Towering bombs and hunting in packs are two strategies the Raiders will employ to contain livewire James Tedesco in Friday night's sudden-death semi-final against the Sydney Roosters.
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Canberra has been poring over footage of the world's best player this week in the hope of masterminding a gameplan that will curb Tedesco's influence as both clubs chase a preliminary final berth.
The 27-year-old scored a match-winning try in last year's grand final, and also crossed twice during the last meeting between these sides - an 18-6 triumph to the Roosters in round 17.
That was the Raiders' only loss in their last eight matches, and back rower Elliott Whitehead said containing Tedesco would go a long way to turning the tables.
"He's a big game player and someone that we'll be watching closely this week in video, we'll probably try to take that running game away from him," Whitehead said.
"Whether that's putting up some high kicks so we can catch him as he catches the ball. He's going to pop up at some point, we're just going to have to stick to our structures and not try and fix it on our own.
"If you're going to go get him you've got to stay as a team."
The reigning Dally M Medalist scored a try last weekend, but it wasn't enough for the Roosters who suffered a one-point loss to the red-hot Penrith Panthers.
Since last year's grand final, the Roosters and Raiders have split the ledger - the round 17 loss followed on from an historic 24-20 triumph at the SCG seven weeks earlier.
Tedesco still managed a staggering 236 run metres on that occasion, but remained tryless as an injury-depleted Raiders produced one of the club's finest ever wins.
"He's the reigning Dally M medalist and he's been up there for a long time now," Raiders hard man Josh Papalii said of Tedesco.
"We're going to have to have our best defensive awareness. He's going to be roaming around in the middle and out to the side as well.
"We need to work together, we can't go out by ourselves. When the Raiders are successful as a team, we're doing things together."
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The Raiders have named an unchanged 17 for Friday's must-win clash, while Roosters coach Trent Robinson has recalled veteran duo Jake Friend and Sonny-Bill Williams.
Last weekend's loss to Penrith marked the first time the Tricolous have dropped consecutive games since the opening two rounds of the season.
"I didn't even know they're coming off back-to-back losses," Raiders fullback Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad said.
"There's no different approach, we know they are a great side, they're back to back premiers for a reason, they have stars from one to 17.
"They've got people like Tedesco that create opportunities out of nothing. He's the benchmark for fullbacks, if there's ever a time to see where I'm at, it's now during the finals series."
Nicoll-Klokstad said working together to contain Tedesco was crucial.
"He flourishes when you get him with a disjointed line, [that's when] he's able to do what he does best and break tackles and create opportunities from nothing," Nicoll-Klokstad said.
James Buckley
James is a Queanbeyan boy enjoying his second stint at the Canberra Times, more than eight years on from his first. In between he's traveled the world, and spent time covering sport in Sydney.
James is a Queanbeyan boy enjoying his second stint at the Canberra Times, more than eight years on from his first. In between he's traveled the world, and spent time covering sport in Sydney.
