As far as preparations for club debuts are concerned, new Canberra Raider Joey Leilua's was far from perfect.

Having sat out a week after his mid-season switch from Newcastle, Leilua boarded a plane to Auckland on Wednesday still unaware if he'd play against the Warriors on Saturday.

Then there's the fact he's a specialist centre not used to coming off the bench, and expected to play solely in the middle third before switching out wide when winger Jordan Rapana (lower leg) limped off.

"Yeah, it was just one of those things where I was told not long before a game to play a specific role, and that was pretty much what I did," he said. "I was happy to do that, obviously we didn't win but I thought I did all right."

Putting an outside back on the bench is rare, but the Raiders were keen for Leilua to dip his toe in the water, given he won't play first grade for another three weeks.

After their second bye next week the Raiders face Newcastle, whom Leilua is ineligible to play due to a clause in his contract at the bequest of the Knights which bans him from playing his old club this year.

Should Rapana be sidelined for an extended period the addition of Leilua is perfect timing.

The Samoan international is another class inclusion to the Raiders, who are building one of the most dangerous young back lines in the NRL. Fullback Jack Wighton, wingers Edrick Lee and Rapana and skipper Jarrod Croker are about to hit their prime.

In-form Gold Coast playmaker Aidan Sezer joins the club on a three-year deal next year, and his looming halves partnership with buy-of-the-season Blake Austin is mouth-watering.

While Lee and Rapana have done nothing wrong, Austin said Leilua was simply too dangerous to be left out and expects him to be desperate to make an impact after his messy Knights divorce.

"It was a tough game for him to prepare for. He travelled over not knowing if he was playing, told he was in the middle and then pushed out wide," Austin said.

"Mentally it would have been tough to prepare for that but he'll get another two weeks of training with us, and be ready to play. He seems like he's going well, he's fitting in well with the boys and he has a feel for the systems already.

"He'll be good for us. We've had a really formidable back line all year. It's unfortunate someone's going to have to miss out. He's just a quality player and when you get quality players in your team you have to find a way to fit them in."

The 30-8 loss to the Warriors has put the Raiders in a precarious position. Now outside the top eight with a 6-9 record, Canberra must win at least six of their remaining nine games to make finals. It's possible, given North Queensland is the only current top-eight side they play for the rest of the year.

Austin has been outstanding in his first Raiders season, but has been quiet in the back-to-back defeats to the Cowboys and Warriors.

A lack of ball in both games for Canberra didn't help, but Austin admitted he and halves partner Sam Williams were filthy with their ordinary kicking display in Auckland.

"We turned the ball over poorly, our finishes to sets weren't up to scratch," he said. "We just didn't turn the ball over in the right areas and they rolled down the field.

"We're not happy with that and we have to go back to the drawing board. We've got a couple of weeks to get it right, we've got to be better. The last few weeks we've turned the corner with our 'd' [defence], but haven't been able to bring our attack with it. We put a few back-to-back wins together, we're right back in the hunt."