Sam could be the Raiders' No 7 man despite lossUNCAPPED Canberra Raiders playmaker Sam Williams has put his hand up for a shock NRL debut with an impressive showing in last night's 30-18 loss to the Canterbury Bulldogs.
With veteran halfback Matt Orford battling a knee injury which has kept him out of the Raiders' two trial games, Canberra coach David Furner said it was no longer a certainty the 32-year-old premiership-winner would face the Cronulla Sharks in round one in a fortnight.
The Raiders are also without star five-eighth Terry Campese until at least round 10 as he recovers from a knee reconstruction.
''We're still battling,'' Furner said. ''That's two starting halves with experiences.
''First-round game, it could be a case of us starting with young halves.''
Williams came on in the second half and scored a try as well as setting one up.
The under-20s captain isn't a part of the Raiders' NRL squad, but has turned plenty of heads with his assured performances in both of Canberra's two trials.
The Raiders never recovered from a sluggish start. The Bulldogs were up 12-0 after 10 minutes and 18-0 at half-time.
''They were more enthusiastic than us, I was a bit disappointed in that,'' Furner said.
''They put 18 points on us in that first half, and two from kicks.
''You just look at the little things there, the urgency around the ball.
''That back end of the first half we defended our line a couple times and didn't let them in.
''As the game got on we got better in the second half. I got enough out of there to be quite pleased.''
Back-rower Joe Picker suffered a rib injury early in the game and will be checked during the week.
Star fullback Josh Dugan left the field midway through the second half with a minor calf strain.
For more on this story, see the print edition of today’s Canberra Times.
Source: The Canberra Times
Topic: Sam could be the Raiders' No 7 man despite loss
