Raiders pair Joe Tapine and Sia Soliola have been dropped while co-captain Josh Hodgson will miss at least two weeks after picking up a calf strain at training on Tuesday.
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Injuries and form has forced coach Ricky Stuart to ring the changes ahead of Saturday's crunch clash against the North Queensland Cowboys in Townsville, with four fresh faces coming into the side after last weekend's bruising 35-10 loss to Parramatta.
Tapine and Soliola are the two big casualties, following Saturday's at Canberra Stadium - the Raiders' third loss in four matches.
Enforcer Josh Papalii has dropped to the bench in a major reshuffle to Stuart's forward pack, which will be led by Ryan James and Emre Guler either side of Tom Starling in the front row.
Englishman Elliott Whitehead will assume co-captaincy reins with Jarrod Croker in Hodgson's absence, while compatriot Ryan Sutton will start at lock in place of Tapine.
Off-season bad boys Corey Harawira-Naera and Corey Horsburgh are part of the interchange as they prepare for their first NRL matches of 2021 while Bailey Simonsson has been ruled out with concussion, and will be replaced by last weekend's 18th man Sebastian Kris on the right wing.
"We're not the only team, and won't be the last to lose two games in a row," Stuart said.
"I've made a couple of changes to try and pick up a little bit of form of what we haven't got at the moment. We're not playing the style of football that we've come accustomed to.
"We probably started a little bit slower than we thought. This time last year we were very similar in regards to some of our results but we picked up the piece and continued on to a strong season.
"There's no reason or rhyme that we won't do it again, we will. It's just a matter of just trying to find a little bit of form in players and form in the football team."
MORE RAIDERS NEWS
Hodgson's injury at training on Tuesday capped a frustrating few days for Stuart, who endured his side's worst performance of the season on Saturday as the Eels won for the first time in 15 years at Canberra Stadium.
The 31-year-old was holding a tackling pad in a simple drill when he felt a small pop in his right calf and he was forced to leave the training session early. Canberra expects their star hooker will miss two to three weeks.
In better news for Stuart, fullback Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad will not require surgery on the neck injury he suffered two rounds ago against the Penrith Panthers. He's expected to miss up to eight weeks.
"We'll give him time, it's a major injury. Whether it's a little bit longer than that, our medical people will make sure he's a 100 per cent fit and physically capable to come back and get back to where he's been," Stuart said.
SATURDAY North Queensland Cowboys v Canberra Raiders at Townsville Stadium, 7.35pm
1. Caleb Aekins 2. Sebastian Kris 3. Jarrod Croker (C) 4. Curtis Scott 5. Jordan Rapana 6. Jack Wighton 7. George Williams 8. Ryan James 9. Tom Starling 10. Emre Guler 11. Hudson Young 12. Elliott Whitehead (C) 13. Ryan Sutton 14. Siliva Havili 15. Corey Harawira-Naera 16. Corey Horsburgh 17. Josh Papalii 18. Matt Timoko 19. Sia Soliola 20. Matt Frawley 21. Joe Tapine
Injuries/Suspension
Josh Hodgson (Calf) - Round 9-10
Bailey Simonsson (Concussion) - Round 8
Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad (Neck) - Indefinite
Albert Hopoate (Shoulder) - Round 11-13
Semi Valemei (Hamstring) - Round 8-9
Sam Williams (Ribs) - Round 8-9
Harley Smith-Shields (Biceps) - Round 20-22
James Buckley
James is a Queanbeyan boy enjoying his second stint at the Canberra Times, more than eight years on from his first. In between he's traveled the world, and spent time covering sport in Sydney.
James is a Queanbeyan boy enjoying his second stint at the Canberra Times, more than eight years on from his first. In between he's traveled the world, and spent time covering sport in Sydney.
