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The Canberra Raiders will welcome back their star halves duo Blake Austin and Aidan Sezer to face the top of the table Canterbury Bulldogs. In a major selection surprise, the duo will make an earlier than expected return from injury against the Bulldogs at the Belmore Sports Ground on Monday night. The Raiders will field their strongest team of the season, with Austin, Sezer and centre Joey Leilua called into the team which lost 24-20 to the Gold Coast Titans last weekend. Halfback Sam Williams and centre Brenko Lee have been squeezed out, while prop Jeff Lima will miss the next six to eight weeks with a broken hand. Leilua returns after serving a two-game suspension for a dangerous tackle in the round two win against the Sydney Roosters. It's the first game for Austin and Sezer since the Raiders' round one victory over the Penrith Panthers. Austin sustained medial ligament damage to his knee while Sezer has missed the past three games with a broken cheekbone. Their return couldn't have come at a better time with the Raiders having struggled in attack with second-rower Elliott Whitehead used as a makeshift five-eighth. The Raiders take on the Bulldogs still seething from their first loss of the season. Holding a 14-point lead with 15 minutes on the clock, the Raiders were guilty of several costly errors in a 24-20 defeat to the Titans at Canberra Stadium. Raiders prop Shannon Boyd didn't hide behind the controversial late try by Titans centre John Olive and said his side only had itself to blame. "We shouldn't have lost that game being up by so much, had a couple lapses there just before full-time and it really hurt us in the end," Boyd said. "(It was) definitely a wake-up call. "I think we can take more from it than winning because I think we deserved it at the end of the game after what we done." Until last weekend, the cracks had been covered up as the Raiders found ways to grind out results. They beat the Penrith Panthers 28-20, kicked a late field goal to defeat the Sydney Roosters 21-20 and squandered a big lead against the Newcastle Knights before having to settle for a 24-all draw in golden point extra time. After three home games in the first four rounds, the Raiders now face a tricky double-header on the road in the space of five days. The Bulldogs will be their biggest test this season after they steam rolled South Sydney last weekend. The Raiders will have a five-day turnaround before they back up against the improving Parramatta Eels at Pirtek Stadium. "We've got a two big games coming up and it will be a good test to see where we're at," Boyd said. "It will be a reality check as well after a coming into the next couple of weeks. "It will be good for us to go on the road again to see if we can keep that record from last year." The Raiders had an impressive away record last season winning seven of their 12 games outside of the ACT. Prop Frank-Paul Nuuausala is free to face the Bulldogs after taking an early guilty plea for a dangerous contact charge on Titans forward Ryan James. Nuuausala will have 75 carryover points for the rest of the season. Fellow front-rower Luke Bateman has been named 18th man for the clash with the Bulldogs after strong performances for Mounties in the NSW Cup. Raiders: 1. Jack Wighton. 2. Edrick Lee. 3. Jarrod Croker (c), 4. Joey Leilua. 5. Jordan Rapana. 6. Blake Austin. 7. Aidan Sezer. 8. Shannon Boyd. 9. Josh Hodgson. 10. Frank-Paul Nuuausala. 11. Josh Papalii. 12. Elliott Whitehead. 13. Shaun Fensom. 14. Kurt Baptiste. 15. Sia Soliola. 16. Paul Vaughan. 17. Joe Tapine. 18. Luke Bateman. Bulldogs: 1. Will Hopoate. 2. Curtis Rona. 3. Josh Morris. 4. Chase Stanley. 5. Sam Perrett. 6. Josh Reynolds. 7. Moses Mbye. 8. Aiden Tolman. 9. Craig Garvey. 10. James Graham (c). 11. Josh Jackson. 12. Tony Williams. 13. Greg Eastwood. 14. Sam Kasiano. 15. Tim Browne. 16. David Klemmer. 17. Adam Elliott. 19. Lloyd Perrett.

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