Impressive centre Joel Monaghan is on target for an early return from a knee injury despite being omitted from the Canberra side for Saturday night's NRL game against the Wests Tigers.

Coach Matthew Elliott made only one change to the outfit which stunned Brisbane on Sunday, including forward Michael Hodgson on a five-man interchange bench.

However, Monaghan - the Raiders' leading tryscorer this season - could be a late inclusion if his knee holds up at training this week.

"Joel had a run this morning and ran quite freely," Elliott said.

"I'd obviously be delighted to have him back this weekend as his form before the injury was outstanding.

"It will really all depend on how he pulls up tomorrow and if he is okay then he's definitely in the mix for a starting jumper."

The Tigers are coming off successive 50-point thrashings at the hands of the Sydney Roosters and St George Illawarra.

"The dangers are obvious," Elliott said.

"They've had some credibility taken away in their last couple of games and they are going to be looking at getting that back pretty quickly.

"I've watched some of their games and they have been really competitive for the majority of matches.

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