Levi finds new 'belief' with Raiders after double broken jaw nightmare

Levi scored a try in a 56-minute stint in Canberra's 28-12 victory over his former team in Newcastle last Thursday.

Despite coming off for fellow rake Tom Starling after suffering a corked quadriceps, the 28-year-old is expected to start in the No.9 jersey again this Saturday when the Raiders host Wests Tigers in their first home game of the season.

The Raiders will be without captain Elliott Whitehead again this weekend (calf injury), but the backline will be boosted by the return of Sebastian Kris from suspension, with Albert Hopoate, Nick Cotric or Xavier Savage likely to make way for the New Zealand international.

Second-rower Hudson Young and bench forward Emre Guler are also in line to play in round two after they both escaped suspension and copped fines for their grade one dangerous contact charges.

Coach Ricky Stuart has been a big believer in Levi from the day he arrived in Braddon, despite some Raiders supporters still needing some convincing.

But Levi hasn't had much of a shot to really flex his muscles in green, playing a total of only four NRL games last season due to a broken jaw.

He starred in 10 games in NSW Cup to earn an NRL recall in round 12, only to break his jaw again - in a different place - while playing in reserve grade, which brought Levi's difficult year to an end.

It was the hardest run of injury bad luck Levi had ever experienced, and a time he'd rather not dwell on.

"I try to forget it," he told The Canberra Times.

"I was starting off in the NRL again, it was awesome, then had my first broken jaw.

"Then when I came back I played a few games and Stick [Stuart] was saying they were looking at putting me back in, and then the next week I broke my jaw again. I was gutted.

"I've been pretty good with injuries, but it was just one of those years in my career.

"I now have a lot of numbness on the left side of my lip and cheek. It's not painful, just annoying really and I sometimes dribble a bit more. But it's rock solid otherwise now.

"My goal was to get back in the NRL and kicking stones and moping around wasn't going to do me any favours."

Levi doesn't just want to add to be back in the NRL as a Raider this year, he's aiming to have a breakout season by showcasing his speed out of dummy-half and having a big impact at hooker, whether that's in rotation with Starling or Zac Woolford, or playing the entire 80 minutes.

The Raiders showed faith in Levi to re-sign him in July until the end of 2025 - even though he had been exploring options to return to the Super League - and now the Samoa international is keen to repay that faith by ending Canberra's 30-year premiership drought.

"As long as I'm out there I'm happy. I want to establish that nine jersey, keep winning games and get into the finals. This team can do it," Levi said.

"There's a lot of talk of what we can and can't do, but we don't worry about it. We know.

"We've got a big forward pack that are unreal with great players, and you can't underestimate that. Then with the young talent coming through they're definitely going to shine too.

"Being around the boys for another whole pre-season, you build those combinations and you know what each player likes and you can build yourself up around that.

"My little one loves it here in Canberra, and my missus has a good career here too.

"I feel comfortable here and the coaches were happy to re-sign me so it's given me that belief."

Saturday: Canberra Raiders v Wests Tigers, Canberra Stadium, 3pm.