Horsburgh needs surgery on a Lisfranc injury he suffered in a tackle from Eels second-rower Ryan Matterson.

Raiders coach Ricky Stuart will decide on Tuesday who will play against St George Illawarra at Canberra Stadium on Friday night.

But he was confident New Zealand international Joe Tapine would be fit to face the Dragons.

Tapine could come straight into the No.13 jersey, having played most of last year there.

He's been playing in the second-row covering the absence of John Bateman (shoulder) before a knee injury forced him out of the golden-point loss to the Eels.

Stuart also has Ryan Sutton as an option to start at lock, while Soliola could shift there from prop.

"It's a Lisfrancs [injury], he's got to have an operation. He's out for approximately 12 weeks. It's really bad news for us," Stuart said.

"Joey will be back in the team this week. He's fit this week for selection. But I'll have a look at the make-up of the team [on Tuesday]."

MORE RAIDERS NEWS

Stuart was gutted for the popular Horsburgh, who left the field in a mixture of pain and emotions after his injury.

Horsburgh let Matterson know of his displeasure, before giving the small Parramatta Stadium crowd the double-barreled bird as he limped off.

The NRL sent the 22-year-old a concerning act notice for giving the crowd the finger.

But Stuart said that emotion was one of the reasons he loved the Queenslander. His toughness was another.

"We all love 'Bid Red' and he's an emotional big thing, but I haven't coached many tougher," he said.

"He got whacked the other night and he took the ruck two rucks later.

"I've seen a lot of forwards get whacked like that and go missing.

"Corey was calling for the ball two rucks later and that's why I love coaching him."

Soliola said the incident could act as a turning point for the fiery redhead in his battle to control his emotions.

He said Horsburgh would need to work on managing his emotions every day.

It's something Soliola has had to do during his own career - just in reverse.

"He understood the consequences of his actions. But it's probably a good thing that he sees it himself. It might be a bit of a turning [point] for him," Soliola said.

"There's been plenty of players in the past who haven't been too dissimilar from Corey.

"It's just a management thing, you can't wake up the next morning and decide to be someone else.

"They're things you've got to manage throughout your time. I'm probably in a different boat where I'm the opposite.

"I was probably a little bit quieter and they tried to get the intensity out of me throughout my career and that just didn't happen overnight. They're things you've got to work on."

NRL ROUND EIGHT

Friday: Canberra Raiders v St George Illawarra Dragons at Canberra Stadium, 6pm.