Canberra skipper Alan Tongue believes the Raiders will need to be at their defensive best to triumph in their NRL first-round clash against Wests Tigers on Monday night.

The Raiders travel to Campbelltown Stadium, where they've been undefeated since 2005, hoping to pick up where they left off last season, having won seven of their last nine games to surge into the finals.

Conversely, the Tigers are hungry for redemption, having failed to make the finals three years in a row.

A potentially deadly hooker-halfback combination in the form of Tigers captain Robbie Farah and Benji Marshall might just be the tonic and Tongue knows keeping the duo down will be the key to round one.

"They are two of the greatest attacking players in the NRL so we've got do a job on that for sure," Tongue told AAP.

"It's a game that we need to be extremely disciplined at defensively.

"Their players just keep attacking, attacking, just waiting for you to slip up and then they just make the most of their opportunity.

"So it's going to be a game that we really need to be at our best.

"It'll be a great challenge for us."

Having recovered from a thumb injury, Tongue's inclusion is a massive boost for the Green Machine, who are without injured front rowers Troy Thompson (Achilles), Scott Logan (Ankle) and Dane Tilse (ankle).

Josh Miller and recruit David Shillington will fill the gap.

Rookie head coach David Furner said while his men are alert to the Tigers arsenal, they will remain focused on their own game.

"We've got a fairly mobile pack so we need to concentrate on what we need to do," he said.

"What we've got is a very strong squad and guys with opportunity.

"We've got our strategy and we just need to execute that and put ourselves into a game.

"It's about ball control."

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