Senior Canberra Raiders say they must find a way to combat teams trying to stifle their attack after coach Ricky Stuart slammed the "cheating" tactics by some opponents.
Prop Shannon Boyd and try-scoring machine Jordan Rapana conceded the Raiders attack had been stifled this season by teams pushing the boundaries to shut them down.
Stuart hit-out at rivals after the Raiders beat the Sydney Roosters last weekend, saying teams were being allowed to split their marker defence to shut down the Green Machine.
Rapana, who has been explosive out of dummyhalf, said the challenge for the Raiders was finding a way to hit top gear in attack regardless of opposition tactics."
"I've definitely [noticed teams doing that], it almost feels like you've got nowhere to run," Rapana said.
"Teams have done a good job in restricting me and Joey [Leilua], and the other boys as well.
"But we just need to change up our way of running. We've been doing that and it's allowing us to get on the front-foot a bit more.
"You can't get caught at marker if you're not scooting so it's just about taking a step off."
Stuart was frustrated the Raiders were penalised for splitting players at the ruck when he feels other teams are getting away with the move against Canberra.
"You've got to be scrappy at the ruck, you've got to slow us down at the ruck, you've got to cheat at the ruck. The more you cheat at the ruck, the more you stifle our attack. It's as simple as that," Stuart said.
Boyd added: "They are a lot scrappier around the ruck and lay on you a lot more. But as a team you've got to do that to stop us.
"As [Stuart] said, if you don't, well it's going to be hard to stop our play. When we get quick play-the-balls it helps us and we build momentum.
"You can notice it a bit more [this year], but it's something we've got to work with and move on from."
The Raiders are aiming for a hat-trick of wins for the first time this year when they play the Manly Sea Eagles at Brookvale on Sunday.
The players have found form in the past two weeks, beating the Parramatta Eels and the Roosters for a mid-year injection of confidence.
They will be bolstered by the return of Josh Papalii against Manly, with the Queensland enforcer the only change to the Canberra team after the State of Origin opener on Wednesday night.
"I think we played more as a team last week and showed a lot more character so that was good," Boyd said.
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"I think we're on the right path and if we can keep doing that, and complete [our sets] at 80 per cent it should be good."
Bench forward Dunamis Lui is finding his feet in Canberra after moving to the capital at the end of the year.
The 27-year-old is playing against one of his former clubs and there will be plenty of extra feeling after Manly snatched a golden-point win against Canberra six weeks ago.
"I'm happy to see my game up a little bit from where it was but I've got to keep working hard," Lui said.
"I enjoyed my time at Manly but they're pretty much a different team now."
NRL ROUND 13
Sunday: Manly Sea Eagles v Canberra Raiders at Brookvale Oval, 2pm. TV time: Live on Fox Sports 2.
Raiders team: 1. Jack Wighton, 2. Nick Cotric, 3. Jarrod Croker, 4. Joey Leilua, 5. Jordan Rapana, 6. Blake Austin, 7. Aidan Sezer, 8. Junior Paulo, 9. Josh Hodgson , 10. Shannon Boyd, 11. Josh Papalii, 12. Elliott Whitehead, 13. Sia Soliola. Interchange from: 14. Adam Clydsdale, 15. Joe Tapine, 16. Clay Priest, 17. Dunamis Lui, 18. Scott Sorensen , 19. Royce Hunt, 20. Brent Naden, 21. Lachlan Croker.
Manly team: 1. Matt Wright, Jorge Taufua, 3. Dylan Walker, 4. Brian Kelly, 5. Akuila Uate, 6. Blake Green, 7. Daly Cherry-Evans, 8. Brenton Lawrence, 9. Apisai Koroisau, 10. Martin Taupau, 11. Frank Winterstein, 12. Curtis Sironen, 13. Jake Trbojevic. Interchange from: 14. Lewis Brown, 15. Jackson Hastings, 16. Nate Myles, 17. Addin Fonua-Blake, 18. Jarrad Kennedy, 19. Cameron Cullen, 20. Jonathan Wright, 22. Lloyd Perrett.
