Ricky Stuart speaks to NRL referees as Raiders on verge of a dream run

The Green Machine have emerged as a shock contender to end a 33-year minor premiership drought this year despite a disastrous start to the season, which had some fans ripping up their memberships after the first five games.

Their clash against the Wests Tigers in Campbelltown on Friday will be the first of eight games in a row against teams below them on the ladder.

The seventh-placed Raiders play just three teams above them on the ladder in the last 12 games of the season, cracking open the door for an unexpected charge to the top.

Just six points separate first (Panthers on 18 points) and 14^th (Bulldogs on 12 points) in one of the tightest competitions in rugby league history, with the battle for top-eight spots to go down to the wire.

The Raiders play the Tigers and Warriors twice over the next two months - as well as clashes against the Roosters, Titans, Dragons and Knights - before they finally meet a team sitting above them.

They finish the season with a four-week run against the Storm, Bulldogs, Broncos and Sharks.

But the Raiders are wary of the ladder volatility having lost four of their first five games of the year and being written off by most.

The Raiders have won six of their past seven, but they are refusing to take the Tigers lightly. The Tigers have launched a resurgence of their own, winning three of their past four.

"You just turn up more desperate than your opposition," Papali'i said.

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"I've been there as a player myself where we're not sitting too well on the ladder, but being more desperate than the other team - you've got to be hungrier to get that win.

"No doubt the Tigers are going to be hungry to win on Friday but we're pretty keen as well."

To ensure they stay on track, coach Ricky Stuart sought referee interpretation clarification from the NRL this week after being on the wrong end of some confusing calls in recent weeks.

The players have privately vowed to ignore controversial decisions after admitting they were rattled by the referees in their loss to Manly two weeks ago.

Stuart flagged his frustration in his post-match press conference after the win against the Rabbitohs last weekend, but said Corey Harawira-Naera's injury was the priority on the night.

"I'll talk about that [the decisions] at the start of the week ... It's too serious of a situation [with Harawira-Naera] to be talking about what I'm upset about in regards to [referee interpretations]," Stuart said.

Asked this week if he wanted to elaborate after the dust settled, Stuart confirmed he had spoken to referees bosses David Fairleigh and Jared Maxwell.

"Yes, I have spoken to David Fairleigh and aired a number of points that have been disturbing me in regards to interpretations against our team," Stuart said.

"It wasn't about one game. It was a continuation of things and I've got to do something on behalf of the team. The referees work tirelessly, but there have been a number of interpretations where we've been on the wrong side of the ledger.

"We had a healthy discussion about it and it's not a criticism, it's just me asking for some clarity on interpretations to support my players."

Injuries have forced the Raiders into several changes this week, but hooker Zac Woolford is confident it won't derail Canberra's run.

"[The Tigers are] obviously flying high and they've had a lot of people give them pats on the backs the last couple of weeks," Woolford said.

"It's going to be a big job for us, especially the first 20 minutes, to nullify that and drag them down into an arm wrestle.

"I think they've definitely turned the corner. They're definitely a lot better than the team they were earlier in the year and we're going to have to bring our best game to Friday night and no doubt we will."

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