Injuries rock Raiders duo as speedy teen 'bides his time' to earn NRL debut

Stewart is only 18 years old but had a spectacular rise through the grades in Canberra last season to put him on the cusp of NRL selection in 2024. In the trials Stewart continued to impress and certainly didn't look out of place in his first taste of senior footy too.

Now Stewart has been greenlit to make his NRL debut, after scans to Rapana's right knee revealed a meniscus tear that will require surgery and a recovery time between six and eight weeks.

Raiders coach Ricky Stuart admired how Stewart had "bided his time" and "trusted" the club to develop him into an NRL player, and was excited to see what he could produce in first grade.

"Form in NSW Cup has gotten Chevy earning his debut," he said.

"I like the way he's progressed and developed over the last 12 months. He was a young player coming out of kids footy and now he's playing his game with more strategy and maturity."

Stuart also appreciated the support and trust Stewart's family had given the coaching staff, and for that reason he chose to deliver the news of the young fullback's NRL debut via his parents Jamie and Emma.

"I've created a really good relationship with his mum and dad, so I rang them on Monday night," Stuart said.

"I said, 'I appreciated you trusted us with your boy and I think it's only right you ring him up and tell him he'll be playing NRL this week'.

"They were blown away, and they put me on the phone and rang Chevy, and it was beautiful to hear."

There was more bad injury news for the Raiders with former Origin forward Corey Horsburgh out for six to eight weeks with a groin issue.

Horsburgh's setback will see Trey Mooney promoted to the bench in his spot, while Zac Hosking will start in Elliott Whitehead's place in the second row as the skipper (calf injury) eyes a return in round eight or nine.

Horsburgh was just working his way back into the Raiders' NRL team after missing the start of the season serving a suspension carried over from late last year. Now 'Big Red' will require careful ongoing rehabilitation.

"It's frustrating but it's unfortunately part of the game," Stuart said.

Rapana shared a picture of social media appearing to have his knee drained of fluid on Monday. He went down in the opening minutes of Canberra's win over Parramatta last Sunday but played out the game with heavy strapping.

Stuart said it was disappointing to lose Rapana and Horsburgh for the next month or two, especially the former.

"[Rapana's] been one of our best players over the last five weeks," the coach said.

"I spoke with Jordan and he was happy to try and play without the operation. But it was common sense from our medical team, and I said to him it's only round five, so we need to think about the duration of the season.

"It's better to go in, get the meniscus operated on and we can move forward from there and know he'll be back fresh and healthy."

Three Raiders trained in pre-season to claim the No.1 jersey - Rapana, Stewart and Albert Hopoate.

Stuart earlier confirmed that Hopoate's second degree arm burns from a barbecue accident are expected to sideline him until round seven, and with Rapana banged up, Stewart emerged as the top fullback choice - helped by his reserve grade form.

Winger Xavier Savage played at fullback during his last few injury-interrupted seasons, but he and centre Sebastian Kris wanted to play alongside each other and that combination has proven to be a very dangerous weapon for the Raiders so far this year.

Stewart is seen as a future star for the Green Machine with his speed, agility, kicking and try-scoring ability, and was able to hone his skills last year under the watchful eye of Stuart and then-NSW Cup coach, now Raiders assistant, Justin Giteau.

The Kurnell product, who was once one of the fastest nine year olds in NSW, arrived in the capital last year after first speaking with Stuart in mid-2022.

He took the plunge and left his mum, dad and little sister behind in Sydney to chase his NRL dream and the gamble has seemingly paid off.

Within a year Stewart rose from SG Ball, to Jersey Flegg, to NSW Cup footy, last season scoring nine tries, kicking 31 goals and averaging 115 metres a game in reserve grade.

Last year he also lined up as a fullback for the Under-19 NSW Blues alongside fellow young Raider Ethan Strange, and had 10 tackle breaks in a 32-14 win over Queensland.

In the off-season Stewart added another four kilograms to his 1.83-metre-tall frame to sit at 89 kilograms, and his training performance turned heads with teammate Matt Timoko lauding his confidence and "flamboyancy".

Speaking about his experience in the junior Blues camp, Stewart described himself jokingly as a "pretty Shire boy" but with maturity when it came to his footy.

"I'd love to have a long lasting NRL career," he said last year.

"That'd be my number one goal, and hopefully I'll play for the actual NSW Blues one day and get a few premierships under my belt as well.

"I've just got to do my job. We train with the NRL squad every day, so I'm always learning and observing and try to mimic what they're doing."

Stewart's ascent in Canberra led to the Raiders re-signing him until the end of 2026 with an option for 2027, ensuring he will remain in green for a few more years yet.

Hopoate is now back training but is still on the mend from the burns he suffered when oil cans near a barbecue at Corey Harawira-Naera's house exploded.

"He's coming back into full training this week and will be available the week after," Stuart said.

"I saw photos of it after he did it, and it's horrific. It was really, really bad burns."

In some good news for the Raiders, young forward Ata Mariota was cleared of serious injury on Monday after an awkward hip-drop-esque tackle by Bailey Simonsson.

Mariota's knee twisted awkwardly which required heavy taping to allow him to continue playing, but Simonsson was not penalised and also escaped a charge from the NRL match review committee.

"He's not too bad Ata. He's ok which is good," Stuart said. "He's got a slight MCL strain but he'll be right."

Sunday: Canberra Raiders v Gold Coast Titans at Canberra Stadium, 6.15pm.

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