Canberra Raiders coach Ricky Stuart admitted he will not accelerate Xavier Savage's development after the youngster's strong outing at Apex Oval on Sunday.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The 20-year-old Savage started on the bench on Sunday in his side's clash against the South Sydney Rabbitohs but found himself slotting in at fullback for the second half due to a hamstring injury for Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad.
The youngster's cameo was highlighted by an eye-catching break on halfway and sprint to the line to score his side's sixth and final try in the 32-12 victory.
"He scored a great try, I know, I kept hearing everyone keeps telling me," Stuart said post-game.
"There's so much social media out there about getting Savage on.
"Xavier is in the learning process and there are other young fullbacks out there making mistakes I don't want Xavier to make.
READ ALSO:
"He's got a great teacher in front of him in Charnze and he'll keep learning the way he is now then be better for it."
On the flip side, Nicoll-Klokstad was understandably disappointed to leave the game early, especially after the Raiders have seemingly found their mojo in recent weeks.
"Obviously, I'm pretty disappointed and gutted, I felt like I was starting to finally find my straps and gel with the team," he said.
"I think I've got scans tomorrow morning (Monday) to see how bad the strain is.
"Hopefully it's not too bad."
Regardless of his injury, the Raiders fullback believes the whole squad were up for the match especially as it was prop Josh Papalii's 250th NRL match.
"It was a really good win, Josh (Papalii) is a big part of our team and we wanted to make sure it was one to remember for him," he said.
"I couldn't be more stoked for him."
While it was a Raiders away game, there were green jerseys all across Apex Oval, something which pleased Nicoll-Klokstad.
"Really good support, we really enjoy getting out to the country towns and really like to see the support," he said.
"It's good to see them, especially some of the ones who travel around and support us."
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content:
- Bookmark
- Make sure you are signed up for our breaking and regular headlines newsletters
- Follow us on Twitter
- Follow us on Instagram
- Follow us on Google News