Canberra's scoring ability has never been an issue in five seasons under coach Ricky Stuart, but expect to see a more defensively-minded Raiders outfit this year.
One of the NRL's great enigmas, the Green Machine missed the finals in 2018 despite having the second-best attacking record, narrowly finishing behind preliminary finalists South Sydney.
The campaign was almost a carbon-copy of 2017; at times looking one of the competition's top teams but still losing too many close games, punctuated by blowing big leads.
Fed up with being spectators at finals time, the Raiders are changing tack.
Co-captain Josh Hodgson says the mindset and training during the pre-season had been on becoming one of the league's best defensive units.
"You look at the top teams in the competition and they aren't conceding many points form week to week so it's something we've been working on," Hodgson told AAP.
"It's never been a problem for us scoring points, it's well documented that our defence has let us down in the last couple of seasons.
"We've got a few new faces at the club so that freshens things up a bit and that's probably a good time to bring in some new structures and tighten things up."
While disappointed to see giant forwards Shannon Boyd and Junior Paulo depart, their replacements come highly regarded.
England internationals John Bateman and Ryan Sutton have arrived in the nation's capital with Super League premierships under their belt.
They are also significantly lighter than Boyd and Paulo, which will see the Raiders' forward pack rotation fall from a combined weight of 874kg to 824kg.
There will be change across the field as Jack Wighton shifts from fullback to partner Aidan Sezer in the halves.
The 26-year-old has been training at five-eighth since the completion of his 10-game ban for an alcohol-fuelled assault last year.
While Stuart has decided on moving Wighton from fullback, the Raiders boss says he's yet to pick a successor for the No.1 jersey.
"Young Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad has performed very well, Bailey Simonsson also did very well at fullback," Stuart said.
"Bailey is a very raw young boy who has not had a lot of experience at rugby league but I thought he trialled very well."
Michael Oldfield is another contender at fullback, but the journeyman is likely to start on the wing.
Canberra were rocked with a lengthy injury to a key player in an international match for the second year in a row after star winger Jordan Rapana hurt his shoulder playing for New Zealand in November.
Rapana required a shoulder reconstruction, meaning he won't return to the Raiders' team until at least round 12.
RAIDERS
Finishes over the past three seasons: 2018 - 10th, 2017 - 10th, 2016 - 2nd (preliminary finals)
Coach: Ricky Stuart
Captains: Jarrod Croker and Josh Hodgson
Key gains: John Bateman (Wigan), Ryan Sutton (Wigan), Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad (Warriors)
Key losses: Shannon Boyd (Titans), Junior Paulo (Eels), Blake Austin (Warrington)
Best team: 1. Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad, 2. Nick Cotric, 3. Jarrod Croker, 4. Joseph Leilua, 5. Michael Oldfield, 6. Aidan Sezer, 7. Jack Wighton, 8. John Bateman, 9. Josh Hodgson, 10. Ryan Sutton, 11. Elliott Whitehead, 12. Joe Tapine, 13. Josh Papalii. Bench: 14. Sia Soliola, 15. Siliva Havili, 16. Sam Williams, 17. Luke Bateman.
Predicted finish: 14th.
