They may have hit back at claims they are "mentally weak" but Aidan Sezer says Canberra know the critics won't go away unless they can back up in Saturday's NRL clash with Gold Coast Titans.
The Raiders did their best to silence their knockers with a gutsy 18-8 win over North Queensland last round - their first victory in Townsville since 2006.
It also marked a third win in four games for a rejuvenated Canberra after a horror start to the season.
Raiders playmaker Sezer hoped the defensive steel on display in their rare win in Townsville had gone a long way to ending claims they can be mentally soft.
However, Sezer knew the best move toward ditching their unwanted tag for good would be to step up again against the Titans.
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"I don't think our boys are mentally soft, we have just let ourselves down in different areas," Sezer said.
"We showed the attitude we can take into games (against Cowboys). We just need to be more consistent."
Raiders were dismissed as "mentally weak" by critics after fading late in games and losing their first four matches - their worst season start in 21 years.
The rot started when Gold Coast pulled off a great escape in their season opener, pipping Canberra 30-28 after trailing 18-0 after 10 minutes.
Sezer believed Gold Coast would line up against a different Raiders on Saturday.
"The Raiders are known for blowing teams off the park but getting wins like that (against Cowboys) is good for the confidence," Sezer said.
"It gives us a bit of momentum.
"Even though our attack wasn't as sharp as we would like we turned up with the right attitude in defence - defence won us that game.
"We had a disappointing (season) start and are chasing our tails so we are desperate for two points each week."
Gold Coast have won four of their past five games in Canberra.
