NRL talking points: Contentious calls and high Origin stakes in Canberra Raiders loss

For NSW, it was Hudson Young, Tom and Jake Trbojevic that had their hearts set on a Blues jersey before both Origin teams were to be named on Monday.

Young found himself in the thick of the action with 106 run metres, but had his impact hurt by a stint in the sin bin.

The second-rower was stunningly sent for 10 in the second half after a few warnings to the Raiders over push-and-shoves tested referee Gerard Sutton's patience.

However, former Blues coach Phil Gould felt Young and Manly's Sean Keppie were hard done by in their sin-bins.

"It was all just a nothing," Gould said in commentary.

"Why have they got to go to the sin bin? What's the sin? I can think of worse sins."

Manly's Tom Trbojevic had a rocky start dropping a Jamal Fogarty bomb early, but eventually hit top gear, scoring a hat-trick for Manly to all but confirm his Origin selection.

The fullback also contentiously denied Elliott Whitehead a try with some help from his brother Jake in the second half which was a huge momentum-shifter, as the Sea Eagles scored twice in the five minutes that followed.

Tom Trbojevic was impressed by Young's performance regardless of the on-field scuffles and backed him for the Origin stage.

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"He's a very good player and been very good the last few years," the Sea Eagles star said post-game.

"He's got a really strong carry and a very unorthodox so it's hard to figure out what he's doing.

"He's a quality player and he wouldn't look out of place, but I'm not selecting the team, we'll leave that to Freddy [Fittler]."

Meanwhile, Corey Horsburgh and Daly Cherry-Evans were the Queensland contenders with Maroons coach Billy Slater keeping a close eye on them as part of Nine's commentary team.

'Big Red' continued to be an offloading machine with a team-high four in the game, 131 run metres and two tackle breaks.

Haumole Olakau'atu learned a tough lesson in the capital - don't mess with Jarrod Croker.

The Manly second-rower flung out his arm to land a coathanger on Croker, instantly flooring the veteran and enraging the Canberra crowd.

Olakau'atu was the one who actually came off second-best with his left knee banging into the turf awkwardly, which may have spared him a more passionate reaction from Croker's teammates.

The crowd in Bruce were not so forgiving, as deafening "off, off off" chants rang out, though referee Sutton only awarded the Raiders a penalty.

Olakau'atu was still reminded of his miscue with a chorus of boos as he walked into the tunnel at half-time.

Raiders hooker Danny Levi made his NRL return for the first time since breaking his jaw in round three.

Having recovered from surgery, Levi was initially named on the bench with Tom Starling the starting nine, but Ricky Stuart made a late switch before kick-off.

With limited full training opportunities in the lead-up to Sunday, Levi played 27 minutes in the first half, contributing an 18-metre run, 31 passes, 14 tackles and two missed.

Young Raiders forward Trey Mooney was a mid-week casualty at training with a broken left hand keeping him sidelined for four to six weeks.

The injury means Mooney missed out on playing NSW Cup on the weekend, but the positive is his hand is expected to heal without surgery.

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