When he was throwing intercept tries and dropping the ball, the Green Machine struggled to get into gear.

And they found themselves 16-0 down against Manly on the Central Coast on Friday.

But when he was running the ball, he was dangerous.

He scored one and set up another to have four try involvements - two for the good and two for the bad - as the Raiders ended up 18-16 victors in their final trial.

His defence was strong throughout in a night that showed plenty of promise for Canberra.

Raiders coach Ricky Stuart took off most of his big guns for the final quarter as torrential rain descended on Gosford.

There'll be plenty of sore bodies from a bruising encounter.

Manly lost Martin Taupau (back) in the opening exchanges, although it wasn't expected to be too serious, while second-rower Haumole Olakau'atu suffered a suspected broken arm and Dylan Walker hurt his knee - again they didn't think it was too serious.

The Raiders could be sweating on Corey Horsburgh (ribs) after he spent time in the trainers' hands from a bell ringer.

Jamal Fogarty was solid in his first game in lime green and he'll look to continue to build his combination with Wighton.

He kicked three from three from the tee as a handy back-up option.

"The first half we gave them too many penalties and dropped a couple of balls ourselves and they were coming out of their half fairly easily," Fogarty said on Fox League.

"We spoke at half-time about possession and holding the ball and it showed in the first 20 minutes in the second half what we can do when we hold the ball.

"So we've just got to concentrate on that - especially early in the rounds when everyone's nervous and excited about footy, but if we hold our nerve and hold the ball I think we're in good stead."

While Xavier Savage started at fullback - where he was physically targeted by Manly - he spent time on the right wing in a sign of what could be to come in round one against the Cronulla Sharks at Canberra Stadium in two weeks.

With regular fullback Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad (COVID-19) set to return for the Sharks, Savage could be an option to cover Jordan Rapana's two-game suspension.

Corey Harawira-Naera might've dropped to the bench due to illness, but he looked very impressive in the second stanza when he came on - providing plenty of run and energy.

Matt Timoko could fill one of the centre spots - he got on the end of a Wighton grubber to score - while co-captain Jarrod Croker played the final 20-30 minutes at five-eighth as he continues his return from knee surgery.

Semi Valemei had a mixed bag in the centres, dropping some balls, but also showing his strong ball running.

Manly speedsters Jason Saab and Tolutau Koula both benefited from Wighton errors - Saab streaking away with an intercept, while a Wighton fumble saw Koula do the same.

The Raiders' only real defensive lapse came when Kieran Foran turned back the clock to expose the right edge for Tom Trbojevic to score.

Canberra prop Joe Tapine showed the strike the Green Machine possesses in the middle.

He barged over untouched from close range.

The Raiders now have a fortnight to prepare for round one at home against the Sharks on March 11.

AT A GLANCE

CANBERRA RAIDERS 18 (Jack Wighton, Nick Cotric, Joe Tapine tries; Jamal Fogarty 3 goals) bt MANLY SEA EAGLES 16 (Jason Saab, Tolutau Koula, Tom Trbojevic tries; Reuben Garrick 2 goals) at Gosford.