Tapine is set to make his return from injury after being named on the bench in the Raiders' clash with the Parramatta Eels at Canberra Stadium on Sunday.

Corey Horsburgh has been left out of the 21-man squad to recharge the batteries in NSW Cup, with Stuart adamant the Raiders will need the fiery redhead at his best come the business end of the season.

Horsburgh has played between 24 and 33 minutes each week this season and Stuart says a stint with Mounties will give him the chance to put in a bigger shift on the park instead of battling through extra training sessions.

"It's really about making sure we're managing Corey, his body and his energy. He plays in the middle and he is only a young guy, so it's important for our season that he is at his best at the end of the season," Stuart said.

"This will help, this won't be the first time he goes back to Mounties or I give him a week or two off.

"He's started the season so well for us and I couldn't be happier with him, but I've managed young forwards before and that's what we're doing with Corey. I want to make sure Corey lasts for the season.

"I've got Joey Tapine coming back into the fold, so that helps. We're in the situation where Mounties are playing very well too."

Aidan Sezer looms as an outside chance to return from an oblique injury after being named in the No. 19 jersey, but Sam Williams has the inside running after steering Canberra to consecutive wins.

"Sam has done well and I am really happy that in having a player of Aidan's quality out, that Sam can jump in and do what he has done over the past two weeks," Stuart said.

"It's what makes a strong footy team, we haven't had depth for a number of years and having Sam jump in and do that over the past two weeks has been impressive, and it has been a big help to the team."

Raiders winger Nick Cotric is gearing up for a potential State of Origin audition against Parramatta's Blake Ferguson.

NSW Blues coach Brad Fittler says the two loom as potential front-runners to fill the void left by Tom Trbojevic in June's series opener.

Stuart has no doubt the 20-year-old will line up in a sky blue jersey one day, and he clearly doesn't have to tell Cotric to keep his feet on the ground.

"It would be a dream come true for me but at the moment I'm just focusing on playing for the Raiders and each week, doing the little things right," Cotric said.

"I don't really pay attention to that sort of thing, I'm just here to play each week and just do the best I can for the club. [Ferguson] is such a high quality player so it's going to be a tough match-up this weekend.

NRL ROUND FIVE

Sunday: Canberra Raiders v Parramatta Eels at Canberra Stadium, 6.10pm.

Raiders squad: 1. Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad, 2. Nick Cotric, 3. Jarrod Croker (c), 4. Joey Leilua, 5. Jordan Rapana, 6. Jack Wighton, 7. Sam Williams, 8. Josh Papalii, 9. Josh Hodgson (c), 10. Dunamis Lui, 11. John Bateman, 12. Elliott Whitehead, 13. Ryan Sutton. Interchange: 14. Siliva Havili, 15. Hudson Young, 16. Sia Soliola, 17. Joe Tapine. Reserves: 18. Royce Hunt, 19. Aidan Sezer, 20. Bailey Simonsson, 21. JJ Collins.