Aekins will make his Green Machine debut against Parramatta at Canberra Stadium on Saturday night.

He comes in to cover Nicoll-Klokstad's absence due to a neck injury, with a meeting with a specialist early next week to decide whether the New Zealand international will need surgery and exactly how long he'll miss.

He's expected to miss a few weeks at a minimum, with some reports speculating he could be out for two months.

Aekins played 12 NRL games for Penrith before shifting to the capital and it's that experience in the No.1 jersey that has the Raiders confident he'll cover one of the best fullbacks in the NRL.

Wighton, who played almost half of his 183 NRL games at fullback before switching to five-eighth, said they spent the pre-season working with the former Panther.

After the raft of injuries the Raiders suffered last season, coach Ricky Stuart ensured they had contingency plans across the field.

"He's a natural fullback. He's been putting all the hard work in all pre-season," Wighton said.

"He's one of those blokes who is easy to love so we're all happy for him and can't wait to take the field with him.

"It's always a big loss losing Charnze, but having quality like this come in and take the field with us is good."

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Raiders co-captain Josh Hodgson revealed Stuart discussed his options for the No.1 jersey with his senior players.

But once the Raiders coach mentioned Aekins, they were instantly on board.

Stuart could've also switched either of his wingers, Jordan Rapana and Bailey Simonsson, to the custodian role instead.

Hodgson praised the 23-year-old's defensive organisational abilities, which he's shown during the pre-season and in the opening rounds of the NSW Cup.

The star hooker also praised the skill and "footy brain" he would bring to their attack.

"[Stuart] was thinking of a few options and was tossing up a few ideas to me and the senior boys about what he was thinking and what's his ideas," Hodgson said.

"And as soon as he mentioned Caleb we were all on board.

"He's played NRL before, he's really impressed us this pre-season - just the way he conducts himself and how safe he is at the back in training and in games in NSW Cup.

"Really looking forward to him making his debut for the club."

In another boost for the Raiders, centre Curtis Scott (ribs) looks to have passed his fitness test on Tuesday after missing the past two games.

While Hodgson praised the way Sebastian Kris has played through the opening five rounds, the skipper said the experience and aggressive defence Scott brought would be invaluable against the Eels.

"He gives you that experience, he gives you that energy and he's quite an aggressive defender and you need that on your edges," Hodgson said.

"He gives you a bit of confidence when the team likes shifting the ball, a bit like Parra do, that he's going to go up and shut it down.

"I think Sebby Kris has done a fantastic job for us and been playing some unbelievable footy. Sebby's certainly put his hand up for a case of staying in the team."

NRL ROUND SIX

Saturday: Canberra Raiders v Parramatta Eels at Canberra Raiders, 7.35pm.

Raiders squad: 1. Caleb Aekins, 2. Bailey Simonsson, 3. Jarrod Croker (c), 4. Curtis Scott, 5. Jordan Rapana, 6. Jack Wighton, 7. George Williams, 8. Josh Papalii, 9. Josh Hodgson (c), 10. Sia Soliola, 11. Hudson Young, 12. Elliott Whitehead, 13. Joe Tapine. Interchange: 14. Tom Starling, 15. Ryan Sutton, 16. Siliva Havili, 17. Emre Guler. Reserves: 18. Sebastian Kris, 19. Matt Frawley, 20. Corey Harawira-Naera, 21. Dunamis Lui.

Eels squad: 1. Clinton Gutherson (c), 2. Maika Sivo, 3. Tom Opacic, 4. Marata Niukore, 5. Blake Ferguson, 6. Will Smith, 7. Mitchell Moses, 8. Reagan Campbell-Gillard, 9. Reed Mahoney, 10. Junior Paulo, 11. Shaun Lane, 12. Ryan Matterson, 13. Nathan Brown. Interchange: 14. Oregon Kaufusi, 15. Isaiah Papali'i, 16. Keegan Hipgrave, 17. Bryce Cartwright. Reserves: 18. Joey Lussick, 19. Haze Dunster, 20. Wiremu Greig, 21. Jordan Rankin.