NSW Origin coach Brad Fittler wants the Canberra Raiders to add some X-factor for their trip to Wagga Wagga.
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Fittler felt it was time to give Xavier Savage a go after the Green Machine struggled against a Daly Cherry-Evans-inspired Manly in Mudgee on Saturday.
The Raiders made 11 of their 13 errors in the 25-6 loss in a second half where they were held scoreless as they continually gifted the ball to the Sea Eagles.
It was their backs who were largely responsible for the poor ball security.
Fittler wanted to see Savage and his eye-catching speed injected into the backline to face the Melbourne Storm at Wagga Wagga next Saturday.
But Raiders coach Ricky Stuart wants Savage to learn his trade in the NSW Cup, where he scored a try on Saturday.
While his fast feet are dangerous, there's the feeling he's still developing his defensive organisational skills.
Fittler felt incumbent fullback Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad, who missed most of last year with a serious neck injury, was yet to return to his best.
The New Zealand international ran for 192 metres against Manly, produced an offload, made seven tackles, but also had two errors - one a drop of a difficult Cherry-Evans bomb.
Fittler felt for the position his former coach Stuart found himself in - having already lost his halfback Jamal Fogarty (knee) for the first half of the season and his hooker Josh Hodgson for all of it.
"At the moment they just don't seem to be as good as the better teams," Fittler said on The Sunday Footy Show.
"I thought Manly were a lot better on the back of what Daly Cherry-Evans was doing and his control.
"I think Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad is not offering as much as he was a couple of years ago.
"I'd love to see the young bloke get an opportunity, Xavier Savage.
"They lost their halfback at the start of the year, they lost their hooker - so they've had some challenges already - and not just quite executing well enough."
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Stuart has other options at his disposal if he's looking to find more consistency.
Raiders co-captain Jarrod Croker played his second NSW Cup game on Sunday, scoring a try, as he continued his return from knee and back problems.
Hooker Adrian Trevilyan was originally named at dummy half for the Cup, but was a late withdrawal and spotted out at Kippax on Sunday.
There's also prop Ryan Sutton waiting for his first chance of the season.
Most of the Raiders forwards were quiet against Manly - with the exception of Joe Tapine and Corey Harawira-Naera - although the poor completion rate in the second half made it hard to gain any momentum.
Even Canberra enforcer Josh Papalii had a quiet second stanza by his standards.
The Raiders produced 24 offloads to Manly's seven, but many of them were ineffectual.
NRL ROUND FIVE
Saturday: Canberra Raiders v Melbourne Storm at Wagga Wagga, 3pm.