Boom teenager Lachlan Croker could be in line to make his NRL debut for the Canberra Raiders and thrust into the halves for next week's clash with the Sydney Roosters.
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The Raiders will have a reshaped halves pairing after star five-eighth Blake Austin and gun recruit Aidan Sezer were hurt in Saturday's 30-22 victory against the Penrith Panthers at Canberra Stadium.
Austin suffered medial ligament damage to his knee and Sezer has either a suspected fractured cheekbone or eye socket.
Both players will have scans on Monday.
Halfback Sam Williams will return to the side after missing the season opener with a virus.
Croker is the captain of the Raiders' under-20s team and the 19-year-old has been a part of the club's Auckland Nines squad for the past two years.
The nephew of Raiders legend Jason Croker is signed with the club until 2017, but his first-grade debut is likely to come earlier than expected.
Fullback Jack Wighton has played in the halves before, but he endorsed Croker as the most likely option to partner Williams next week if Austin and Sezer are ruled out.
"We've got a lot of depth," Wighton said.
"Young Lachlan Croker scored one or two tries in the 20s [today] and showed great maturity, so he's another fella that can come up and step into the role.
"Sammy Williams will guide him around the field just fine."
Sezer made a brilliant first impression at his new club, scoring two tries and displaying his trademark kicking game.
He stepped up after Austin left the field with the team trailing 22-16 early in the second half, powering over for his second four-pointer to level the scores.
That was despite taking a shot to the face that affected his vision.
"That's just him. You see that in pre-season with the effort he puts into every run and every effort," Wighton said.
"He's always up the front and he's one of those competitive little halves, a lot like [Raiders coach Ricky Stuart] back in the day [when he was playing].
"He never complains. He threw one ball that went to air a little bit and he said sorry, but it probably wasn't his fault.
"He was great."
Austin was also outstanding despite having not played since round 25 last year after having a shoulder operation.
He set up the Raiders' first try to Edrick Lee and scored the second with a sharp dummy before having to come off the field.
"[Blake] is a great player and he's going to be missed, but that's the good thing about this year, we've got a lot of depth," Wighton said.
"The boys came on and finished the job."
Raiders captain Jarrod Croker was also close to missing the game with a virus, with Sisa Waqa called into complete the pre-game warm-ups in case he pulled out.
Outside back Zac Santo did his chances of a first-grade call-up no harm scoring two tries for the Mounties in their NSW Cup victory against the Panthers.
