Aidan Sezer has earned the NRL recall he has so desperately craved and the Canberra Raiders' run of outs offers the incoming playmaker a golden opportunity.
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Sezer has been limited to two first grade games this season but has been named at five-eighth after Jack Wighton was drafted into NSW Blues camp.
It is a huge chance for Sezer to stake his claim on a first grade spot as Canberra look to get their campaign back on track against the Canterbury Bulldogs at ANZ Stadium on Saturday.
An oblique injury kept Sezer out of the side in round three before Sam Williams steered the Raiders to the top four to leave him to bide his time with Mounties in the NSW Cup.
But things have gone south in recent weeks and the 27-year-old returns to a chief playmaking role in a side looking to rebound from three consecutive losses without Wighton and star hooker Josh Hodgson to pull the strings.
Wighton could be in and out of Canberra's squad over the next six weeks should he maintain his place in the NSW Blues' State of Origin side.
Hodgson is expected to spend six to eight weeks on the sideline with a fractured thumb to leave the Raiders without the man in control of their attack.
With Canberra now falling back to the pack in the midst of a cruel injury toll - not to mention the loss of three representative players - back-rower Elliott Whitehead says Sezer "has to take that opportunity now".
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"He's a quality player, Aidan, he's been unlucky not to be playing for us but Sammy has been doing a great job in keeping him out," Whitehead said.
"He gets his opportunity again this week, he's very experienced. It's a relief having someone like him who can just step in for Jack and take that role.
"He's been very good, he's been very professional. He has trained hard, worked hard, and he has always been ready if he gets that call to come back up into the NRL.
"He gets that this week, he has to take that opportunity now."
Sezer will be in control of a new-look back line compared to the one he linked up with back in round two.
Gone are Nick Cotric, Jordan Rapana, and Joey Leilua. In come Seb Kris, Michael Oldfield and Bailey Simonsson.
Not only will he have some fresh faces outside him, Sezer will have a new hooker feeding him the ball - albeit one he grew accustomed to for much of the 2018 season when Hodgson was out injured.
Hodgson's absence will throw Siliva Havili into the No. 9 jersey, who concedes he plays a vastly different style to that of the English rake.
Sezer and Williams could be asked to take more control of the playmaking roles but Havili is confident the trio will be able to cope as they look to reignite Canberra's top four charge.
"We lose that part of Josh, but Sammy and our halves, it's not more weight on their shoulders," Havili said.
"They just have to play their game and use their ability of influencing the way they can control our game.
"We put a big emphasis on them already even when Hodgy is there, they just have to do the same thing.
"Aidan has been training with us the whole time, we know the way he plays, he knows the way I play. It's just getting that reminder of how we play and play off each other's games."
The absence of three key players to representative duties is a double-edged sword for a Raiders outfit looking to bounce back from four defeats in their past five games.
Whitehead admits as stoked as he is for Wighton, Cotric and Josh Papalii to get the call, he is definitely going to miss them - and perhaps none more so than Wighton.
"He has worked really really hard from the off-season all the way through and he has been one of the better performers this year," Whitehead said.
"He really deserves it, I nearly shed a tear when he told me he got in. I really like Jack, ever since I've been here I have been really close with him.
"For him to get in that colour, it means a lot to him. Hopefully he plays well and gets some big minutes."
NRL ROUND 12
Saturday: Canterbury Bulldogs v Canberra Raiders at ANZ Stadium, 7.35pm. TV: Live on Fox League.
Raiders squad: 1. Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad, 2. Bailey Simonsson, 3. Jarrod Croker (C), 4. Sebastian Kris, 5. Michael Oldfield, 6. Aidan Sezer, 7. Sam Williams, 8. Corey Horsburgh, 9. Siliva Havili, 10. Dunamis Lui, 11. Joe Tapine, 12. Elliott Whitehead, 13. Hudson Young. Interchange: 14. Tom Starling, 15. Emre Guler, 16. Sia Soliola, 17. Ryan Sutton, 18. Ata Hingano, 19. Royce Hunt, 20. Andre Niko, 21. John Bateman