Canberra's hopes of igniting their NRL minor premiership defence with a victory against Gold Coast have taken a hammering with five-eighth Ethan Strange ruled out with injury.
After sustaining an ankle niggle against the Wests Tigers last round, Strange had one more opportunity to prove his fitness at training on Thursday, but did not complete the session.
It means he will not play on Saturday in Queensland, although the Raiders are targeting a return for next Sunday's clash against Penrith.
Strange's loss will further stretch Canberra's depth with Noah Martin (ankle), Zac Hosking (concussion), Josh Papali'i (calf), Hudson Young (suspension) and Xavier Savage (ankle) out of the Titans game.
It also poses the question who will wear the No.6 jersey, although Canberra did try different players in that position on Thursday, including fullback Kaeo Weekes.
Recruit Daine Laurie is also an option, having played as a five-eighth with the Panthers, and lock Jayden Brailey has confidence the 26-year-old can fill Strange's shoes.
"He (Laurie) played well for us last week in the middle, but he can play outside or back in the halves," Brailey said.
"Jordan Uta, our No.19, is another guy that Ricky can blood."
In good news, the Raiders are expecting the in-form Simi Sasagi to return after missing last Thursday's match with a hamstring issue.
Despite the player shortage, there are benefits, especially after coach Ricky Stuart parachuted Brailey into the No.13 jersey.
It will be his first start of the season, having begun on the bench behind Tom Starling in the hooker role.
But Brailey can't remember playing as a lock since leaving Cronulla in 2019.
"I'm not sure if I played it at the Knights. I definitely played at the Sharks when Blayke (Brailey) was coming off the bench," he said.
"I'd obviously play the first 50 to 60 minutes of hooker and then get shifted to lock and play the rest of the game there. I would pull up a little bit sore.
"But I'm embracing the opportunity. I'm really looking forward to showing that little bit of toughness and carrying the ball."
The player shortage couldn't come at a worse time for Canberra, who head to Cbus Super Stadium after losing 33-14 to the Tigers.
Stuart said post-match that players should book their end-of-season holidays a lot earlier if they don't start fixing their errors, as the team slumped to 14th on the ladder with just three wins from eight games.
Centre Sebastian Kris is taking inspiration from Stuart after a conversation he had with the team following the loss to Benji Marshall's men.
"The one thing (Stuart) said that stuck with me was that a lot of our younger boys haven't really experienced this type of rut in their career," Kris said.
"It's important for us to keep their spirits high and their confidence high, and knowing that we'll all come out of it as long as we stick together."
