Four Raiders stars, including Kangaroos and Queensland forward Josh Papalii, have been ruled out of the PM's XIII train-on squad to face Papua New Guinea.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Papalii, props Shannon Boyd and Paul Vaughan and winger Edrick Lee are all being rested to either take care of niggling injuries or undergo surgery.
That leaves Raiders captain Jarrod Croker and fullback Jack Wighton in the mix for the annual end of season match against Papua New Guinea in Port Moresby on September 26.
PM's XIII coach Ivan Cleary named a 30-man train-on squad earlier in the week, with more players to be added from teams eliminated from week one of the finals.
The final team will be named on Tuesday.
Raiders coach Ricky Stuart instructed his players to have a break if they needed it to ensure they hit the ground running next year.
"Next season is the upmost importance for all of them," Stuart said.
"If they have any type of injury where they need surgery or rest now, I've told them they've got to have it.
"It's good that their names (Croker and Wighton) have been thrown around and the other boys who are unavailable through injury and that there's interest in them.
"It never hurts playing a Prime Minister's XIII.
"It's got a lot of tradition about it now and the players who have been involved over the years have really enjoyed it."
Papalii is coming off a big season where he played all 24 games for the Raiders and was also recalled to the Queensland team for the third game of the State of Origin series.
The damaging second-rower is recovering from an injury to his right knee which he carried throughout the year.
Boyd has injuries to his right shoulder and sternum.
The 122kg prop made plenty of impact off his bench in his second NRL season, playing in 20 games and earning his first representative jersey with Country.
Vaughan will see a specialist about an existing shin injury, while Lee will be given time to recover from a right shoulder injury.
Raiders five-eighth Blake Austin (shoulder) and winger Sisa Waqa (knee) have undergone surgery, while Titans recruit Aidan Sezer is recovering from a shoulder injury.
"They'll all be ready at different levels for the start of pre-season," Stuart said.
"They will all be running, but some won't be doing contact until a certain time.
"That will be all staggered throughout the whole pre-season and there is a full rehabilitation schedule on when they are back."
The Raiders had a relatively smooth run with injuries this season.
Second-rower Sia Soliola, who won the Mal Meninga Medal, missed the final five games with a fractured cheekbone.
"Our high performance department is of a very high standard," Stuart said.
"A lot of it is through the commitment of the players doing extra necessities in regards to the rehabbing and pre-habbing which is so important.
"The players are very thoroughly checked, but they have to commit to it too."
