The Raiders face the daunting task of trying to snap a 12-month top-eight drought when they play against the ladder-leading Sydney Roosters at Canberra Stadium on Sunday.

The Raiders struggles of the past two seasons are highlighted by the fact they've beaten just four top-eight teams since the start of 2017. They haven't beaten any of the top-eight sides this year.

But there is some good news for the Green Machine. The Roosters haven't won in Canberra since 2010 and have lost the past four games in a row in the capital.

Then there's the jersey good-luck charm. The Raiders will support Autism Wellbeing and the Ricky Stuart Foundation this weekend by wearing a strip designed by 10-year-olds Kayla Marlow and Neve Smith.

The Green Machine is unbeaten in two previous games with the coach's name on their chests, and fittingly it will also have a Ricky Stuart Foundation quote on it this year: "Don't look away, just smile."

"It's been tough for us. It's been a big learning curve for all of the boys - you've got to take those close losses [we've had] and try to change them," said back rower Joe Tapine.

"We can't get too negative on ourselves ... not making the finals is hard for us. It was a big goal and we didn't achieve it. We know we let a lot of people down, but we're going to try our hardest for the next couple of weeks.

"There are a lot of family members and close friends who have children with autism that I know, so this is a big match for us. Personally we'll go hard for [Stuart] as well."

The Raiders beat the Roosters 24-16 in Canberra and raised $41,000 for the Ricky Stuart Foundation last year and they toppled Canterbury 32-20 in the strip in 2016.

Those numbers bode well for the Raiders, who have struggled to claim major scalps this year and will miss the finals for the second season in a row.

They haven't beaten any of the finals-bound teams this year and beat only four top-eight sides last year - Parramatta twice, the Roosters and the Sharks.

But they haven't given up on reversing the trend before the end of an otherwise disappointing campaign. They play the top two teams - the Roosters and Rabbitohs - in the next two weeks before finishing the season against the desperate New Zealand Warriors.

The chance to raise awareness and money for autism, beat a top-eight side and ensure departing players finish on a high will be the motivation for the last three matches of the year.

"We've got three games now and we want to try to win all three of them to send the boys [out on a high] who are leaving and give them something to remember as well," said Elliott Whitehead.

"We'll be working hard to beat the Roosters this weekend. It's going to be a tough task - they're in great form. But I still believe in the squad we've got here and that we can get the win.

"This is probably the best [Autism Wellbeing jersey] I've worn ... we want to win games. I've played with some of these blokes for three years and it would be nice to get a few wins before they leave."

The Raiders' chances of beating the Roosters were dealt a major blow on Tuesday when halfback Aidan Sezer was ruled out indefinitely with a hamstring injury.

The playmaker is an outside chance of making a comeback this season, opening the door for Blake Austin to return to the halves for the last three games of his Raiders career.

Stuart has called rookie Emre Guler on to the bench to make his debut, while Nick Cotric will shift back to the wing to allow Brad Abbey to return to fullback.

NRL ROUND 23

Sunday: Canberra Raiders v Sydney Roosters at Canberra Stadium, 4.10pm. Tickets from Ticketek.

Raiders: 1. Brad Abbey, 2. Nick Cotric, 3. Elliott Whitehead, 4. Joey Leilua, 5. Jordan Rapana, 6. Blake Austin, 7. Sam Williams, 8. Dunamis Lui, 9. Josh Hodgson (c), 10. Shannon Boyd, 11. Joe Tapine, 12. Sia Soliola, 13. Josh Papalii. Interchange from: 14. Emre Guler, 15. Luke Bateman, 16. Siliva Havili, 17. Junior Paulo, 18. Jack Murchie, 19. Liam Knight, 20. Makahesi Makatoa, 21. Michael Oldfield.

Roosters: 1. James Tedesco, 2. Daniel Tupou, 3. Latrell Mitchell, 4. Joseph Manu, 5. Blake Ferguson, 6. Ryan Matterson, 7. Cooper Cronk, 8. Dylan Napa, 9. Jake Friend, 10. Siosiua Taukeiaho, 11. Boyd Cordner, 12. Isaac Liu, 13. Victor Radley. Interchange from: 14. Nat Butcher, 15. Zane Tetevano, 16. Mitchell Aubusson, 17. Sean O'Sullivan, 18. Sitili Tupouniua, 19. Kurt Baptiste, 20. Paul Momirovski, 21. Lindsay Collins.