It's the battle of the pain in the necks that's worth the price of admission alone.
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Joey Leilua against Latrell Mitchell. Two of the most exciting centres in the NRL. Head to head.
Hopefully. If Leilua gets over the sore neck that forced him to miss what would've been his 200th NRL game. The impressive win over the Penrith Panthers that reversed the curse.
Mitchell, on the other hand, has been a pain in the neck for all comers this season.
Leilua will be champing at the bit. Like a caged tiger. Especially given his form so far this season. There's a new steely resolve about his play.
Mitchell. Well's he's just been Mitchell. He went hunting Tigers on Saturday night, caged or not. He was three Mitchells full. A hat-trick. Seven goals. And one assist.
The NSW Blues left centre up against a candidate for the right. Let's hope so. And for the Green Machine's sake, let's hope both pains in the neck go missing come Sunday.
Oldfield's throne
Two phone calls, one text message and a knock on the door. It seems the only thing Michael Oldfield isn't ready for is to be told he's playing.
But that doesn't stop him from preparing as if he is.
You've got to feel for Oldfield. The consummate professional. He plays, he scores.
The problem is he doesn't get to play anywhere near as often as he should.
Leilua's sore neck meant Oldfield got the call(s) up Saturday morning. It was his first NRL game of the season. Just his 10th in two years in Canberra.
MORE RAIDERS NEWS
But he's already scored eight tries for the Green Machine. Nice strike rate.
And he's noticed the difference between the old and the new. Raiders 1.0 of 2017-18 versus Raiders 2.0 of '19. It's the vibe of the place.
"It's a different buzz this year. It's not an arrogance, it's more of a confidence thing," he said.
"We just stick to our systems, our structure, we just work that hard for each other."
But Raiders coach Ricky Stuart and football manager Matt Ford must've thought they'd lost their second option for right centre as well. Seems "Oldie" was a bit hard to get onto at his Wagga Wagga digs.
"I had a missed call from 'Sticky'. I had a missed call from our football manager Matt Ford. I had a text from Matt Ford and then I had Sticky banging on my hotel door when I was in the toilet," Oldfield said.
"So that was the heads up ... it didn't disrupt us and we got on with the job and got it done.
"It's something I struggled with a lot when I was younger. I'm a pretty relaxed person. I don't have any superstitions in terms of have to do certain things the night before a game, the morning of, pre-game, what-not.
"It's just what it is. You're in, you're in. I've been in this position my whole footy career."
Luckily for him and them they eventually got through. Oldfield slotted in expertly at right centre. Alongside young gun Bailey Simonsson.
Only took him eight minutes to cross the stripe. Sammy Williams' grubber sat up nicely for him to run onto. Score opened. Green Machine off and running against the Panthers curse.
He even covered fullback for 10 minutes when Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad got sent to the sin bin. Pre-season well spent.
It can't be easy, 18th man. Preparing as if you're going to play, but knowing you probably won't. Knowing you'll probably drop out of the team with Leilua expected to be back to face the Roosters.
"Next week's next week. We've got eight days, which is good," Oldfield said.
"As for me personally I don't know where I sit, we'll just see how the week pans out and see where the boys are at and go from there."
The new and the new
Leilua-Latrell's not the only battle that will have its Origin on Suncorp Stadium, up in that far north State. What about Jack Wighton v Luke Keary?
The new five-eighth up against the five-eighth most think should be the new Blues five-eighth.
With Panthers halves Nathan Cleary and James Maloney struggling, there's plenty of talk around Keary's early season form. Which has basically just carried on from his grand final winning form.
It's a cracking chance to see how Wighton compares with Keary. His kicking game has come on kicks and bounds. His running game is going mental. And some of the tackles he's making, they'd make a fisherman proud.
It's a big week for....
Mexican wrestling masks. Who even knew they were a thing.
But now that I do, I can't wait to uncover the identity of the man clearly inspired by WWE star Rey Mysterio!
And what prompted him to pull the mask on and run out and brandish a red card to a referee in a local soccer game?
Was it a publicity stunt as he launches a bid to be part of a future SmackDown?
Was it a challenge for to ref to join him in the ring and risk getting put in a figure-eight leg lock?
Is it a bizarre promotion for a yet-to-be-revealed Hulk Hogan bout planned for AIS Arena?
The mind boggles. It really does.
NRL ROUND NINE
Sunday: Canberra Raiders v Sydney Roosters at Suncorp Stadium, 2pm.