'There might be a utility role': Options for Raiders' five-eighth contenders

New Raiders vice-captain Jamal Fogarty was still unsure whether Ethan Strange or Kaeo Weekes would partner him in the halves, with both bringing different strengths to the five-eighth role.

But he said missing out on the playmaker role didn't necessarily mean they would miss out on a spot in the round one 17 to take on the Newcastle Knights.

Fogarty said both had versatility.

Strange made his NRL debut in the centres last year, while Weekes played fullback and filled the No.14 role during his time at Manly.

With Sebastian Kris's bid to have the All Stars game counted towards his suspension denied, there's a role to partner Matt Timoko in the centres up for grabs for the trip to Newcastle on March 7.

Raiders coach Ricky Stuart said he will give Strange and Weekes, as well as all the other young players pushing for spots to face the Knights, every chance to prove themselves during the Green Machine's pre-season trials.

They face the Parramatte Eels at Kogarah on February 17 and the North Queensland Cowboys at Seiffert on February 25.

"It's a good opportunity for Kaeo or Strangey to put their hand up for six," Fogarty said.

"They're both doing an excellent job there and they both have different strengths.

"That will be up to 'Stick' to pick who they want as the six and what style of footy and who best fits that.

"The last couple of weeks I've had a lot of time with Kaeo and Ethan.

"We're slowly starting to understand how we play and what we want to do.

"I'm pretty sure if one of those guys do miss out that there might be a utility role there because Ethan debuted out in the centres and Kaeo's played a bit of 14 for Manly and a bit of fullback.

"A bit of versatility there for them to keep them hungry."

Raiders captain Elliott Whitehead didn't want to give away too much in regards to who was leading the race for the No.6 jersey.

But he did say Strange had been training the house down during the pre-season.

He also called out young forwards Trey Mooney and Ata Mariota for special mention.

While the forward pack was full of experienced stars, Whitehead still said there was plenty of young bulls putting pressure on for spots in the 17.

"There's a lot of depth and competition, which is healthy for us as a team," he said.

"Trey Mooney and Ata are training really well. We've also got Peter Hola and Sami [Saulo] really pushing for them spots. It's just healthy for the team.

"It makes [Josh Papali'i] and [Joe Tapine] and people like Corey [Horsburgh] make sure they're training hard and just get the best out of one another.

"It's really healthy and there's a lot of competition there so Sticky's going to have a tough job to pick that pack.

"Even the hookers - there's about five of them that are all training good too."

Many Sydney pundits have already written off the Raiders because they'll go into the season without an established five-eighth or fullback.

While it's Strange and Weekes duking it out of the No.6 jersey, there's Xavier Savage, Jordan Rapana, Albert Hopoate and Chevy Stewart as contenders for the custodian role.

That inexperience in the spine could turn into a strength with Fogarty admitting their opponents wouldn't know what to expect from the Green Machine.

But he said consistency would be the key for Canberra.

Fogarty pointed to the Raiders' poor defensive and attacking numbers last season as areas they clearly needed to improve.

"We've just got to be consistent with what we're doing," he said.

"Last season we were bottom-four attack, bottom-four defensively and still scraped into the eight - which shows we're a gritty team, but the more consistent we can be hopefully we can be higher up the ladder.

"But in saying that a bit of unpredictability might be good for us and maybe give us a little leg up."