Canberra Raiders centre Joey Leilua hit with two-game NRL ban

Leilua is facing a two-week ban that will sideline the star Raiders centre until the opening week of the finals.

He has been hit with a grade one dropping knees charge for the incident that gifted Manly Warringah Sea Eagles winger Reuben Garrick an eight-point try in the top four clash over the weekend.

The brain explosion that turned the game on its head has a base charge of 200 points.

An early guilty plea would see the charge reduced to 180 points, but 50 carryover points from a previous charge tip Leilua over the edge once more.

An early guilty plea will rub Leilua out for two weeks and leave him with 30 carryover points. He would miss two weeks and have 90 carryover points if he opts to fight the charge and loses.

It means he will miss a road trip to Sydney to face the Cronulla Sharks and a return home against the New Zealand Warriors as Canberra look to secure a place in the top four in round 25.

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Stuart pulled Leilua aside to speak about the incident in the wake of Canberra's four-point defeat against Manly and believes the eight-point try was "justified".

But he will now be forced to find another option at right centre on the run to the finals just two games into Leilua's comeback from what the club feared was season-ending neck surgery.

Nick Cotric looms as the most likely option to fill the void in Canberra's clash with the Sharks on Sunday.

His shift to the right edge inside Jordan Rapana would see Bailey Simonsson reclaim a starting position on the left wing outside Raiders captain Jarrod Croker.

Leilua's ban means he will have been limited to two matches since April come the opening week of the finals series in mid-September.

Stuart says it is vital the Raiders take a lesson out of the Manly game heading into the business end of the season.

The Raiders are now locked in a three-way battle for third and fourth spots on the table but a favourable points differential will be a huge boost in their bid to secure a second chance in September.

But Canberra forward Ryan Sutton says it will count for little unless the Raiders can find a way to adjust when the momentum swings in favour of the opposition.

"We've just got to learn on the go," Sutton said.

"Especially during the game, we can't fall into the opposition's game plan and make sure we stick to our own game plan. It just got away from us [against Manly].

"Especially going into the next few weeks, we've got to make sure we keep focused on what we need to do.

"It's a collective effort. We've all got to recognise it, we've got our leaders, but it's a team effort at the end of the day.

"There's 13 players on the field and we have all got to recognise it when the momentum starts to flip and get back into it.

"We let that one slip and we can't leave it to the last five or 10 minutes, we've got to control it for the full 80."

Sutton is likely to hold his place in the starting side with Stuart reluctant to rush Joe Tapine back from a rib injury on the eve of the finals.

The English import set the tone for the Green Machine in the opening exchanges of the Manly clash but, like so many of the 20,265 that had rolled into Canberra Stadium, he left frustrated.

"It's always good being back in the starting side, but you want to play in the winning team," Sutton said.

"It's good to be back out there starting-wise, but I'd do anything just to get the two points.

"We spoke about it, we've got to take it to their middles, and at the end of the day we're one of the most prolific forward packs in the league.

"We get through a lot of work and our game plan was to work over their middles. It's all good starting well, but you've got to make sure you're playing good footy for 80 minutes."