CANBERRA captain Alan Tongue has done all he can behind the scenes of what has been a horror week for the Raiders in a bid to prevent the off-field drama ruining the club's campaign to make the finals.

Tongue is regarded as one of the finest leaders in the NRL and he has shown why in the past few days. He and other senior players have addressed the playing group on the importance of not letting the Todd Carney-Bronx Goodwin drama put them off their game. Tongue has also spoken to many players individually.

The inevitably negative headlines about the two players' off-field behaviour have dwarfed Canberra's rich form, of four wins from their past six matches, as they prepare for a huge game against Gold Coast at Canberra Stadium tomorrow.

The best- and worst-case scenarios for the ninth-placed Raiders, depending on the other weekend results, are that a win could take them into the top eight and a loss could leave them three points out of it. They are one point behind eighth-placed Penrith.

Asked yesterday how difficult it had been to keep the players focused on the Titans game, Tongue replied: "When you lose your main playmaker [Carney], particularly under the circumstances in which it has happened, it has to be a distraction.

"But the fact remains that we're excited about the form we're taking into this game and myself and the other senior players have tried to get the guys to concentrate on thinking about that. The message has been 'let's get on with the job and concentrate on moving forward'.

"I think we've managed to do that reasonably well so far. We had a really good training session this morning, so that was a big positive. But we've got to make sure we stay on top of things right up to the game now. It would be a shame if we let what has happened cost us a win.

"I think the leadership qualities of a few guys at the club have come to the fore this week. The senior guys have all had something to say. The coaching staff have as well. My role is to get the guys focused on playing and also to make sure I bring my best game and lead by example.

"I think that, as a team, we have dealt with things as professionally as we can. We're all disappointed about what has happened, but we've taken the attitude that we've got to get on with things and not let it affect our chances of getting a win."

Tongue had spoken to Carney and Goodwin since they had been stood down from playing. He said: "They're devastated. I imagine they feel like they've let down the club."

Tongue said that it would be wrong to describe the player who would take Carney's place at halfback against the Titans - 21-year-old Marc Herbert, and who would be making his first-grade debut - as merely a fill-in.

"Marc's a pretty good player," Tongue said. "He's been playing well for our feeder club, Souths Logan [in the Queensland Cup]. He was competing with Terry Campese for the five-eighth spot here at the start of the year, but he picked up a hamstring injury and that set him back.

"He's excited about playing. He's waited a long time for his chance and I'm sure he'll lead us around the field well. Marc's been training with us every week, before heading north at the end of the week to play for Souths Logan, so we're very familiar with him. If he does well, then he'll be putting pressure on to stay in the team."