The Raiders' NRL rivals Manly have been swamped in controversy this week after the Sea Eagles announced they would wear a pride jersey with rainbow stripes on it for their potentially finals-defining clash against the Sydney Roosters at Brookvale on Thursday night.

But seven Manly players refused to wear the jersey on religious grounds and won't play against the Roosters.

The Sea Eagles were locked in a battle to make the top eight, along with the Roosters, Raiders and St George Illawarra, with the players' withdrawal seriously impacting their chances of playing finals.

It's led to discussions about whether the NRL should introduce a pride round.

The Sydney Swans play an annual AFL pride game against St Kilda, while the AFLW has a pride round.

Whitehead said he would back the initiative if it was brought into the NRL.

"I have no problem with doing that. I'd be all for it and I'm sure a majority of our team would as well," he said.

"That [drama's] nothing to with our club at the moment, that's somewhere else, but if that comes out of that then I'm sure the club will go in the right direction."

Whitehead played his first game back from a knee infection that ruled him out of the win over the Melbourne Storm and was back to full fitness as they prepare to face the Gold Coast Titans.

They're just points differential outside the top eight as part of the group of four teams, along with Manly, the Roosters and Dragons, on the same competition points.

A win over the Titans on the Gold Coast on Saturday will keep them in the race for a finals berth.

Whitehead said there was a belief among the squad if they do make the eight then they won't just be making up the numbers.

"You look at the games we have lost and a majority we've lost have been by 4-8 points against some of the best sides in the league at the moment," he said.

"So we're definitely there, we just need to focus on getting in there and we can give it a real shake up.

"It's something we've spoken about and something we're capable of doing so we'll be looking to build on the last two wins and keep pushing forward towards the eight."

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It's a different story for the Titans, who can't make the finals this year.

Whitehead felt that made them a dangerous opponent - especially given they like to throw the ball around.

He said it was one of the reasons why they couldn't be complacent against the Gold Coast - especially with players like second-rower David Fifita on the field.

Whitehead, who plays on the Raiders' right edge, will come up against Fifita on Saturday.

"I don't think the Gold Coast have got anything to play for now so they're going to be very dangerous," Whitehead said.

"They're going to throw the ball around and want to enjoy the rest of their season.

"We've just got to stick to our game plan. It's worked for us over the last couple of weeks.

"They've got some key players that can score from anywhere on the field, but as long as we're doing what we know works for us - kicking in corners and backing our defence to not let them out of their half - I'm sure we'll be alright."

NRL ROUND 20

Saturday: Canberra Raiders v Gold Coast Titans at Gold Coast, 3pm.

Raiders squad: 1. Xavier Savage, 2. Nick Cotric, 3. Matt Timoko, 4. Sebastian Kris, 5. Albert Hopoate, 6. Jack Wighton, 7. Jamal Fogarty, 8. Josh Papalii, 9. Zac Woolford, 10. Joe Tapine, 11. Hudson Young, 12. Elliott Whitehead (c), 13. Adam Elliott. Interchange: 14. Tom Starling, 15. Ryan Sutton, 16. Emre Guler, 17. Corey Harawira-Naera. Reserves: 18. Matt Frawley, 19. Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad, 20. Ata Mariota, 21. Semi Valemei, 22. Peter Hola.

Titans squad: 1. AJ Brimson, 2. Sosefo Fifita, 3. Phillip Sami, 4. Brian Kelly, 5. Patrick Herbert, 6. Tanah Boyd, 7. Toby Sexton, 8. Moeaki Fotuaika, 9. Aaron Booth, 10. Tino Fa'asuamaleaui, 11. David Fifita, 12. Beau Fermor, 13. Erin Clark. Interchange: 14. Jayden Campbell, 15. Herman Ese'ese, 16. Isaac Liu, 17. Jaimin Jolliffe. Reserves: 18. Sam McIntrye, 19. Corey Thompson, 20. Greg Marzhew, 21. Alofiana Khan-Pereira, 22. Paul Turner.

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