Canberra Raiders' Jamal Fogarty would never refuse to wear the jersey

The Raiders face a Manly side that will have six of the seven Sea Eagles players who refused to wear the club's pride jersey against the Sydney Roosters last month.

It's a crucial clash for the Green Machine - at Canberra Stadium on Saturday - as they look to win their final two games to force their way into the top eight.

The Sea Eagles haven't won since the seven players - Josh Aloiai, Jason Saab, Christian Tuipulotu, Josh Schuster, Hamole Olakau'atu, Tolutau Koula and Toafofoa Sipley - refused to pull on the Manly jersey in round 20.

They went down to the Roosters, and then lost to Parramatta, Gold Coast and Cronulla as part of their five-game losing streak.

There's been talk of the issue dividing the playing group ever since the seven refused to play on religious grounds.

When asked whether Fogarty thought the Raiders should introduce a pride jersey next year for their NRL and NRLW teams, he said that was a decision for the management of the club.

But he said he would play in whatever jerseys the Green Machine asked him to.

"That'll be up to the club for them to make a decision on [having a pride jersey]," Fogarty said.

"But if they were to go that way we play the game of rugby league - it doesn't matter what jersey [I wear] I'll play.

"You sign up to this game as a kid to have fun and play with your mates.

"One thing you learn is not to let your mates down so I would put my hand up and not let my mates down."

Fogarty said he had an important role in getting the Raiders firing against the Sea Eagles.

They failed to come out of the sheds for the first half against the Newcastle Knights, before storming home in the second half.

A week earlier they comfortably led St George Illawarra with 15 minutes remaining before letting the Dragons back into the game.

Fogarty said the spine was starting to click after a disjointed season where they've only been playing together since State of Origin.

MORE RAIDERS NEWS

"Whenever we play a top-eight team we get up for it and we know it's on the line, but when we kind of play the teams that are sitting with us we kind of dip our toe in and want to feel to see how it's going to go," he said.

"We've got to go after the game and not let it come after us."

Manly have been decimated by injury, with their backline especially hard hit - Tom Trbojevic, Saab and Reuben Garrick all out for the rest of the season.

But Fogarty said that simply provided an opportunity for others to stake their claim - something they needed to be wary of.

Plus there's still Daly Cherry-Evans and Kieran Foran pulling the strings in the halves.

Not to mention the fact the Sea Eagles have won eight of their past 10 encounters with Canberra, including their past two.

"There's no more dangerous team than a team like that," Fogarty said.

"They had a couple of people come out and say things about them in the media - the jersey saga that went on.

"They're got nothing to lose. The way Cherry-Evans is playing this year with Kieran Foran they're going to be a threat no matter who they put in."

NRL ROUND 24

Saturday: Canberra Raiders v Manly Sea Eagles at Canberra Stadium, 3pm.

Raiders squad: 1. Xavier Savage, 2. Nick Cotric, 3. Matt Timoko, 4. Sebastian Kris, 5. Jordan Rapana, 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. Emre Guler, 16. Corey Horsburgh, 17. Corey Harawira-Naera. Reserves: 18. James Schiller, 19. Ata Mariota, 20. Matt Frawley, 21. Trey Mooney, 22. Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad.

Manly squad: 1. Tolutau Koula, 2. Ray Tuaimalo-Vaega, 3. Brad Parker, 4. Morgan Harper, 5. Christian Tuipulotu, 6. Kieran Foran, 7. Daly Cherry-Evans, 8. Josh Aloiai, 9. Lachlan Croker, 10. Toafofoa Sipley, 11. Haumole Olakau'atu, 12. Andrew Davey, 13. Dylan Walker. Interchange: 14. Ben Trbojevic, 15. Josh Schuster, 16. Martin Taupau, 17. Kurt De Luis. Reserves: 18. Ethan Bullemor, 19. Kaeo Weekes, 20. James Roumanos, 21. Jamie Humphreys, 22. Jacob Sykes.

We've made it a whole lot easier for you to have your say. Our new comment platform requires only one log-in to access articles and to join the discussion on The Canberra Times website. Find out how to register so you can enjoy civil, friendly and engaging discussions. See our moderation policy here.

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: