A alleged assault by Canberra Raiders player Bronx Goodwin outside a Canberra pub early yesterday has soured what should have been a buoyant mood after Sunday's emphatic win against the Sydney Roosters.

Wooden spoon favourites before the season began, the Raiders now sit just one point outside the top eight thanks to the 34-12 win at Canberra Stadium.

They begin their favourable run to the finals against the seventh-placed Gold Coast Titans in Canberra on Saturday. A win of 15 points or more will ensure they return to the eight for the first time since round five.

The Raiders then travel to Brisbane to meet the Broncos before taking on Penrith and Newcastle followed by the league's bottom three teams in their final three matches.

Raiders coach Neil Henry warned his players against getting ahead of themselves and described this weekend as a danger match.

But yesterday he was happy to revel in his team's dominant win over the fourth-placed Roosters.

''The enthusiasm's good and the confidence levels have come up in the last two weeks, we've had two good efforts,'' Henry said. ''That's the carrot that's been dangled there is the finals but we need to win the games.''

The Titans have been ravaged by injury but proved they could still win when they upset the Roosters a fortnight ago.

Henry is refusing to do the sums on what the Raiders need to make the finals, with him clearly focused on the Titans' capabilities.

''All I know is that we're in the mix,'' he said.

''You can try and predict and look above you and say 'well by rights we've got an easier run in' but realistically when you look at the results over the last few weeks you've got some of the top five teams being beaten.

''Week in week out it's a bit of a lottery there. There's no doubt the next three games are pretty crucial for us.

''The Titans are going to be a little bit desperate coming down here and they put in a really good performance against the Roosters two weeks ago.

''There wasn't much in the game against the Panthers so they can really trouble us.''

The Raiders will be without prop Josh Miller for two weeks after he suffered a grade one medial ligament tear during the victory.

''I'll play as soon as I'm right to play,'' Miller said. ''I'm starting to feel like I'm seeing my best football. That's just the way footy is.

''There's a good feeling in the team at the moment.

''We've been training really good lately and you could see that on the field. We're a little bit mentally tougher on the field so that's going to help us going into finals.''

Henry has called on his team to improve its on-field decision making.

''There's no doubt that some players are playing some good football. We do have a bit of depth coming back but there are certainly areas for improvement.''

The Titans received some good news yesterday with five-eighth Mat Rogers escaping a charge for a high tackle on Panther Lachlan Coote.

Rogers was placed on report for a tackle described by Titans coach John Cartwright as a ''reflex tackle'', but wasn't charged by the NRL judiciary.

SATURDAY

NRL Round 20: Canberra Raiders v Gold Coast Titans at Canberra Stadium, 5.30pm. TV Time: Live on Fox Sports2. Tickets available through Ticketek.