NRL: Brett White's Canberra Raiders under-20s now shining on big stage

If it was, it would be a fairly handy one. And one Raiders fans would be grateful for. It's a fairly handy group after all.

Hudson Young, Nick Cotric, Sebastian Kris, Emre Guler and Zac Woolford.

All came through the Raiders under-20s under White, back when they played in the now defunct National Youth Competition.

All have played substantial roles in getting the Green Machine to where it is today - looking to take down the Parramatta Eels in a do-or-die semi-final at Parramatta Stadium on Friday night.

A trip to Townsville to face the North Queensland Cowboys in the preliminary final is on the line.

Young picked up the Raiders coach's award at the Mal Meninga Medal awards on Monday night.

He's enjoyed a boom season that has him on the verge of being part of the Australian World Cup squad.

Both he and Kris lead Canberra for tries scored this season with 14.

Kris has established himself at left centre in the absence of Raiders co-captain Jarrod Croker (shoulder), after having 2020 off due to mental health issues.

Cotric had been part of that left edge with Young and Kris, but has shifted across to the right wing in recent weeks.

Guler returned to the side when Elliott Whitehead (knee) and Corey Horsburgh (pneumonia) were ruled out of the Melbourne Storm clash in round 18.

It was the start of the Green Machine's charge to the finals and he's established himself on the bench ever since.

Woolford was plucked from reserve-grade obscurity to help answer the Raiders' hooking crisis and he's now the starting rake in a finals side.

White came to Canberra for the final four years of his playing career, before taking the reins of the under-20s in 2016-17.

MORE CANBERRA RAIDERS NEWS:

Next year he'll join the Gold Coast Titans as an assistant coach to Justin Holbrook.

A few weeks ago he was thinking about the young group he'd helped develop and took the opportunity to grab a photo when they played the New Zealand Warriors as it meant another of his under-20s, Jack Murchie, was also in town.

"It's no legacy. I've been very fortunate to be given the opportunity to work with those younger guys back then," White said.

"It's been fantastic. I love this club. Twelve years is a long time in rugby league to stay at the one club.

"I was very fortunate I was given the opportunity to work with those guys ... it's been a great journey ... watching them grow.

"Those guys never gave up, they just kept working, and there's nothing better as a coach than seeing hard-working, good people being able to fulfil their dreams.

"I'm really proud of all of them."

Now they're all a chance of making a serious push deep into the finals. Even after a slow start to the season that saw them written off when they sat third-last after five consecutive losses.

But they forced their way into the top eight with seven wins in their final eight games.

"It's been great. There was a report from Fox Sports earlier in the year saying we're a snowflake's chance in hell of making the finals," White said.

"We're in the second week and the boys have certainly got plenty of energy and excitement going into this week. Hopefully we can push on further."

White would be shocked if Young wasn't part of the Kangaroos squad that goes to England for the World Cup at the end of the year.

The Canberra Times revealed the 24-year-old was on Australia coach Mal Meninga's radar.

Young was thankful for everything White's done for him since coming to Canberra to play under-20s. And the formula has been simple - hard work.

"He works harder than any other player at his game," White said.

"He's a student of the game, he's constantly wanting feedback, constantly wanting to improve.

"He's like a sponge, he soaks everything up. He's so easy to coach and one of the most enjoyable blokes to coach because he does everything you ask, takes it on board and then wants more.

"At times you've got to tell him to switch off and that's part of his development too ... and now he's starting to really nail that part of it it's taking him to a new level."

NRL SEMI-FINAL

Friday: Canberra Raiders v Parramatta Eels at Parramatta Stadium, 7.50pm.

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. Corey Harawira-Naera. Interchange: 14. Tom Starling, 15. Emre Guler, 16. Corey Horsburgh, 17. Ryan Sutton. Reserves: 18. Albert Hopoate, 19. Ata Mariota, 20. Matt Frawley, 21. Peter Hola, 22. Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad.

Eels squad: 1. Clinton Gutherson, 2. Maika Sivo, 3. Viliami Penisini, 4. Tom Opacic, 5. Waqa Blake, 6. Dylan Brown, 7. Mitchell Moses, 8. Reagan Campbell-Gillard, 9. Reed Mahoney, 10. Junior Paulo, 11. Shaun Lane, 12. Isaiah Papali'i, 13. Ryan Matterson. Interchange: 14. Makahesi Makatoa, 15. Jakob Arthur, 16. Oregon Kaufusi, 17. Marata Niukore. Reserves: 18. Nathan Brown, 19. Bailey Simonsson, 20. Bryce Cartwright, 21. Ofahiki Ogden, 22. Ky Rodwell.

We've made it a whole lot easier for you to have your say. Our new comment platform requires only one log-in to access articles and to join the discussion on The Canberra Times website. Find out how to register so you can enjoy civil, friendly and engaging discussions. See our moderation policy here.

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: