Lachlan Croker backs Manly redemption as hoodoo stat threatens Canberra Raiders' NRL finals hopes

And the good news for Manly fans after weeks of being dragged through the mud - first because seven players refused to wear a pride jersey and now speculation about Hasler's future beyond this year - is that they have history on their side this week.

Croker and the Sea Eagles will attempt to play the role of finals destroyers at Canberra Stadium, having lost just seven games against the Raiders since 2004. They have also won eight of the past 10 clashes, and the past two in a row.

It's a 18-year hoodoo that threatens to ruin the Raiders' top-eight hopes, with the Green Machine needing to win their last two games and rely on favourable results to sneak into the play-offs.

Manly was walking the same late-season tightrope just a few weeks ago before the furore around their inclusion jersey shattered any chance they had of a finals run.

Croker, though, says all of that pain should not fall on Hasler as talk ramps up about his future.

"It's disappointing the performances [since the pride jersey drama] haven't been great," Croker said. "But within the group, it's been all hands on deck and everyone's got a lot of love for each other.

"It's disappointing the time we've had since has been blamed on that week, which is not the case.

"It's hard to put it on the coach, there's only so much they can do because they're not out there. I've never understood [the criticism] of coaches when a team's effort areas aren't great.

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"I feel for Des in that respect. He's one of the hardest workers I've worked with. It's obviously bringing a lot of guys down the way we've been going, it's about looking after each other as individuals and people."

The Raiders have been facing do-or-die matches for almost a month, winning five of the past six games just to stay in touch with eighth spot.

But they did need to turn to their bench bash brothers for a spark last weekend against Newcastle, with coach Ricky Stuart giving Emre Guler and Corey Horsburgh a licence to cause havoc.

Their injection helped turn the game in the Raiders' favour, overcoming a disastrous first half to win and stay in the hunt for a return to the finals.

"[Stuart] gave me and 'Big Red' a job to come on and change the momentum [last weekend]," Guler said.

"I thought [Horsburgh] did that really well ... a couple of big hits, fired the boys up and we were able to play some footy off the back of that.

"We just needed something to change the momentum and hang on to that. We use it to fuel the fire ... it definitely helped.

"I think it's about not lowering our standards at the start of game, it doesn't matter who you [play]. We were lucky to save it. A lot of the games we've played this year we've been chasing, which makes it a lot harder.

"It was sort of like a bad dream. We knew if we didn't get the win the season would be over ... but there was no panic button there."

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