Sutton's contracted for next season and returned to the side for the win over St George Illawarra after missing a week due to a chest injury.

The Raiders were preparing for a tough clash against the ladder-leading Melbourne Storm on Thursday night.

They've lost their past three against the Storm, including last year's preliminary final, but won the three before that.

The Raiders were locked in a dogfight for the final two spots in the NRL top eight, along with Newcastle, Gold Coast, Cronulla and St George Illawarra, and a win against the Storm would be a massive step towards claiming one of them.

Talks were ongoing to extend Tom Starling's contract until the end of 2023, while the Raiders were hoping to lock down winger Harley Smith-Shields for two more years.

They've agreed to terms with young forward Trey Mooney to keep him at the Green Machine until the end of 2024.

He's currently on a development contract, but will join the senior squad from next season as the Raiders continue to bolster their stocks of rising stars.

Mooney's part of the 29-man squad Raiders coach Ricky Stuart took to the Gold Coast for what's likely to be the rest of the 2021 NRL season.

Harry Rushton was initially part of that squad, but he suffered a knee injury in the final training session before the Green Machine left for Queensland.

It opened the door for Elijah Anderson to join the squad and make his debut in the win over St George Illawarra.

Rushton doesn't need surgery on his knee and was expected to be ready for the start of pre-season.

Meanwhile, Raiders fullback Caleb Aekins could be headed to the English Super League.

He's attracted interest from the Leeds Rhinos and Leigh Centurions.

Aekins came to Canberra from the Penrith Panthers on a one-year deal and was given first crack at replacing first-choice Raiders fullback Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad.

Nicoll-Klokstad's out for the rest of the season following neck surgery.

But Aekins fell out of favour following the Raiders' 44-16 loss to the Sydney Roosters, having played seven games in lime green.

He had shown some attacking promise, setting up two tries to help the Green Machine to a 20-18 win over the Canterbury Bulldogs in round 10.

The Raiders have now used five players at fullback this season, with Bailey Simonsson (toe) and Xavier Savage (shoulder) also falling foul of the fullback injury curse.

Jordan Rapana's currently shining in the Canberra No.1 jersey.

NRL ROUND 22

Thursday: Canberra Raiders v Melbourne Storm, venue to be confirmed, 7.50pm.