With Canberra Raiders co-captain Elliott Whitehead ruled out due to a nasty facial injury, Wighton will wear the captain's armband against the Penrith Panthers on Sunday.

Whitehead's absence not only left a hole in the second row, which will be filled by Hudson Young, but also in the club's leadership.

Raiders coach Ricky Stuart was already without former captain Josh Hodgson (knee) and former Gold Coast captain Jamal Fogarty (knee), while his other co-captain Jarrod Croker's still working his way back from knee and back issues that have seen him stall on 291 NRL games.

Stuart immediately turned to Wighton in their hour of need.

The Dally M Medal-winning playmaker already has an important role in leading the team around the park, now he has that formally as well.

He'll have the assistance of senior players Josh Papalii and Joe Tapine, with the latter leading the Maori All Stars at this year's NRL All Stars game.

Stuart told Wighton of the honour at training on Thursday as they look to end a three-game losing streak - against the ladder-leading Panthers.

"Jack Wighton will lead the team and he's very proud to," he said.

"I mentioned that [Thursday] in our team meeting and he was very honoured - he spoke to the players and mentioned how honoured and privileged he was to be able to lead them out.

"He'll be a great captain for us ... the boys all respond to Jack. He plays with that 'follow me' style.

"What I've been impressed with is the way he presents and talks in our meetings, with our Club 82 [leadership group], our team reviews and previews.

"Jack's very knowledgeable about his football and his development as a leader has been a great addition to his personality."

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Whitehead wanted to play the Panthers, but Stuart needed to protect the hardy Englishman from himself.

Whitehead has missed just five games in his seven seasons Down Under since switching from the English Super League.

It's not the first time the 32-year-old has shown his toughness - he played out the game after suffering a horrific dislocated finger that was bent almost sideways last year.

"Elliott being Elliott, he wanted to play, but I couldn't do it to him," Stuart said.

"He needs to have a bit of a rest. Elliott will have a week or so off and he'll be right to play again.

"It disappointed him because he wants to play, but Elliott being a true team person understood it was the best decision.

"On tough players such as Elliott you've got to protect them from themselves."

Stuart said fullback Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad would be able to cover most of the backline after he dropped out of the starting side, with Jordan Rapana taking over the custodian role.

Nicoll-Klokstad started his NRL career on the wing and has played in the centres for New Zealand.

He's known for his powerful runs out of yardage, which could also allow him to fill a role through the middle.

Stuart said he'd spoken to the New Zealand international about what he needed to do to get back into the starting 13 - but that would stay between them.

"I've spoken to Charnze about that," he said.

"There's a number of roles [he could fill]. I think over the six games five times we've lost outside backs to HIAs so there's definitely a role there for him."

NRL ROUND SEVEN

Sunday: Penrith Panthers v Canberra Raiders at Panthers Stadium, 4pm.

Raiders squad: 1. Jordan Rapana, 2. Nick Cotric, 3. Matt Timoko, 4. Semi Valemei, 5. Xavier Savage, 6. Jack Wighton, 7. Brad Schneider, 8. Josh Papalii, 9. Tom Starling, 10. Joe Tapine, 11. Corey Harawira-Naera, 12. Elliott Whitehead (c), 13. Ryan Sutton. Interchange: 14. Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad, 15. Harry Rushton, 16. Adam Elliott, 17. Corey Horsburgh. Reserves: 18. Hudson Young, 19. Matt Frawley, 20. Jarrod Croker, 21. Emre Guler, 22. Trey Mooney, 23. James Schiller, 24. Peter Hola.

Panthers squad: 1. Dylan Edwards, 2. Charlie Staines, 3. Izack Tago, 4. Stephen Crichton, 5. Taylan May, 6. Jarome Luai, 7. Nathan Cleary, 8. Matt Eisenhuth, 9. Apisai Koroisau, 10. James Fisher-Harris, 11. Viliame Kikau, 12. Liam Martin, 13. Isaah Yeo. Interchange: 14. Mitch Kenny, 15. Scott Sorensen, 16. Spencer Leniu, 17. Jaeman Salmon. Reserves: 18. Robert Jennings, 19. Chris Smith, 20. J'maine Hopgood, 21. Lindsay Smith, 22. Soni Luke, 23. Christian Crichton, 24. Sean O'Sullivan.

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