The Raiders were disappointing in their loss to the Newcastle Knights on the weekend and they face another finals hopeful in the Dragons.

They both sit outside the eight on points differential, with the winner at the Gold Coast on Friday taking a step towards a potential play-off berth.

The Raiders have a tough run home after the Dragons, with games against Melbourne, Manly and the Sydney Roosters all extremely tough.

It's why Papalii felt beating the Dragons was crucial to keep their finals hopes alive.

Canberra have been hit by the loss of Sebastian Kris due to concussion, which opened the door for outside back Elijah Anderson to make his NRL debut.

He's been named on the bench, filling the spot vacated by Matthew Timoko - who has in turn moved into the centres to cover Kris.

The Raiders have been boosted by the return of lock Ryan Sutton, who missed one week with a chest injury.

Sutton's been one of the Green Machine's best forwards this year, but his return means Sia Soliola dropped out of the 17.

Hudson Young shifts from the No.13 jersey into the second row, with Corey Harawira-Naera dropping to the bench.

"That was a good opportunity for us as a team to put ourselves in the eight, but that wasn't the case and we're going to have to work pretty hard for these last five games starting on Friday against the Dragons," Papalii said.

"It's definitely that kind of [must-win] game. This game's definitely important for us to try and cement ourselves in the eight and then try and kick on from there.

"These two points are very crucial. There's five or six teams sitting on the same points."

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Papalii copped a bad cork to his thigh while scoring a try in the loss to the Knights on Sunday, but said he would be right to play the Dragons.

It's something he's played with in the past.

"These kind of injuries stick around for a bit longer than usual - it's not something you can just ice and it just goes away," Papalii said.

"It's just one of those things I've got to nurse for a bit ... I'll probably have to wear a pad on the weekend."

Papalii said Ben Hunt (arm) was a massive loss for the Dragons.

The pair played State of Origin together and the Raiders enforcer felt the playmaker had been St George Illawarra's best player.

Hunt will be out for about four weeks with a broken arm he suffered against South Sydney - but he was able to finish the game.

He also played a crucial role in the Dragons' win when the two teams met earlier this season.

The Dragons came back from 14-0 down to run over the top of the Green Machine, 22-20.

"Ben Hunt's obviously a massive loss for the Dragons. He's definitely been their best player by far," Papalii said.

"He's the halfback and their captain and that takes a lot of leadership and a lot of control away from their game, and that's probably where we can find areas where we can counter.

"Hopefully we can do that on the weekend. Ben Hunt gets them around the park and is a damaging ball runner as well.

"Hopefully we can get stuck into whoever is in that spot and give them a tough game."

NRL ROUND 21

Friday: Canberra Raiders v St George Illawarra Dragons, venue to be confirmed, 6pm.

Raiders squad: 1. Jordan Rapana, 2. Semi Valemei, 3. Jarrod Croker (c), 4. Matt Timoko, 5. Harley Smith-Shields, 6. Jack Wighton, 7. Sam Williams, 8. Josh Papalii, 9. Josh Hodgson, 10. Joe Tapine, 11. Hudson Young, 12. Elliott Whitehead (c), 13. Ryan Sutton. Interchange: 14. Tom Starling, 15. Corey Harawira-Naera, 16. Emre Guler, 17. Elijah Anderson. Reserves: 18. Sia Soliola, 19. Dunamis Lui, 20. Matt Frawley, 21. Siliva Havili.