Gusuivalu was part of the Raiders' 2012 premiership winning squad but in May of the following season he suffered a perforation in his bowel when he was accidentally kneed in the stomach during a match.

He was rushed to hospital and after undergoing surgery was in an induced coma for a short period of time.

Gusuivalu has only played a handful of matches since but McLellan feels the versatile utility is finally getting back to his best and will figure heavily in Sunday's bumper opening round match with local rivals Dubbo CYMS.

"He's keen and ready to play and has worked really hard in the off-season," McLellan said.

"People will be surprised when they see him because he's got some of the biggest arms in the club now, he's really been pumping the iron.

"It was a horrific injury but I think he's over it now and more importantly he's over it psychologically.

"I'm confident he's going to have a good year and he can cover any backline position and hooker as well."

Gusuivalu will line up in the centres on Sunday but McLellan admitted he may switch at times with off-season signings Josh Merritt and Damien Wells during the match.

While pleased with his options in the halves, McLellan admitted in years gone by his club wouldn't be able to deal with the kind of injury crisis they currently dealing with.

Perry Meredith, Mason Williams and Dylan Hill are all facing lengthy stints on the sideline following injuries in pre-season.

But McLellan is using that as no excuse at the start of the 2016 season, instead saying his club now has the capability to fill those spots.

"But now we've got depth to cover it and in reserve grade there's still some players who could feel unlucky not to make it," the coach said. McLellan refused to look too much into Sunday's match but described CYMS as "the benchmark" and added his side's aim for round one and all season was to maintain the effort and attitude for the full 80 minutes.

"We've made a creed that no one will doubt our effort this year but we've still got to be smart too," he said.

"Our spectators, players and officials have got to go away and know we had a real go and it's my job to put the polish on and make sure we do that."

MACQUARIE: 1 Chris Daley, 2 Ash Widders, 3 Kiyan Shaw, 4 Etuate Gusuivalu, 5 Viliame Turuva, 6 Damien Wells, 7 Josh Merritt, 8 Anthony Egan, 9 Jeremy Smith, 10 Jade Hooper, 11 Timoci Yauvoli, 12 Steven Leask, 13 Phil Combridge, 14 Kini Tanaulucavu, 14 Michael Peachey, 15 Jayden Harvey, 17 Mathew Walker.