A round one shutout on the Gold Coast showed a lot to like about Canberra - think the halves, the newcomers, and a rampaging import from England.

But a clash with the Melbourne Storm was always going to be the litmus test, and they got an indication of where they stand in a 22-10 defeat at Canberra Stadium on Friday.

Right now, there is plenty of room for improvement - and Stuart is confident that improvement will come. Canberra's right edge was in all sorts as they struggled to contain Suliasi Vunivalu on his way to a first-half hat-trick, with the hosts forced to make an extra 63 tackles in the first half.

But "we didn't go away, and that effort in the second half shows the character in this footy team".

"There was a couple of little individual errors, more so than team structure, and they're easy to fix," Stuart said.

"When Nicky [Cotric] wasn't in the line or when Charnze [Nicoll-Klokstad] came out of the line, they're eaily fixed. They're young kids who will fix that very quickly."

A loss against one of the competition powerhouses is nothing to fret about this early in the season. It's a long road to September.

Covering Joe Tapine

The Raiders could be without Joe Tapine for a number of weeks with a thumb injury after the back-rower lasted just 21 minutes against Melbourne.

The New Zealand international sat on the bench with a jacket draped over his shoulders for much of the contest while the Raiders pack struggled to find momentum against a star-studded opposition.

John Bateman shifted to the edge, and the Englishman certainly has no qualms about filling the role in the coming weeks should he be called upon, saying "it's probably my more natural position".

Bellamy rates Wighton switch

This was by no means Cameron Munster's best game, nor was it Jack Wighton's worst.

What it was, was a clash of two five-eighths that had made the transition from fullback. One in Munster, who provided plenty of spark for the Storm.

Then another in Wighton, who is still finding his feet in Canberra's halves pairing. He was a standout in round one but struggled to make a huge impact against Melbourne.

But Storm coach Craig Bellamy has backed Stuart's decision to shift Wighton in the halves, with the 26-year-old quickly adding an impressive kick to an already dangerous running game and a steely defensive resolve.

"I really like Jack at five-eighth, I think he was a really good fullback too but he will really blossom in that position to be quite honest," Bellamy said.

"He's a great runner of the ball but he has got a lot of skill as well, he has got a good kicking game. He'll do really well there."

Vunivalu shows his value

Three first-half tries and an intercept just when the Raiders looked to be mounting a last-ditch comeback.

There can be no denying Vunivalu's credentials as one of the premier wingers in the competition after he put on a masterclass in the capital.

Vunivalu left his Raiders counterpart Nick Cotric in disbelief as he notched up a hat-trick to continue Melbourne's unbeaten start to the season.

"It's good to get some meat pies to start the season. We knew Canberra was going to be a tough game, so to come out with the two points, big ups to our boys," Vunivalu said.

"It has been a good two games with two wins, we've got a couple of big games ahead. To win builds the confidence in our team, so hopefully we keep building on".