Blake Austin is confident he’ll be fit for season opener despite missing Raiders trial

Dally M five-eighth of the year Blake Austin will miss the Raiders trial game against Newcastle as he continues his recovery from shoulder surgery.

Canberra Raiders vs Penrith Panthers at GIO Stadium in Canberra. Raiders Blake Austin is injured

Canberra Raiders five-eighth Blake Austin is confident he will be ready for the start of the NRL season despite missing the clubs only pre-season trial against the Knights in Orange next Saturday night.

Austin, who underwent surgery in September last year after injuring his right shoulder in round 23 against the Panthers, has been ruled out of the Knights clash.

It means Raiders fans will have to wait until the opening season clash against the Panthers to see the club’s new halves pairing of Austin and Gold Coast recruit Aiden Sezer.

“Ideally I’d love to get some footy under my belt heading into a new season but I’ve done plenty of hard work in pre-season and I’m confident I’ll be right to go round one,” Austin said.

“A lot of our training has been game fatigue and game intensity focused so fitness won’t be an issue for me or any of the boys.”

“The doctors who did my shoulder surgery were happy with how it all went and my rehab since then has gone really well.”

“I’ve been working hard on getting full range back in the shoulder and my goal has always been ready for round one.”

Austin was a star for the Raiders last year scoring 14 tries from 23 appearances in his debut season for the club.

ULTIMATE GUIDE: Charity Shield, All Stars and NRL trials

Blake Austin will miss the Raiders trial game against the Knights

The 25-year-old was named Dally M five-eighth of the year with many considering him unlucky not to earn a NSW jumper for the final Origin decider against Queensland.

Austin praised Raiders coach Ricky Stuart for the confidence he has given him to express himself out on the football field.

“Sticky doesn’t weigh me down with complicated game plans, he just allows me to play what’s in front of me and that suits my game,” Austin said.

“As a playing group we’re excited with where we are heading, we want to build on the advances we made last year and play in the big end of season games.”