Canberra captain Jarrod Croker has defended the NRL club's halves, insisting they are not to blame for the Raiders' dismal form.
Halfback Aidan Sezer and five-eighth Blake Austin came under fire following the Raiders' 31-18 loss to North Queensland on Saturday night, their fourth-straight defeat.
NRL greats Andrew Johns and Brett Kimmorley were among the pair's critics, but Croker doesn't believes Canberra's playmakers are the reason their season is hanging in the balance.
"It's easy for people to sit back and point fingers at the halfback, isn't it?" Croker said.
"They cop a lot of criticism and they don't deserve that.
"It's not like there's anyone out there not having a go, so I think that's being a bit unfair on our halves."
Croker failed a first-half concussion test against the Cowboys but will be fit to face St George Illawarra after the Raiders' bye this weekend.
Hooker Josh Hodgson missed the game with a calf injury and remains hopeful of facing the Dragons, though he could be sidelined until the Raiders face Melbourne the following week.
Canberra's losing streak has left them 12th on the ladder, three games outside of the top eight with eight matches to play.
Their tough run home includes two games against the Storm, Cronulla away and the Warriors in New Zealand.
Hodgson admitted there were growing concerns the Raiders' finals hopes were slipping away.
"You worry about it getting towards the middle to the back end of the season," Hodgson said.
"We need to start picking up some results, we obviously know that, but we're not going to come in every day speaking about that and getting frantic about it.
"There's nothing we can do to change the results that have happened, we just need to fix ourselves up and start really completing better."
The star rake also backed Sezer and Austin's performances, saying it was the team's responsibility to turn things around.
"The halves haven't let in every single try in our game," Hodgson said.
"They aren't the ones carrying the ball for us and they aren't the ones defending up in the middle for us."
