Lee injured his hamstring in the process of scoring a try in the win against the Canterbury Bulldogs last month and it has forced him into a frustrating wait on the sideline.

Raiders players are fighting for positions in the side as increased competition for selection gives coach Ricky Stuart a welcome headache.

Lee, 23, said his leg struggled to deal with an increased training load and he'll miss the Newcastle Knights game at Canberra Stadium on Sunday. But he was looking to return against the Cowboys in less than two weeks' time.

"The hamstring's going well, I've been training really well the last couple of weeks and looking to make a return hopefully next week," Lee said.

"It took longer to recover from the workload every day so they backed off from the training and now they've picked it up and the hammy's recovering well, which puts me in a good position to be back soon."

His cousin Brenko has filled in on the left wing in his absence and after a "shaky" start he produced a breakout game scoring two tries against the Gold Coast Titans on Sunday.

Brenko is off-contract at the end of the season and has been linked to several other clubs.

While Lee said the decision was up to his cousin, he hoped he'd remain in Canberra.

"I thought the first two games he was a bit shaky, he was out of position on the left wing, but he's adjusted to it," he said.

"He's enjoying it as well, which makes it a lot easier for him to focus on his rugby league.

"He'll be looking to back that performance [against Gold Coast] up and make sure he puts in another good performance this weekend."

Prop Jeff Lima, who injured his hip in the same game Lee did his hamstring, says the arrival of Junior Paulo and Joseph Tapine is driving the forward pack to new heights. But the former New Zealand international was confident of forcing his way back into the side once he is fit.

Lima started running again on Tuesday.

While there was still some pain, he expected to be available for selection for the round 20 clash against the New Zealand Warriors.

With Paulo, Shannon Boyd, Paul Vaughan and Tapine all in form, Lima faces a fight to get back into the match-day team. But he was confident he could do so.

"We got some good depth at the club now, we've got some big boys in the team and we've got guys that came through this year, like Junior Paulo, and they've really lifted the other guys like Vaughany and Boydy," Lima said.

"Everyone's playing out of their skins to stay in the top team. There's a bit of competition now. Every week you've got to bring your best game otherwise you won't be playing.

"I'm confident, I don't see why [I can't force my way back in], if I do all the little things right I'll put my hand there and start knocking on the door."

The 33-year-old's return would provide added experience to a young pack, with Sia Soliola the only forward who played in the Titans win older than 26.

He praised the way Soliola battled on despite injuring his shoulder and ribs on the weekend.

Soliola has been named to face the Knights and Lima expected him to play.

Lima said the Raiders had extra motivation after drawing with the Knights earlier in the season.

"We're just trying to keep the boys grounded as the senior boys. We've been through these things for years and years," he said.

"We're just trying to set a good platform for the young guys that follow."

NRL ROUND 17

Sunday: Canberra Raiders v Newcastle Knights at Canberra Stadium, 2pm. Tickets available from Ticketek.