'One of the boys will have to drop off': Raiders skipper returns as Origin star overlooked for Warriors

And the Green Machine's strong start to the NRL campaign means there's no room for State of Origin star Corey Horsburgh in their bench reshuffle.

Hosking starred in the Raiders' emphatic 32-12 victory over Wests Tigers, scoring a try, playing a role in two others and generally slotting straight into the second row.

But the former Panther drops to the bench for their testing clash against the New Zealand Warriors in Christchurch on Friday night.

Raiders coach Ricky Stuart named Whitehead (calf) for his first game of the season on Tuesday, forcing star recruit Hosking to fall out of the starting side.

That's forced Ata Mariota out of the 17 to the extended bench, while Horsburgh missed out completely despite serving his four-game suspension.

Hosking can either give Whitehead a chop-out in the second row, or be used as part of the Green Machine's middle rotation.

Sebastian Kris failed his head injury assessment during the Wests win and will sit out the Warriors game due the NRL's mandatory 11-day stand-down concussion policy.

That's led to a backline reshuffle, with Stuart reverting to his round-one back five.

Albert Hopoate returns to left centre, while Nick Cotric comes back into the 13 on the right wing.

Raiders top prop Joe Tapine lauded the way Hosking's started his career in lime green, while also looking forward to the return of his captain.

"It's looking like cap's back and Zac's been killing it," Tapine said.

"Looking forward to having that experience back. He's a tough player and a grinder so I'm looking forward to having Elliott back.

"But that unfortunately means one of the boys will have to drop off [the bench]."

It will also see Tapine relinquish the captaincy, having led the Green Machine for the opening two weeks.

While Tapine relished the opportunity to lead the Raiders, he said Whitehead could have "all the drama" that came with it.

"I loved the responsibility, I never back away from it, but 'Smell's' the captain and if I get that opportunity in the future I'll grab it," he said.

"I'm happy to hand it back to him - he's earned it as well.

"I enjoyed it, but he can have the coin toss and all the drama that comes with it.

"It's a bit more responsibility. You've got to talk a bit more. I talk a lot, but not in that whole group setting - more in the middle.

"It was pretty eye-opening to be that voice that everyone's looking to hear.

"I really enjoyed it, but I've still got a lot to learn. I love that role."

Horsburgh was expected to come straight back into the side having completed his controversial four-game ban.

But the Queensland Origin star will likely play NSW Cup against the Warriors at Seiffert Oval on Saturday to get minutes under his belt in what would be his first game in almost seven months.

That's no doubt in part due to the way England international Morgan Smithies has hit the ground running in the NRL.

Smithies played the entire 80 minutes against the Tigers, starting at lock before ending the game in the second row.

The 23-year-old ran for 103 metres as part of a dominant Canberra forward pack, while also making 38 tackles in his marathon effort.

He also brings that stereotypical northern England grit and could be seen rallying his Raiders teammates in the second half in sign of his fighting spirit.

"He's good. He's back this week, I think he's just going to try and get some minutes and grind out some footy," Tapine said.

"He's obviously an Origin player, quality player, big part of our pack and once he's back it's just going to make that depth even stronger.

"We're just scraping to make the team at the moment to be honest, because there's so much depth, and there's more coming back. It's crazy what we've got down here."

NRL ROUND THREE

Friday: Canberra Raiders v New Zealand Warriors at Christchurch, 6pm.

Raiders squad: 1. Jordan Rapana, 2. Nick Cotric, 3. Matt Timoko, 4. Albert Hopoate, 5. Xavier Savage, 6. Ethan Strange, 7. Jamal Fogarty, 8. Josh Papali'i, 9. Danny Levi, 10. Joe Tapine, 11. Hudson Young, 12. Elliott Whitehead (c), 13. Morgan Smithies. Interchange: 14. Tom Starling, 15. Emre Guler, 16. Zac Hosking, 17. Pasami Saulo. Reserves: 18. James Schiller, 19. Kaeo Weekes. 20. Ata Mariota, 21. Trey Mooney, 22. Zac Woolford.

Warriors squad: 1. Taine Tuaupiki, 2. Dallin Watene-Zelezniak, 3. Rocco Berry, 4. Roger Tuivasa-Sheck, 5. Marcelo Montoya, 6. Luke Metcalf, 7. Shaun Johnson, 8. Addin Fonua-Blake, 9. Wayde Egan, 10. Mitchell Barnett, 11. Jackson Ford, 12. Kurt Capewell, 13. Tohu Harris. Interchange: 14. Freddy Lussick, 15. Tom Ale, 16. Bunty Afoa, 17. Dylan Walker. Reserves: 18. Adam Pompey, 20. Jazz Tevaga, 21. Te Maire Martin, 22. Jacob Laban, 23. Chanel Harris-Tavita.