What the Canberra Raiders have to do to end their two-year drought on Sunday against Knights

The side have not beaten the Newcastle Knights since Adam O'Brien took over the coaching reins in 2020, but they know what it will take - a full 80-minute performance, something they lacked against the Brisbane Broncos.

The Raiders were left scoreless in the second half at Lang Park, in their 24-18 loss, and it marked the sixth time this season it has happened to the ACT outfit.

Two Raiders - Corey Harawira-Naera and Ryan Sutton - agreed their second half start was where things went wrong and it was this they had to clean up.

Sutton deemed it likely a "lack of concentration", but if so, that was an easy fix heading into Sunday's fixture.

"We're focusing on our starts," he said.

"We really didn't start well in the second half. They scored within two or three minutes of the second half, and that comes down to our defensive efforts.

"We've got to look at that.

"We've just got to make sure we're concentrating from minute zero all the way up to the 80 minutes."

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Knights superstar Kalyn Ponga was a possibility to miss the round 15 fixture after failing a HIA in his side's 42-6 loss to the Penrith Panthers last weekend.

But he was named on Tuesday by Newcastle to start, and make the trip to Canberra Stadium.

Meanwhile the Raiders will receive a boost with Jordan Rapana returning from suspension, slotting back onto the wing.

Sutton admitted the next few weeks were crucial for his side in the run to the finals, but they were focused on the task in front of them.

He said the Knights had some big, powerful middles, and "some real troubles on the edges".

"We're going to have to be on our A-game," the Raiders' prop said.

"We've got to get wins, because if we want to get into a top eight we need to get some wins together now.

"We know that [the Knights] are a really tough side, and they've got some really powerful assets and powerful players that are going to come out there firing."

One player will come out firing for the Raiders will be Harawira-Naera, as he looks to make an impact off the bench.

The second rower is hunting more minutes after his Raiders' NSW Cup demotion and 19-minute stint against the Broncos.

The 27-year-old admitted it was good to be back playing after the disappointment of being dropped, but his attention was on his job against Newcastle.

"The last few times they've beat us through the middle, I think we were a bit rusty in the second half as a middle on the weekend," Harawira-Naera said.

"So we know we have to be up for it but knowing that they've normally beaten us through the middle is another bit of motivation we need to take into this game."

Sunday - Canberra Raiders v Newcastle Knights, 2pm at Canberra Stadium.

Canberra Raiders: 1. Xavier Savage, 2. Nick Cotric, 3. Matt Timoko, 4. Sebastian Kris, 5. Jordan Rapana, 6. Jack Wighton, 7. Jamal Fogarty, 8. Josh Papalii, 9. Zac Woolford, 10. Joe Tapine, 11. Hudson Young, 12. Elliott Whitehead (C), 13. Adam Elliott. Reserves: 14. Tom Starling, 15. Ryan Sutton, 16. Corey Harawira-Naera, 17. Corey Horsburgh, 18. Brad Schneider, 19. James Schiller, 20. Trey Mooney, 21. Semi Valemei, 22. Adrian Trevilyan.