Canberra Raiders coach Ricky Stuart has revealed it was always the plan for young gun Xavier Savage to start the season in the NSW Cup.
Savage was a breakout star at the back end of last year as the Raiders dealt with an injury and form crisis at the back.
Playing just three games, Savage scored a try, made a handful of line breaks and was a spark for the Canberra attack during his time in the top grade before succumbing to his own injury.
So good was his form, it was thought he may have slotted straight into the team at number one this year, shuffling the more experienced Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad to centre, with the Kiwi coming back from his own long-term lay off.
Contracted with the Raiders until the end of 2023, Savage has been the 18th man in all five games thus far this year, with fans calling for his inclusion.
Stuart has finally bitten the bullet ahead of Canberra's Round 6 clash with the North Queensland Cowboys, selecting Savage on the bench in place of Matt Frawley, who had played the utility role up until now.
It's unclear what role Savage will play when he makes it onto the field given none of the other backs are likely to shift into the forwards, however, Stuart said he wasn't putting any pressure on Savage to save a dismal start to the season for the green machine, who have won just two of their first five, and have lost two on the trot to the Manly Sea Eagles and Melbourne Storm.
"It's not a matter of throwing Xavier onto the field and he's gonna save the day for the boys," Stuart told The Canberra Times.
"One thing I like about Xavier, he's not letting all the hype get to him, because I know hype has killed a lot of young kids.
"I'm not expecting as much as everybody else is from Xavier. I put no pressure on Xavier at all."
Savage has shown excellent form in the NSW Cup for the Raiders, scoring four tries in five games at fullback. A Round 1 display saw him make 11 tackle busts against the Newtown Jets, while he is now up to 22 in total, to go with three forced drop outs and four offloads.
Stuart said the plan was to always start him in reserve grade though.
"Xavier and I've sat down right throughout the off-season in regards to improving him as a football player," he said.
"Yes, Xavier is very much a talent as a fullback, as a winger ... it's a big job, fullback is one of the hardest positions on the field."
The Raiders host the Cowboys in a rare Thursday night game for the club at GIO Stadium, with kick-off scheduled for 7:50pm (AEDT).
