And Stuart was expecting Wighton to show exactly why he was an Origin player when he runs out for the Canberra Raiders against St George Illawarra at Wollongong on Sunday.

Wighton was clearly the Blues' best in Origin I, before an unfortunate bout of COVID-19 ruled him out of game two.

That opened the door for Canterbury half Burton to come in and shine in NSW's win on Sunday, with many experts now claiming there was no longer a spot for Wighton.

But instead, Stuart said Blues coach Brad Fittler should simply switch Burton to the right edge and bring Wighton back on the left - which would see Stephen Crichton drop out of the starting side.

"I think they can move Burton across to the other side, pull Jack into the left-hand side there," Stuart said.

"I don't think that's a tough decision at all. I think that makes the team stronger to be quite honest."

Stuart expected Wighton to look to make his mark against the Dragons.

It will be the 29-year-old's only chance to impress Fittler and his fellow NSW selectors - in the very last NRL game of the round with the Blues side to be named on Monday.

Wighton was put through some extra conditioning training last weekend following his illness to ensure he was back up to full fitness.

His return is a timely one for the Green Machine - a win over the eighth-placed Dragons would be a massive boost in their hopes of playing finals.

Stuart felt the break had refreshed their star five-eighth, who had trained well this week after returning with plenty of energy.

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"When you're a representative player and the representative stage is happening your own pride gives you that hunger and desire to want to play well," he said.

"It's an important part of the year for all clubs and representative players.

"Everybody needs to, especially down there with this challenge we've got against the Dragons, everybody needs to perform."

On the other side of the Origin coin, Stuart also backed Raiders and Queensland enforcer Josh Papalii to play a bigger role for the Maroons in the decider at Lang Park Wednesday week.

Papalii only played 22 minutes in Origin I and 26 in game two.

It meant the powerful prop was returning to the Green Machine fresh and ready to rip in against the Dragons pack.

"He's not playing a lot of minutes. I know it's on Papa's mind as well," Stuart said.

"He wants to show he can still play at that level of intensity. I've got no doubt he can.

"Josh's a senior member of the Queensland team, and I'm sure they're discussing that with him at the moment. He comes back fresh for us, so that's a bonus for us."

NRL ROUND 16

Sunday: St George Illawarra Dragons v Canberra Raiders at Wollongong, 4pm.

Raiders squad: 1. Xavier Savage, 2. Nick Cotric, 3. Matt Timoko, 4. Sebastian Kris, 5. Jordan Rapana, 6. Jack Wighton, 7. Jamal Fogarty, 8. Josh Papalii, 9. Zac Woolford, 10. Joe Tapine, 11. Hudson Young, 12. Elliott Whitehead (c), 13. Adam Elliott. Interchange: 14. Tom Starling, 15. Ryan Sutton, 16. Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad, 17. Corey Horsburgh. Reserves: 18. Matt Frawley, 19. Corey Harawira-Naera. 20. Trey Mooney. 21. Semi Valemei, 22. Adrian Trevilyan.

Dragons squad: 1. Cody Ramsey, 2. Mat Feagai, 3. Moses Suli, 4. Zac Lomax, 5. Mikaele Ravalawa, 6. Talatau Amone, 7. Ben Hunt (c), 8. Jack de Belin, 9. Andrew McCullough, 10. Blake Lawrie, 11. Jack Bird, 12. Jayden Su'a, 13.Tariq Sims. Interchange: 14. Moses Mbye, 15. Frances Molo. 16. Aaron Woods, 17. Michael Molo. Reserves: 18. Josh Kerr, 19. Tautau Moga, 20. Jayden Sullivan, 21. Jaiyden Hunt, 22. Billy Burns.

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