Wighton returned to Raiders training on Wednesday afternoon just hours after pleading not guilty to three charges of assault occasioning actual bodily harm, five counts of common assault and public urination.

The rugby league field and Raiders headquarters will be Wighton's sanctuary for the coming months before the matter returns to the ACT Magistrates Court on July 10.

He has been picked to play against the Eels at Canberra Stadium on Saturday night and his teammates are adamant the off-field drama won't have an impact on performance.

"Jack is a strong lad, from what I see around training he's doing awesome," said Jordan Rapana.

"I've got no doubt if he does play with us, he will absolutely kill it. We've just got to get on with it no matter what happens, we've got a job to do here. We've got a great squad and I believe we can get the job done."

Lock Luke Bateman added: "To be honest it doesn't really have anything to do with anyone else, so it hasn't affected anyone too much.

"To be professional and be a good team you have to [back up] every week. The way we've been preparing ... we won't change that. It just comes back to the individual to make sure they're in the right head space on game day."

Coach Ricky Stuart will be in charge of his 350th NRL match when the Raiders clash against the Eels and attempt to build on the confidence gained from a crucial victory last week.

The Raiders finally showed some spark when they beat the Canterbury Bulldogs, snapping a four-game losing run to start the season despite finishing the game with no fit reserves.

But the desperation that made them so dangerous against the Bulldogs is the reason why they're on high alert for a Parramatta ambush in the capital.

The Eels are anchored to the bottom of the ladder and haven't won a game so far this year, slumping to five consecutive losses.

"The Eels have their backs against the walls, so they're going to come out throwing everything they've got," Rapana said.

"They've got Clint Gutherson back so he'll be a big boost for them. We can only control what we do, we just have to make sure we defend like we did last week and the points will take care of themselves."

Stuart has recalled Josh Papalii and Blake Austin to bolster the side after the pair were dropped to reserve grade following the Green Machine's poor start to the season.

Papalii is set to come off the bench for the first time in two years and only the sixth time since his debut season in 2011.

"It doesn't change too much ... to have a guy like Papa coming on and playing less minutes [than he usually does], he might be able to get through a bit more work in a shorter time," Bateman said.

"If anything, that excites me. To get the big man running a few more and it will be good.

"We had a tough couple of weeks [to start the year] and [Austin and Papalii] probably felt the brunt of it in terms of being dropped. It was a wake-up call when you see guys of their calibre getting sent [back to reserve grade] because they weren't performing. It was a wake up to start performing and lift, or you're gone.

"[The Eels] will be like we were last week. They'll be desperate, they'll be fired up and I imagine they'll be coming at us off the back fence."

NRL ROUND SIX

Saturday: Canberra Raiders v Parramatta Eels at Canberra Stadium, 7.35pm. Tickets available from Ticketek.

Raiders squad: 1. Jack Wighton, 2. Nick Cotric, 3. Jarrod Croker (C), 4. Joey Leilua, 5. Jordan Rapana, 6. Blake Austin, 7. Aidan Sezer, 8. Sia Soliola, 9. Siliva Havili, 10. Junior Paulo, 11. Joe Tapine, 12. Elliott Whitehead, 13. Luke Bateman. Interchange: 14. Ata Hingano, 15. Shannon Boyd, 16. Josh Papalii, 17. Dunamis Lui, 18. Liam Knight, 19. Michael Oldfield, 20. Brad Abbey, 21. Jack Murchie

Eels squad: 1. Clint Gutherson, 2. George Jennings, 3. Michael Jennings, 4. Kirisome Auva'a, 5. Bevan French, 6. Corey Norman, 7. Mitchell Moses, 8. Peni Terepo, 9. Kaysa Pritchard, 10. Tim Mannah (c), 11. Manu Ma'u, 12. Tony Williams, 13. Tepai Moeroa. Interchange: 14. Beau Scott, 15. Kenny Edwards, 16. Daniel Alvaro, 17. Kane Evans, 18. Will Smith, 19. David Gower, 20. Suaia Matagi, 21. Josh Hoffman