Dunamis Lui has been the silent achiever for the Canberra Raiders this season and now he has a chance to put his name up in lights.
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Raiders coach Ricky Stuart has revamped his 21-man squad for a date with the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles at Canberra Stadium on Friday night.
Lui has been called into Canberra's starting side for the first time as the Raiders look to cover the loss of back-rower Joe Tapine after he accepted a two-game ban for a shoulder charge with an early guilty plea.
Stuart has shifted Josh Papalii to the second row, Sia Soliola to lock and Lui into the No. 8 jumper, while the door has been opened for Liam Knight to earn a first grade recall against his former club.
Raiders forward Luke Bateman says Tapine's absence will force the rest of the pack to stand up but he is confident the rejigged side will not miss a beat.
"[Lui] has been playing really well for us actually. It’s probably understated what a good job he has been doing for us, and it will be a good opportunity for him to step up and hopefully make an impact," Bateman said.
"Knighty is coming onto the bench, he’s a great player and he has done a great job for us over the last couple of weeks when he has been called in.
"Taps has probably been one of our best players over the past couple of weeks so it’s a massive loss but that’s where the blokes around him need to lift up and fill a hole."
Young gun Emre Guler has emerged as an outside chance to make the debut his teammates have been expecting since pre-season after being named on the extended bench for the first time.
Manly are not without changes of their own with recently signed half Trent Hodkinson moving into the starting team for Dylan Walker (fractured eye socket), while Lewis Brown starts at hooker for suspended rake Api Koroisau.
NRL ROUND 12
Friday: Canberra Raiders v Manly Warringah Sea Eagles at Canberra Stadium, 6pm. Tickets from Ticketek.
Raiders squad: 1. Jack Wighton, 2. Nick Cotric, 3. Jarrod Croker (c), 4. Joseph Leilua, 5. Jordan Rapana, 6. Blake Austin, 7. Aidan Sezer, 8. Dunamis Lui, 9. Siliva Havili, 10. Shannon Boyd, 11. Josh Papalii, 12. Elliott Whitehead, 13. Iosia Soliola. Interchange: 14. Ata Hingano, 15. Luke Bateman, 16. Charlie Gubb, 17. Liam Knight, 18. Emre Guler, 19. Michael Oldfield, 20. Sam Williams, 21. Craig Garvey.
Sea Eagles squad: 1. Tom Trbojevic, 2. Jorge Taufua, 3. Moses Suli, 4. Brian Kelly, 5. Akuila Uate, 6. Trent Hodkinson, 7. Daly Cherry-Evans (c), 8. Addin Fonua-Blake, 9. Lewis Brown, 10. Martin Taupau, 11. Joel Thompson, 12. Shaun Lane, 13. Jake Trbojevic. Interchange: 14. Matthew Wright, 15. Frank Winterstein, 16. Lloyd Perrett, 17. Toafofoa Sipley, 18. Thomas Wright, 19. Bradley Parker, 20. Jack Gosiewski, 21. Tevita Funa.
