CANBERRA, AUSTRALIA - MAY 05: Dunamis Lui of the Raiders is tackled during the round nine NRL match between the Canberra Raiders and the Gold Coast Titans at GIO Stadium on May 5, 2018 in Canberra, Australia. (Photo by Mark Nolan/Getty Images)
Out-of-contract Raiders prop Dunamis Lui has an opportunity to cement a starting position for Canberra, with big boppers Shannon Boyd and Junior Paulo defecting to other clubs in 2019.
Canberra meet Manly at Canberra Stadium on Friday night, a game which also provides young prop Liam Knight a chance to show his worth off the bench in his fourth NRL game.
And Lui, who is negotiating an extension with the club, must first prove his worth to fill the void left by Boyd and Paulo.
The 28-year old will play his 19th game for the Raiders on the weekend in his first ever start, and 99th overall appearance in the NRL
The Raiders are reportedly finalising a three-year deal with Wigan prop Ryan Sutton and also looking to lock down Charlie Gubb til the end of the 2019 season.
Lui says he would be happy to stay in Canberra.
"It could be. I'm happy here, my family loves it here, I'm happy to stay so it's all up to the club now and the offer they bring forward," he told The Sydney Morning Herald.
Raiders second-rower Joe Tapine's two-game ban for charging Dragons fullback Matt Dufty has given Lui the chance to start, with Sia Soliola moving from the front row to lock.
Lui is thrilled to be in the starting lineup, seeing it as a great opportunity but also a responsibility he is not taking lightly.
"It's going to be a massive challenge for myself, but I'm just happy to be in the team. With 'Taps' being out I'm pushed into the starting line up," he said.
"I'm grateful for the opportunity, but it's a massive job for whoever's in there to start the game well. It's going to be a really good challenge.
"Especially after the way we played against them earlier in the year, they really did a job on us. That's another challenge for us this weekend to really turn things around and show them how good we really are."