Cronulla's Jack Bird has accused the NRL of double standards, questioning why Canberra Stadium can host a home final but Shark Park can't.
The Sharks go into Saturday's blockbuster with Melbourne walking a tightrope - it they win they take home the minor premiership, but a loss could sink them to third and have them miss out on a valuable home game in the first week of the finals.
Finishing third would leave them with the daunting prospect of taking on the Raiders in Canberra.
Bird said the Raiders should be forced to take any home final to Sydney after Cronulla's request to take a home final to Shark Park was knocked back by the game's governing body.
All Sydney teams have to play home finals matches in Allianz Stadium or ANZ Stadium, and Bird says it's only fair the Raiders be asked to do the same.
"A home semi is a major key, where a lot of fans come to watch. If we had a semi here at Shark Park, there'd be people on the roof, probably," he said.
"Down there I could picture the same thing.
"I just think it'd be fair that they came to Sydney and played at Allianz or ANZ."
According to the NRL's finals venue policy: "The highest qualifying teams after 26 rounds will host each match at their normal home venue, with exception to any Sydney-based NRL club, which will play their 'home game' at either the Allianz Stadium or ANZ Stadium."
The policy has long been a point of contention among Sydney clubs, in particular Manly, who have trouble convincing fans to travel to finals games.
The NRL argue many suburban Sydney grounds aren't big enough to host finals.
Bird said playing in front of home fans was a big advantage, and facing the Raiders in the nation's capital was a big ask.
"It's their home crowd, they'll get a full stadium of their fans and you know it's like going to a different territory with a majority of their fans there," Bird said.
"It's hard to get the outcome."
