"You can't write the Knights off, they're a great team and they showed us that in a trial match when they beat us [44-0]," Cotric said.
NRL ROUND 10
Sunday: Newcastle Knights v Canberra Raiders at Newcastle, 2pm. TV time: Live on Fox Sports 2.
Raiders team: 1. Jack Wighton, 2. Nick Cotric, 3. Jarrod Croker, 4. Joey Leilua, 5. Jordan Rapana, 6. Blake Austin, 7. Aidan Sezer, 8. Junior Paulo, 9. Josh Hodgson , 10. Shannon Boyd, 11. Sia Soliola, 12. Elliott Whitehead, 13. Luke Bateman. Interchange: 14. Adam Clydsdale, 15. Dunamis Lui, 16. Clay Priest, 17. Joe Tapine, 18. Scott Sorensen, 19. Jordan Turner, 20. Dave Taylor, 21. Zac Santo.
Knights team: 1. Brendan Elliott 2. Ken Sio 3. Dane Gagai 4. Peter Mata'utia 5. Nathan Ross 6. Brock Lamb 7. Jaelen Feeney 8. Daniel Saifiti 9. Danny Levi 10. Josh Starling 11. Sione Mata'utia 12. Sam Stone 13. Luke Yates. Interchange: 14. Anthony Tupou 15. Joe Wardle 16. Jack Stockwell 17. Jacob Saifiti 18. Trent Hodkinson 19. Tyler Randell 20. Josh King 21. Lachlan Fitzgibbon.
