It's not often you would hear of a husband and wife sitting down at the dinner table with the conversation quickly turning to their respective professional football careers.

For new Canberra Raiders forward Charlie Gubb, friendly banter about which of the rugby codes is better is just part of marital bliss.

Charlene Gubb has also made an impact since coming to Canberra, having linked with the ACT Brumbies for the inaugural Super W season.

The Black Ferns lock was a part of New Zealand's World Cup winning squad last year but has put her career on hold so husband Charlie can pursue his in the nation's capital.

Gubb said he appreciated how supportive his wife had been during the move, but knows never to try and convince Charlene rugby league is the superior code.

"There were fights about which was better, league or union, a couple of years ago, but I have learned not to bring that up - I can't win," Gubb told NRL.com.

"It's great for her to have some friends here through the Brumbies, it's tough for her not to have the same support base as she did back home, but it's great she has got the Brumbies to concentrate on"

Having another professional athlete under the same roof can be a blessing and a curse according to Charlie.

"She keeps me pretty disciplined, eating the right way and training and getting me up which is frustrating at times, but once you do it you feel better for doing it," he said.

Raiders forward Charlie Gubb. ©Scott Davis/NRL Photos

Coming off a challenging year with the New Zealand Warriors, Gubb said he relishing the chance to test himself again.

There were no signs of the groin injury that plagued him last season as he made his debut for the Raiders in their 16-12 trial loss to the Canterbury Bulldogs on the Sunshine Coast last weekend.

Gubb knows he will have to fight for every minute of game time as part of the Raiders, given the names already ahead of him in the club's pecking order.

"There's a lot of competition here, just like over at the Warriors there's a lot of middle forwards and there's a lot of young ones coming up as well," he said.

"I had been at the Warriors a long time and I felt like I was getting a bit stale, and they (New Zealand) might have been feeling the same way.

"But I think it was a good opportunity to test myself in a different environment and learn from different coaches and a different playing group, it's pretty refreshing."

Gubb said the chance to play for Raiders coach Ricky Stuart was also a chance he could not pass up.

"He (Stuart) was in contact with me on the phone a lot, and you respect a person like that and he's a man of his word so I wanted to play under him after talking to him for a couple of weeks," he said.

"He said he could make me a better player and work with me, but I know I have to work hard, half of the results are on my side."