Canberra Raiders hope for best as Ryan Sutton gets scans on knee

Sutton got his leg caught and twisted awkwardly in a tackle in the Raiders' 38-28 victory over the Cronulla Sharks at Kogarah on Saturday.

He limped off just before half-time with the early diagnosis a high-grade strain of the medial ligament.

Whether he's torn his ACL as well remains to be seen, but the popular Englishmen could miss another NRL finals campaign after he was omitted ahead of the 2019 play-offs.

"He'll get scans [Monday], but we're just hoping it's not the ACL," Stuart said on Sunday.

"It's just so disappointing for Ryan. He's had a wonderful season. He's been really dedicated since the off-season and worked to get to the back end of the season to play finals football. It's sad."

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It's also another blow to the Raiders' middle stocks, where they're already missing Corey Horsburgh (foot) and Emre Guler (ankle) for what looks like the rest of the season.

But it's also an area where they've developed plenty of depth in the process, further bolstered by the mid-season arrival of Corey Harawira-Naera and the return of Sia Soliola (face) from injury in the win over Cronulla.

Plus most of the pack - Josh Papalii, Elliott Whitehead, John Bateman and Joe Tapine - will go into Saturday's NRL elimination final against the Sharks at Canberra Stadium fresh after a weekend off.

All of their middle forwards have stepped up at times during the season - from Papalii to Dunamis Lui to Siliva Havili to Hudson Young - as they've shared the load to cover whenever needed.

"Our depth has done a good job to get us to where we are now," Stuart said.

"[The middles] had to take an extra workload on. It's been a really big season for them. They've had to cover for the guys that were injured."

Soliola's return adds to that depth for the play-offs after he successfully got through his return unscathed.

He was confident they could cover Sutton if needed, but that didn't stop him from feeling for his fellow forward.

Soliola knew exactly what Sutton was going through, having only just returned from a serious injury and a 2.5-month absence himself.

Sutton's averaged 111 run metres in his 16 games this season and has provided plenty of energy off the bench.

"We're quite fortunate that we do have guys that are very good in that area," Soliola said.

"I feel for Sutto - or anyone that gets injured around this time as well because they've done all the hard work.

"Sutto's been amazing since he's come back and actually played first grade.

"He's probably been one of our most consistent performers week-in, week-out. It's a bloody hard job."

While Soliola's return from injury went to plan - he ran for 158 metres and made 23 tackles in his 48 minutes of work - the rested players were also refreshed and ready to face the Sharks.

Fullback Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad (ribs) and winger Jordan Rapana (knee) had little niggles to get over, while halfback George Williams had concussion protocols to complete.

They'll also welcome back co-captain Jarrod Croker and Clive Churchill Medallist Jack Wighton.

"They'll be fine. Obviously they trained this week and got through what they needed to do from a rehabilitation and training point of view," Stuart said.

NRL ELIMINATION FINAL

Saturday: Canberra Raiders v Cronulla Sharks, 5.40pm.