He grew up in Manly, but his father Paul's work brought him to Canberra.

It led to him playing alongside Cotric for the Raiders under-16s in the Harold Matthews Cup in 2014.

From there he played under-20s with the Canterbury Bulldogs and then code-hopped across the Ditch into the New Zealand sevens program.

But the lure of the NRL has drawn him back and a chance came up in Canberra.

Now Simonsson has his sights set on making his debut.

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"Nick and I used to hang out quite a lot when I was down here when I was younger," Simonsson said.

"It's good having a good mate, having watched him the last couple of years too with what he's done with the Raiders is good to see that.

"It gives you a bit of encouragement to do something similar too.

"My goals for next season will be working hard each week and then hopefully make my debut."

Simonsson's father also had a career spanning both codes - he was part of the All Blacks' 1987 tour of Japan and played three games for the North Sydney Bears in the early 90s.

Now Simonsson is looking to forge his own path in the NRL and has 2019 to stake his claims in Canberra.

With Rapana set to miss the first half of the season, there's a wing spot up for grabs on the Raiders' right edge.

The experienced Michael Oldfield is the early favourite to slot in alongside centre Joey Leilua, but Brad Abbey is another option as well.

Simonsson was also putting his hand up.

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"With him being out there's obviously an opportunity for someone to put their hand up and step in," he said.

"But in saying that there's a lot of high-quality outside backs that are all vying for a spot so it comes down to who the coaches see best suited."