If they are to though, they are going to win each of the remaining two games - made harder in round 24 by a five-day turnaround.

"The short weeks are tough, as you can't do much on the training field in terms of rectifying certain parts from the weekend's loss," said Aitken, who explained his apparent calf injury was no more than a cork and that he was only resigned to light training duties as a precaution.

"Everyone is extremely disappointed to not walk away with the two points against Brisbane, as we all felt we did enough to win, especially as we scored more tries than them.

"At the end of the day, we're all professionals here and as hard as the loss was to take, we've all regrouped over the past few days - the NRL landscape is constantly evolving.

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"We've done a lot of video work thus far on the Broncos loss and will start looking ahead to Canberra very soon.

"The main aspect we want to achieve during this five-day turnaround is freshening up and getting our bodies right for Friday."

The BB Print Stadium fixture with the Green Machine looms as a must-win for both sides, as the Raiders sit one spot ahead of the Warriors in 10th going into the final two weeks.

"We get a chance to quickly make amends on Friday and show why we deserve to play finals," he said.

"Obviously we need some things to fall our way but if we control what we can control on the field, I'm confident we will be right come the 80th minute on Friday.

"If we can shut down Canberra's left-edge, in particular, limit Jack Wighton's impact, and win the wrestle against their big forward pack, it'll go a long way to getting the win too."

One aspect the Merimbula-Pambula junior has been controlling lately from a personal perspective is his play in the back-row - a position he's starred in over the past four rounds.

During that span, he is averaging 135.5 metres run, 35 tackles, five tackle breaks and close to one try per contest.

"With me missing so much footy this season, it's been really pleasing to be able to string some strong performances together the past few weeks," the 26-year-old said.

"At first, the extra workload being one defender in took some getting used to but apart from that, the transition has been seamless really - as I spent time in my juniors in the back-row before shifting to the centres.

"I've also found there's less decision making in the back-row too, as your just going off instinct a lot of the time - I know the team has been really impressed with my defence and I'll be looking to keep that going against Canberra."

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Funnily enough, during his time as a junior back-rower, Aitken actually played with current second-row partner Joshua Curran in the NSW under 16s representative side.

"I was the only country bloke in that state team and came off the bench that day and gained the man of the match honours for my performance in the back-row," the 133-game NRL veteran said.

"I sort of made my name in juniors in the back-row before shifting to the centres the following year and never looked back.

"I've enjoyed the challenge of playing back in the forwards lately and am torn where I'd like to play my footy long-term, as I'd previously established myself as a centre - nearly getting picked in the Blues side one year.

"I feel I've played the best footy of my career in the centres and can offer the team more there but right now, I'm happy to play wherever the coaches think I can best benefit the side - my versatility is definitely added another string to my bow.

"I'm sure [Nathan] Browny and I will have chats about that during the off-season but right now, all I'm focusing on is helping this team make finals."