Raiders may use 'Josh Hodgson' cap relief rule for Rapana

Jordan Rapana could become the first player to fall under the "Josh Hodgson" salary cap exemption, a rule introduced as a result of the severe knee injury suffered by his Raiders teammate in 2017.

Canberra has already looked into the new exemption which covers players suffering a long-term injury while on State of Origin of international duty.

But first, the Raiders need to confirm how long their Kiwis winger will be sidelined after he dislocated his right shoulder in last Sunday's second Test against England at Anfield stadium.

Rapana is due back in Canberra on Thursday morning and will be assessed by Raiders medical staff. The 29-year-old will then be sent for scans and to see a specialist before the full extent of the injury is known.

Raiders CEO Don Furner told NRL.com the club was hopeful it wouldn't need to call on the salary cap exemption, which gives clubs up to $350,000 in relief if a rep player is injured for 12 weeks, but he's made inquiries nonetheless.

"You hope it's not that [serious] but if it is, you at least start with something that helps," Furner said.

If the Raiders applied to the NRL for an exemption, Rapana would be the first player to use it.

The exemption came into place after a CEOs meeting last May following Canberra's disappointment that they lost their starting No.9 in Hodgson for the opening 14 rounds of the 2018 Telstra Premiership after he tore his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in the 2017 World Cup.

We're very happy to support international footy but it does hurt us

Don Furner

In that case, Hodgson hurt his knee but initially remained on the field before having to be replaced.

Rapana had a similar story in that he hurt his shoulder in the 12th minute before another big hit on it in the 68th minute forced him to the sideline.

In both cases, the coaches – Wayne Bennett (England) and Michael Maguire (New Zealand) – said it was the player's choice to stay on the field.

Furner again questioned the wisdom of whether team medical staff should have stepped in. He said the Raiders had already received a full medical briefing from the Kiwis.

"But we've got no say in how they use him [Rapana), or whether he should or shouldn't have stayed on," Furner said.

"We've got no control over that, which is hugely frustrating. We've just had a bad run of these.

"We're very happy to support international footy but it does hurt us. The club is the loser in all of this.

"But there are measures in place now like insurance and the salary cap relief. They are good moves by the NRL."

The Raiders are also without half Ata Hingano (shoulder) after he was injured in the Tonga-Australia Test last month. He is likely to miss the first six weeks of the 2019 Telstra Premiership.

The third and final England-NZ Test is on Sunday and Furner says the club is holding its breath as Hodgson, Elliott Whitehead, John Bateman and Tapine are likely to be involved.

Under the new NRL protocol, clubs can use the provision multiple times.