Boom youngster Jack Wighton will be given a licence to attack when an injury-ravaged Canberra Raiders begin their Toyota Cup campaign against the Melbourne Storm today.
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Wighton will line up at five-eighth after turning plenty of heads for the Raiders in the centres in their NRL trial against the Storm in Albury last month.
Lively fullback Jack Ahearn (hamstring) is the only piece missing from a quality 1-6-7-9 combination, featuring Wighton, captain Mitch Cornish and hooker Ben Picker.
Despite having half a dozen of his squad sidelined through injury, new Raiders coach Andrew Dunemann won't use that as an excuse in his first under-20s encounter.
''I'm still confident, we've got the boys who can do the job,'' he said. ''It'll be a good test for us. We've got a good halves combination. Mitch should lead us around the park.''
Mitch Cronin will wear the No.1 jersey in Ahearn's absence.
Of the squad's casualty ward, prop John Papalii is the most serious, a knee injury keeping the younger brother of first-grader Josh out for the next three months.
Lock Blake Seager, centres Matt Allwood and Simon Lienesch and second-rower Dennis Tomarchio are also unavailable.
