Ricky Stuart set to equal Tim Sheens' Canberra Raiders coaching record against Manly

As the Canberra Raiders fight to keep their NRL season alive, Ricky Stuart will draw level with Tim Sheens on 219 games in charge of the Green Machine - the record for games in charge of the club.

It's the perfect motivator for the Raiders players, who need to beat Manly at Canberra Stadium on Saturday to have a chance of playing finals.

Then in a nice piece of irony, Stuart will claim the record in his own right against Wests Tigers - the team Sheens will coach next year - at Leichhardt Oval in the final round.

It's another must-win for Canberra, who sit one win outside the top eight.

Three teams sit on 28 competition points - Brisbane, South Sydney and the Sydney Roosters.

Realistically, the Green Machine needs at least one of the three to lose both their remaining games for them to make the top eight.

The Broncos have a tough clash against Parramatta before a winnable game against St George Illawarra.

Souths host North Queensland before their final-round blockbuster against the Roosters, which could decide who misses out on the finals.

The Roosters were up against Melbourne in Melbourne on Friday night.

Sheens said win or lose he'll catch up for a drink with Stuart after their final-round clash, which could see the Canberra coach not only celebrating the coaching record, but a spot in the finals as well.

Currently the Tigers head of football before picking up the coaching reins again next year, Sheens gave the Raiders coach his debut as a player back in 1988 and the pair went on to play major roles in the club's golden era.

They won three premierships together - going back-to-back in 1989-90, and then adding the third in 1994.

"We'll get together for sure," Sheens said.

"I never expected it not to be broken, so for it to be broken by Ricky is ironic I spose, it's good.

"It's not an easy thing to do. To achieve that and headed towards 500 it's a great achievement.

"And if I lose the record, which obviously I'm going to, I couldn't think of a nicer bloke."

Stuart's also approaching 500 NRL games as coach, having been in charge of the Roosters for 130, Cronulla for 91 and the Eels for 24.

Sheens will add to his 669 career games at the helm next year, having also led the Tigers to a premiership in his 259 games as coach of the club.

He said people didn't realise how tough it was to be an NRL coach for so long - it's Stuart's ninth season coaching the Raiders, the same time Sheens was there.

"People don't fully understand just how much work and stress it is on you and your family to achieve some of these things and dedicate yourself," Sheens said.

"You don't do it without being dedicated and that can inflict issues on your personal life so it is quite an effort for him to be up in those 400s, let alone plus-200 in any given club, which is rare."

Sheens had one cheeky piece of advice for Stuart: "When you tell a player to come off make sure he comes off."

He's referring to the incident in 1993 when the Raiders were flogging Parramatta by 60 in the final round and Sheens sent the trainer out to take Stuart off - only for Stuart to refuse and suffer a horrific broken ankle to end his season.

"We should've won the '93 premiership as well," Sheens said.

Meanwhile, the Raiders were on the hunt for a new head of performance for next season.

Jeremy Hickmans will join the Redcliffe Dolphins for 2023 after just one campaign with the Green Machine.

He's reuniting with Wayne Bennett, who he worked with at Brisbane, St George Illawarra and Newcastle.

NRL ROUND 24

Saturday: Canberra Raiders v Manly Sea Eagles at Canberra Stadium, 3pm.

Raiders squad: 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. Interchange: 14. Tom Starling, 15. Emre Guler, 16. Corey Horsburgh, 17. Corey Harawira-Naera. Reserves: 18. James Schiller, 19. Ata Mariota, 20. Matt Frawley, 21. Trey Mooney, 22. Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad.

Manly squad: 1. Tolutau Koula, 2. Ray Tuaimalo-Vaega, 3. Brad Parker, 4. Morgan Harper, 5. Christian Tuipulotu, 6. Kieran Foran, 7. Daly Cherry-Evans, 8. Josh Aloiai, 9. Lachlan Croker, 10. Toafofoa Sipley, 11. Haumole Olakau'atu, 12. Andrew Davey, 13. Dylan Walker. Interchange: 14. Ben Trbojevic, 15. Josh Schuster, 16. Martin Taupau, 17. Kurt De Luis. Reserves: 18. Ethan Bullemor, 19. Kaeo Weekes, 20. James Roumanos, 21. Jamie Humphreys, 22. Jacob Sykes.

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