Williams back in the halves for Raiders

Sam Williams has been named at halfback with Josh McCrone shifting back to five-eighth to cover the injured Josh Dugan, for the Raiders match against the St George-Illawarra Dragons at Canberra Stadium on Monday night.

Williams has been performing well for Mounties in the NSW Cup and was on the verge of playing for NSW residents, before he was withdrawn from selection availability due to the Raiders injury toll.

Raiders Coach David Furner said Williams was the logical choice to replace Dugan, while he hoped other members of the squad could return from injury for the match on Monday night.

“Sam Williams will come into the halves to replace Josh Dugan, he’s been working on his defence and parts of his games at Mounties and we’re confident in his ability,” Furner said.

“Joel Thompson is a chance of playing as is Bronson Harrison, Joe Picker and Shaun Berrigan, but all will need to train this week to prove their fitness.”

David Shillington will miss the match due to his State of Origin selection and Furner said he was hopeful Bronson Harrison could return and fill his role up front, while Shaun Berrigan would be a fantastic inclusion if he recovers fully from his bicep injury.

“When Shillo was unavailable for the Newcastle game we used Bronson Harrison in the front row and he will be used there again if he’s fit,” He said. “If he’s (Berrigan) right to go he’ll play, but he hasn’t done any contact yet and he needs to.

“The advantage we have is that we have a Monday night game and we have time for these guys to recover.”

Canberra Raiders: 1 Reece Robinson, 2 Dimitri Pelo, 3 Jarrod Croker, 4 Blake Ferguson, 5 Edrick Lee, 6 Josh Mccrone, 7 Sam Williams, 8 Dane Tilse, 9 Travis Waddell, 10 Tom Learoyd-Lahrs, 11 Josh Papalii, 12 Joel Thompson, 13 Shaun Fensom. Interchange (from): 14 Matt McIlwrick, 15 Bronson Harrison, 16 Sam Mataora, 17 Joe Picker, 18 Mark Nicholls.

Canberra Raiders vs St George-Illawarra Dragons
Monday night, July 2 @ Canberra Stadium
Kick-off: 7:00pm (AEST)

Live coverage is available on Fox Sports Two. Check local guides for more information.

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