Injured Canberra fullback Jack Wighton is an NRL "freak" and his temporary replacement Jordan Rapana is nowhere near his calibre.
That brutal assessment of the Raiders' fullback pecking order was delivered by none other than Rapana on Wednesday.
Wighton will miss up to three weeks of action after suffering an eye-socket injury during Sunday night's loss to the Warriors - giving Rapana another crack at fullback against St George Illawarra this Saturday.
And while Rapana has played just eight NRL games since his debut for Gold Coast in 2008, he's provided spectators with his own glimpses of brilliance with his seven-try tally.
He played two games for the Raiders at fullback in 2014 before a season ending head injury paved the way for Wighton in the No.1 jersey.
But Rapana says Wighton's dazzling run of form has pretty much ruled out using the next three weeks as an audition to wrestle back his favourite position.
"Jacko over the last two games has shown us how much of a freak he is," Rapana said.
"I'm nowhere near that calibre.
"All I'm going to do is just worry about playing my game and playing as safe as I can."
Wighton's facial injury is one Rapana can relate to.
The 25-year-old, who now has a metal plate in his forehead, played on for 25 minutes after unknowingly fracturing his skull in a head clash during the round 23 match against the Dragons.
Doctors later advised him that another serious blow on the same spot could have killed him.
"Now it's fine. All fixed up and harder than it was before."
The injury ruled him out for the rest of 2014, adding another chapter in a disjointed career that had already been interrupted by a two year Mormon mission to the UK and a failed bid to crack Super Rugby.
This week he returns from a hamstring strain he picked up in round one while playing on the wing.
"I can't catch a break. I'm glad it was just one week though, it could have been a lot worse," he said.
"I'm optimistic this will be a good season."
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