Whitehead will be one of the few recognised names in the Green Machine squad to head to Perth for the Nines this weekend, along with Sia Soliola and Sam Williams.

The rest of the squad will largely be made up of youngsters, but Whitehead's still expecting them to do well and has set his sights on making the knock-out stages.

Whitehead played for England at the World Cup Nines at Parramatta in October, where New Zealand knocked them out in the semi-finals.

He then played for Great Britain before going home to England, visiting Fiji and then heading to Samoa for ex-Raider Joey Leilua's wedding during his time off.

The 30-year-old picked out outside backs Matthew Timoko and Harley Smith-Shields as two of the youngsters who have impressed during the pre-season.

Smith-Shields was the Raiders under-20s player of the year last year and could find himself in the mix for a senior debut due to the uncertainty surrounding Curtis Scott's immediate playing future and the departure of Joey Leilua to Wests Tigers.

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Whitehead hoped they were among some of the youngsters to show Raiders coach Ricky Stuart what they're capable of.

"It's been a good pre-season. A lot of young boys have really worked hard," Whitehead said.

"Matt Timoko's been going well in training and Harley Smith-Shields.

"It's going to be good to watch them, especially if they get a bit of open space up there and show what they're capable of doing.

"It will be a proud moment for me to lead them out there. Hopefully they go well and give Ricky something to think about."

Whitehead wants to play as many minutes as he can at the Nines - which means going beyond their group games against the Gold Coast Titans and the South Sydney Rabbitohs.

He loved playing for England in the Nines and felt it would provide him with extra fitness as the clock ticks down to round one.

The Raiders have one trial - against Canterbury in Port Macquarie on February 29 - and then they kick off the season proper against the Titans at Canberra Stadium on March 13.

"I want to go up there and play. I enjoyed doing it last year for England so just to play with some of these [young blokes] and get a bit more fitness in me will be good," Whitehead said.

"I'll be looking to play as many minutes as I can and hopefully we go a little bit further than the group stage, get a few wins and are capable of getting to the semi-finals or even the final.

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"We want to win. We're not going to go there to lose so we'll want to win and put good performances in."

Fellow England international John Bateman has set his sights on being back for round one following shoulder surgery.

But if he's not ready then Whitehead was confident they had the depth to cover him.

Their middle three of Josh Papalii, Sia Soliola and Joe Tapine have all played in the second row, while Jack Murchie, Hudson Young (suspended for first five rounds) and even Corey Horsburgh can play there.

"He's going to be a big loss for us, but I'm sure John will do everything he can to be back as quick as he can for us," Whitehead said.

"I think we've got about eight of us that can play there. We don't need any more back-rowers I know that, or I'll be forced to play middle."

NRL NINES

Friday: Canberra Raiders v Gold Coast Titans at Perth, 9.15pm.

Saturday: Canberra Raiders v South Sydney Rabbitohs, 3.55pm. Quarter-finals from 5.40pm.