'It's half a lake out there': Ricky calls for Raiders to soak up mindset

They did their final session on "half a lake" the day after they put in their submission to be part of the NRL's Las Vegas season opener 2.0.

Stuart was hopeful they'd get the lime green light to be part of the second batch of teams to play in Sin City.

The Green Machine has a natural affiliation with Las Vegas given Allegiant Stadium's the home of NFL team Las Vegas Raiders.

That could help get the locals on board the five-year plan where the NRL will begin their season with a double header in the USA.

Submissions to be one of the four teams closed on Friday, with the Raiders happy to be one of the home teams.

"I know they put a submission in," Stuart said on Saturday.

"Yeah it would be great [to play in Las Vegas in 2025]. It would be fantastic to have that opportunity, but then it's not up to me. I just worry about coaching."

That worry's focused on the Raiders getting back to winning ways against Parramatta at Canberra Stadium on Sunday.

They had their final training session in torrential rain on Saturday morning with their field at Raiders HQ half covered by water, but Canberra should have dried out in time to face the Eels.

It meant Stuart wasn't looking for a perfect captain's run from a skills point of view - more of an indication they were going in with the right attitude.

The Raiders need to bounce back from back-to-back defeats - the last of which was an error-riddled display against Cronulla.

Raiders forward Ata Mariota showed he was enjoying the conditions, with a video of him sliding through the puddles like he was a kid again.

"It's a weird one because I think [Sunday] night is going to be a lot drier than what we're going to have here," Stuart said.

"But we won't get much done from a quality point of view at training today.

"It's half a lake out there at the moment we've had so much rain.

"So we won't get a lot done from a football sense - it's more of a mindset."

Stuart threatened to ring the changes this week after the Raiders threw away an 18-point lead to lose to the Sharks.

But in the end opted to only make the one - a forced swap of Simi Sasagi for Zac Hosking (concussion).

The Canberra coach said that was down to a poor showing by the Raiders' reserves - drawing with the Newtown Jets - who Stuart travelled to watch at Henson Park last Saturday.

It meant a reprieve for a number of players who made uncharacteristic errors - like prop Corey Horsburgh and winger Xavier Savage.

"There would've been more changes made if second grade had've played better," Stuart said.

"But the players that were in NSW Cup last week were as bad as first grade. Nobody was pushing each other last week.

"I travelled down to Henson Park on Saturday to watch Cup and they were out-enthused too."

Young Raiders prop Trey Mooney has been one of the Green Machine's best this season in NSW Cup.

Many Canberra fans were hoping the off-contract bull might get a call-up to the NRL against the Eels.

Stuart said 21-year-old Mooney had some seniority ahead of him, but there was a simple way for him to get into first grade.

"Consistency. There would've been changes this week, but NSW Cup were poor last week," he said.

"The players individually across the board were poor.

"And with Trey he's a great young player and he's going to get his crack, and when he gets his crack it's his job to keep his spot.

"But he's got a little bit of seniority above him at the moment. His pathway and development has been to the tee.

"He's ready to step up and as soon as there's an opportunity for him I'm sure he's going to be hard to put out."

NRL ROUND FIVE

Sunday: Canberra Raiders v Parramatta Eels at Canberra Stadium, 6.15pm.

Raiders squad: 1. Jordan Rapana, 2. James Schiller, 3. Matthew Timoko, 4. Sebastian Kris, 5. Xavier Savage, 6. Ethan Strange, 7. Jamal Fogarty, 8. Josh Papali'i, 9. Danny Levi, 10. Joseph Tapine, 11. Hudson Young, 12. Ata Mariota, 13. Morgan Smithies. Interchange: 14. Tom Starling, 15. Corey Horsburgh, 16. Simi Sasagi, 17. Pasami Saulo. Reserves: 18. Kaeo Weekes, 20. Trey Mooney.

Eels squad: 1. Clinton Gutherson, 2. Maika Sivo, 3. Viliami Penisini, 4. Bailey Simonsson, 5. Sean Russell, 6. Blaize Talagi, 7. Dylan Brown, 8. Reagan Campbell-Gillard, 9. Joey Lussick, 10. Junior Paulo, 11. Shaun Lane, 12. Ryan Matterson, 13. J'maine Hopgood. Interchange: 14. Luca Moretti, 15. Wiremu Greig, 16. Joe Ofahengaue, 17. Kelma Tuilagi. Reserves: 19. Daejarn Asi, 22. Morgan Harper.