A Sydney Roosters side plagued by on and off-field dramas should not be underestimated, Canberra NRL star Terry Campese has warned.

The Raiders play their first home game of the season on Sunday against the Roosters, who are still reeling from an opening-round thrashing by South Sydney and the suspension of hooker Jake Friend following a high-range drink-driving offence.

With the Raiders also desperate for a win after their opening loss to Wests Tigers, the second-round clash is sure to be hotly contested.

But if Canberra are hungry, Campese knows the Roosters are ravenous.

"When you come out and play, all the off-field dramas get put in the back," Campese said.

"They got beat by 50 points last week so I don't think they need any more motivation to come down here and play well.

"We didn't get a win last week so it should be the makings of a great game."

The Raiders, who were overrun by the Tigers despite an almost-flawless first 40 minutes on Monday, have spent the week focusing on their second-half.

Campese said the side still had a lot to improve upon but was confident ahead of Sunday's match, particularly on the back of Test winger Joel Monaghan's re-signing until the end of the 2012 season.

"Hopefully we play for two halves this time," Campese said.

"Last week I thought we were playing some good football in the first half and some exciting football.

"Everyone I talked to said they enjoyed the game and the pace of it.

"Hopefully we'll keep it up this week."

Coach David Furner said the team were determined not to let physical and mental fatigue keep them down again.

"I thought we missed a couple of opportunities late in the game but again it's about 80 minutes," Furner said.

"We've got to put in obviously a very good, strong first half, which we did last week, and follow it up by an even stronger one in the second."

And while the Roosters might appear to be down, Furner said they are definitely not out.

"They've got too many class players. It's going to be a fast and physical game and we'll be well prepared for it," he said.

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