Charnze of a lifetime for Raiders new No.1 gun

Six months ago, Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad was wondering when his next chance in the NRL was going to come.

Sitting behind an established group of outside backs at the New Zealand Warriors, Nicoll-Klokstad was set to be on the outside looking in for another season.

How quickly things change.

Fast forward to round three and the 23-year-old is being mobbed by his new teammates at the Canberra Raiders after his second try for the club effectively sealed their 17-10 triumph over Newcastle.

But while Nicoll-Klokstad was no doubt elated to play such an integral role in the win, he was more impressed with the resolve the Raiders showed without the ball.

"The rain made it a bit tougher and a bit greasy for ball-handling and there was a lot of pressure on us from the Knights," Nicoll-Klokstad said.

"But I commend the boys. We backed up every single time and really did well in defence. We spoke about turning up and turning them away and we knew if we could do that then we'd be able to get down their end of the field."

The win was also a significant one for Sam Williams, who fitted in comfortably alongside fellow playmakers Jack Wighton and Josh Hodgson.

It was Williams' 76th-minute field goal that gave the Raiders valuable breathing space in crunch time.

"We were a bit tougher in the last 20 minutes than we have been in the past. Importantly we hung in there long enough to get the win," Williams said.

"But there were still things we didn't do really well that you're not always going to get away with.

"The main thing is we didn't go into our shell defensively. We went and got them, so moving forward that's something we can take out of the game."

Williams insists he is comfortable with his intermittent role in Ricky Stuart's extended squad, often on the fringes and not being able to establish himself as a regular first-grader.

The 28-year-old said despite the late-call up due to Aidan Sezer's oblique injury, he found Wighton's game familiar to that of a former teammate.

"I really enjoyed playing with Jack. He's a bit like Austo (Blake Austin) was last year, a bit more of a traditional five-eighth," Williams said.

"Jack's warming to the position and I think he's a real threat with and without the ball, so he offers a lot of starch in that spot."

With the Raiders travelling to take on the North Queensland Cowboys in round four, Williams has to stay prepared in case Sezer fails to come up.

"Whatever happens next week is out of my control," he said.

"Winning games is our main objective and we were able to do that."