There's the history - two grand final showdowns in 1990 and 1991.

There's the banter - Panthers fans mocking the Viking Clap in April.

And there's the niggle - Stephen Crichton's deliberately provocative attempts to include Joe Tapine in a Penrith try celebration last season.

"It makes it exciting. They're the games you wish you could play," Raiders coach Stuart said.

Adding fuel to the fire was a report from Nine that claimed a "senior Raiders official" said they didn't like Penrith's "attitude" which was described as "arrogant", and that the club planned "an ambush" to "bring them down a few pegs".

Stuart was baffled by the report's claims, but welcomes the challenge the Panthers present as reigning premiers, sitting comfortably atop the NRL ladder.

"I don't know if he's been in our team meetings, but I'm certainly not planning an ambush," the coach said.

"Penrith know we're going to be tough competition, as we know Penrith will be. They're a quality football team.

"When you're involved in a high performance game, results are everything and that's what we both want."

The Panthers will be without their star halves duo Jarome Luai and Nathan Cleary, but have hooker Mitch Kenny and Origin centre Crichton back on deck for their visit to Canberra.

Viliame Kikau was a late change with a hip injury, promoting Chris Smith to the starting lineup, and giving Fiji international Sunia Turuva his NRL debut off the bench.

Jaeman Salmon will be the stand-in at five-eighth and Sean O'Sullivan will wear the No. 7 on his back.

Canberra announced late on Friday that they will be without Xavier Savage due to a niggling ankle injury, with Albert Hopoate coming in at fullback to replace him.

"We couldn't quite get Xavier's ankle right for this weekend as he's been carrying it for a couple of weeks and he needed to have a week off," Stuart said less than 24 hours before kick-off on Saturday. "It's a very important part of the season for us and we need him back on the field at 100 percent fitness.

"He's been doing a wonderful job for us over the past couple of months and we need him to get his ankle right and get him back in next week when he's fully fit."

With the tense relationship between the sides, Stuart is expecting fireworks as the Raiders bring their A-game, continuing their quest for a top-eight spot with finals around the corner.

"We probably need to get more money from the broadcasters. Every time we've got a TV game, there's something exciting," he said.

"The last couple of games we've had at home, our Melbourne game was a great game and this will be a great game.

"We're an exciting team to watch, as are Penrith."

Stuart said the return of Jordan Rapana from suspension provides the perfect boost for the big game, with the veteran winger providing "a lot of energy to the team".

The coach said he has also been impressed with the performance of Corey Harawira-Naera in recent weeks and expects him to be an X-factor coming off the bench, hinting that he could continue shine in the role in the run toward the finals.

"I'll just keep picking players that are in form," Stuart said.

"I've got [Corey] doing covering both utility roles, in regards to back-row and middle, and also as an outside back.

"His experience and his ability as a football player is a reason I've got him there. But secondly, I like carrying an OB [outside back] on the bench."

The defending premier Panthers meanwhile will arrive in Canberra after a few days on the NSW south coast on a bonding camp.

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