The Canberra Raiders have finally found some confidence and they'll need every bit of it when they face the Melbourne Storm without star forward Josh Papalii.
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Papalii will spend at least two weeks on the sidelines for a grade two shoulder charge on St George Illawarra fullback Josh Dugan on Friday night.
The State of Origin star could be rubbed out for up to three weeks but will escape with a two-match ban with an early guilty plea when he fronts the NRL judiciary.
It's a huge blow to the Raiders' fading finals hopes with the Green Machine battling to stay in touch with the NRL's top eight.
The Raiders sit two wins outside the top eight and need to win at least six of their final seven matches to remain an outside chance at playing in September.
Raiders halfback Aidan Sezer says he didn't get a good look at the shot on Dugan but admitted post-match the Green Machine were "going to need" Papalii against Melbourne.
Sezer says Canberra's confidence was sapped after a forgettable month but hopes they've turned the corner.
Sezer says he is finally getting some confidence back into his game after he came up with two clutch plays to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat against the Dragons.
Canberra's halves switched sides on the field and both showed glimpses of class, but the Raiders will have to lift to another level if they are going to challenge ladder leaders Melbourne without Papalii next week.
It was better news for Luke Bateman after he was cleared of any serious damage to his cheekbone.
Sezer says getting over the line in golden point against the Dragons was "huge" for team morale after a horror run in close matches over the past few seasons.
The playmaker says the Raiders are "under no illusions" about their showing against the Dragons, admitting Canberra still "didn't play great" in an ugly win.
But they'll arrive at training on Monday with smiles on their faces after snapping a four-game losing streak and keeping their season alive.
"As a team we're down on confidence, we're only human and hopefully we can kickstart a few good things from here," Sezer said.
"[When] your backs are against the wall and you've had a few losses, when you go behind on the scoreboard it's testing times, it really is.
"You really look around thinking about what you can do to get your team out of it and lucky enough we had a few good plays and they came off."
The Raiders are facing an uphill battle to play finals football but memories of their 2016 form have kept many from drawing a red line through their September hopes.
They are now two wins outside the eight but face a tough run home with two clashes against the Melbourne Storm and a date with reigning premiers Cronulla in their final seven games.
A win over Melbourne without Papalii could send a huge message to the rest of the competition but that's not a concern inside the four walls at Raiders headquarters.
"We're not trying to send a message, we want to prove to ourselves that we can play footy," Sezer said.
"We know we can, inside these walls. We just need to get the one percenters right, complete our sets, play a bit of footy and really get that confidence back in our game which I think has been severely lacking.
"You lose four in a row, it's going to be testing times... We'll go into next week with a bit of bounce in our step."
