Croker also believes the club is in a far better position going into their final three rounds than they were a year ago, and felt they were well placed to play finals next season.

Croker and winger Edrick Lee said they'd missed Soliola's presence on the left edge since he fractured his cheekbone against the North Queensland Cowboys three weeks ago.

The Kiwi's defence, experience and talk have helped solidify that side of the field, but Croker said it wasn't just his presence on the field that had helped the club.

He said Soliola had also helped him with his captaincy.

Croker is in his first season leading the Raiders and at 24 is the youngest captain in the NRL.

He said 29-year-old Soliola had been a valuable mentor and also praised his teammates for stepping up their leadership in Soliola's absence.

"It's tough, Sia's one of our leaders on and off the field, he's got so much experience," Croker said.

"A lot of people won't think how much we miss Sia until he's actually gone.

"He makes his 40-odd tackles a game and his hit-ups and metres, just leads by example.

"As well as that his talk at training and his talk off the field, it's been great for me  as a young captain, it's really helped me.

"A lot of the boys, [Fensom], and Josh Hodgson and [Frank-Paul Nu'uausala] and guys like that have stepped up their leadership as well as myself to help cover Sia."

Lee had similar praise for Soliola, saying he was "instrumental on the left edge".

The Raiders' heart-breaking loss to Manly on Sunday has all but ended their chances of playing finals.

It also meant they're only two points above the last-placed Titans, who they face on the Gold Coast on Sunday.

Lee said there was no shortage of motivation to beat the Titans, especially for a game the Queenslander considers a home one.

"We're looking as a team to win the last three games, finish the season off on a high and see where we finish," he said.

"The motivation's always there to win, that's why we play rugby league is to win."

Raiders coach Ricky Stuart has bolstered the depth of the squad this season, bringing in players like Soliola, hooker Josh Hodgson and star five-eighth Blake Austin.

This time last year they were second-last with 14 points, while they're currently 11th with 20.

They might be in a similar position, but Croker was adamant they'd made big improvements in 2015.

"We're in a lot better shape than we were this time last year," he said.

"I think around round 20 or round 19 we were pretty much shot last year.

"The players, the vibe, the culture, we're in a pretty good spot at the moment and that's only going to get better.

"We're a young group, there's a lot of young faces here and a couple of old heads to steady the ship.

"I think the club's grown so much over the last 12 months, hopefully this time next year we're sitting pretty in the top four."

NRL ROUND 24

Sunday: Gold Coast Titans v Canberra Raiders at the Gold Coast, 2pm. TV Time: Live on Fox Sports 1.