Jarrod Croker playing to keep his Canberra Raiders spot

And he hoped his return could spark a turnaround for the struggling Green Machine.

Whether Croker remained in the Raiders team beyond their clash against the high-flying Brisbane Broncos at Lang Park on Saturday night will come down to performance.

This will just be Croker's 14^th NRL game since the start of 2021, with firstly knee then shoulder injuries sidelining him.

It will bring him within seven games of 300 and becoming just the second Raider to accomplish the feat.

The Green Machine have struggled both with and without the ball in the outside backs so far this season, with Harley Smith-Shields making way for Croker's return.

Croker's played all five NSW Cup games for the Raiders, including kicking the winning conversion against Newcastle two weeks ago.

He looked set to reclaim the kicking duties he's held for more than a decade.

"It's been a difficult assignment for him because of the amount of injuries and disruptions he's had through injury," Stuart said.

"His perseverance and mental toughness is a credit to him.

"I know the boys enjoy playing with him - he creates that enthusiasm."

Like everyone else, Croker will have to perform to keep his spot.

The Raiders' attack was yet to fire this season - they've scored the third fewest points of all 17 clubs.

But there could be extra competition in the outside backs in the coming weeks, with fullback Xavier Savage (jaw) potentially back next week - allowing Sebastian Kris to return to the centres - and Nick Cotric (hamstring) a possibility in a fortnight.

"Like every other player it's his job to hold his jumper and that's where we're at at the moment," Stuart said.

"It's important that every individual - coach and player - do their jobs."

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Stuart's shuffle has added plenty of experience to the edges - not only Croker's 292 games, but co-captain Elliott Whitehead moving from lock to the second row.

It will see Corey Horsburgh start at lock - a role he played well in the Raiders' only win of the season, against the Cronulla Sharks - shifting Corey Harawira-Naera to the bench.

Horsburgh scored two tries and played a link-up role with his backline.

While the Raiders have added experience to the edge they've also lost some through Matt Frawley's broken hand, which has brought 22-year-old Brad Schneider into the halves alongside Jamal Fogarty.

Stuart said he was searching for a team that could return them to the winner's list after back-to-back losses.

The Raiders have won three of their past four games against the Broncos, with that loss at Lang Park last year.

"I've got to pick a team that I think's going to be better than what we delivered last week," Stuart said.

"We need to win a game of football so I've got to keep trying to find a combination to win us a game of football.

"Everyone knows there's been injuries and there's been suspensions all year, but nobody wants to hear excuses - people want to see you trying to find a combination to win a game of football and that's what we're trying to do."

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