But he's confident the latest drama - centre Curtis Scott being stood down for an alleged fight at Kokomo's nightclub - wouldn't affect the Green Machine against the Brisbane Broncos at Canberra Stadium on Saturday night.

Scott's been stood down for allegedly throwing several punches at a fellow patron of the popular Civic nightspot on May 30.

The NRL integrity unit's spoken to him and was assessing whether the 23-year-old would be sanctioned, with ACT Policing saying they wouldn't take any action unless a complaint was made.

It comes off the back of the Raiders releasing George Williams from the final year-and-a-half of his contract and former co-captain Josh Hodgson standing down from the leadership role.

The dramas have come along with the Green Machine's onfield struggles - they've won only one of their past eight games.

But Stuart said the group had returned from the bye in good spirits and said their mateship was helping them pull through.

He was also adamant the latest drama wouldn't have any bearing against the Broncos.

"It won't have any impact, no. It seems to be happening each week," Stuart said.

"I'd like to know what's going to happen next week so I can get a bit more planned. But it won't have an impact on the team."

MORE RAIDERS NEWS

The Raiders will be bolstered by the return of international middles Josh Papalii (suspension) and Joe Tapine (knee).

Stuart was relying on a big game from both.

He revealed Papalii had been put through almost a mini pre-season during his three week suspension, with the aim of the 29-year-old playing at a new weight.

Papalii's one of the premier props in the NRL, but the game has become faster and more fatiguing for the big boppers in the middle.

"Papa's been playing around the same weight he has the last two years," Stuart said.

"He hasn't been playing overweight, but during the three-week suspension period we challenged him to get into another level of weight and he has.

"He knew how critical it was to get there and he worked really hard. Papa's a good fella.

"He cares a lot about the club, his team, his teammates and the position we're in.

"When I've got a player that has that type of care and concern at the situation I respect that because it hurts him.

"He's a Raider through and through, he's been here his whole career, and he doesn't like to see us in this position.

"I've had a couple of real deep chats with Josh - not about Josh, just about our situation and about the way we can get out of it."

Stuart was expecting a physical affair against the Broncos, who have also struggled this year.

The Raiders were looking to avoid an unwanted home record.

They've lost their past four games at Canberra Stadium - a home-losing streak that stretches to five if you include their loss to Newcastle at Wagga Wagga.

They've only ever lost five home games in a row once - in 2014.

Stuart spoke about the importance of getting back to winning ways at home.

"For the team, to get your mojo back a bit, get a win, get a bit of positivity and mojo back of where we know we want to be or where we've been over the last couple of years," he said.

"For me personally, to get that spirit back in the boys and get a win for our crowd and for our fans."

Meanwhile, rumours continue to circulate about Hodgson wanting a move to the Broncos, but neither Brisbane nor his management company - run by the banned Isaac Moses - have asked the Raiders for permission to speak to the England international.

The 31-year-old has another year to run on his contract.

NRL ROUND 14

Saturday: Canberra Raiders v Brisbane Broncos at Canberra Stadium, 7.35pm.

Raiders squad: 1. Bailey Simonsson, 2. Semi Valemei, 3. Sebastian Kris, 4. Matthew Timoko, 5. Jordan Rapana, 6. Jack Wighton, 7. Sam Williams, 8. Josh Papalii, 9. Josh Hodgson, 10. Dunamis Lui, 11. Corey Harawira-Naera, 12. Elliott Whitehead, 13. Ryan Sutton. Interchange: 14. Tom Starling, 15. Emre Guler, 16. Iosia Soliola, 17. Joseph Tapine. Reserves: 18. Elijah Anderson, 19. Hudson Young, 20. Matt Frawley, 21. Harry Rushton.

Broncos squad: 1. Herbie Farnworth, 2. Xavier Coates, 3. Dale Copley, 4. Jesse Arthars, 5. Selwyn Cobbo, 6. Karmichael Hunt, 7. Albert Kelly, 8. Matthew Lodge, 9. Jake Turpin, 10. Payne Haas, 11. Alex Glenn, 12. Tevita Pangai jnr, 13. Thomas Flegler. Interchange: 14. Kobe Hetherington, 15. John Asiata, 16. Keenan Palasia, 17. TC Robati. Reserves: 18. Tesi Niu, 19. Cory Paix, 20. David Mead, 21. Jordan Riki.