Canberra Raiders look to get 'fair dinkum' against Penrith Panthers

But Canberra Raiders veteran Sia Soliola would rather take on a Penrith Panthers outfit boasting Viliame Kikau than one without him. Rest assured John Bateman would too.

It sounds a little crazy, but Soliola wants to take on the best of the best if the Raiders are to be "fair dinkum" about making a statement in his 100^th game for the club.

And you can rest assured the rest of Canberra's pack would have preferred to take Kikau on - not least of which Bateman, who wound up with a fractured eye socket last time the two tangled.

Kikau has been rubbed out for two weeks after being found guilty of a grade on shoulder charge at the NRL judiciary on Tuesday night.

It rules him out of Penrith's clash with the Raiders in a top eight showdown at Panthers Stadium on Sunday and denies fans the chance to see Bateman and Kikau collide once more.

"It's always been a tough one, you could flip a coin with the way it has been handled this year," Soliola said of the judicial process.

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"The word that always comes to mind is consistency, everyone is calling about consistency.

"I'd like to see him play because you want to see him play, [you want to play] against the best opposition, the best outfit."

But the fourth-placed Raiders will have no lack of motivation as they look to shore up a spot in the four against a side riding a seven-game winning streak.

"Defence is key, it has always been key, it has been our focal point this year. We've got to help ourselves in attack, we can't keep giving away cheap possession like we did last week," Soliola said.

"We were fortunate enough that our desperation got us over the line at the end. If we're going to be fair dinkum, [we've got to be better] especially against a powerful Penrith pack."

A collision with Kikau saw Bateman come off second best with a fractured eye socket when the Raiders christened Wagga Wagga in May.

The injury was the only blip on the radar in Bateman's maiden NRL season.

The fiery Englishman hailing from one of Bradford's roughest housing estates has played a huge role in turning Canberra's into one of the toughest defensive units in the competition.

Raiders skipper Jarrod Croker says Bateman is by no means operating alone - but he is the one driving a newfound mentality which has seen Canberra emerge as a top four contender.

"We've had a massive change in mentality and it has come off the back of him," Croker said.

"Ryan Sutton has been great, some of our new guys have bought in really well, Charnze [Nicoll-Klokstad], Bailey Simonsson, they've really fit into the culture and bought into it.

"Someone like Batty does lead that. His mentality, he's very aggressive defensively, he carries the ball hard, he is hard to tackle and he wants to win every little play he is involved in.

"He won't be worried [about the collision that left him with a fractured eye socket].

"He'll be worried about putting together another good performance and getting the win."

Elliott Whitehead knew what he was getting when Bateman signed with the club - a ferocious competitor that celebrates an opposition error like he has scored a hat-trick.

"He carries on a bit," Whitehead joked.

"He does bring a lot of energy, he wants to win, he's a tough competitor. That's what he brings, he gets all the other boys rallying around him.

"As long as he keeps doing that, I'm sure the other boys will follow him."