And he's backing halves Aidan Sezer and Jack Wighton to be those players on Friday night.

The Green Machine will play the club's biggest game since the 1994 grand final when they face South Sydney in this week's preliminary final and after shuffling his halves pairing around to start 2019 Stuart says a settled Wighton-Sezer combination holds the key for the Raiders.

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"It always takes a bit of time when you're trying to adapt to a new partnership and that's been the case with Jack," Stuart said touching on his halves pairing.

"They spent a bit of time getting used to one and other but once they reached that level they've been strong."

Manly tore Souths' right side to shreds early in their semi-final clash last weekend and with Wighton leading a strong Raiders left edge featuring Whitehead, Croker and Cotric many expect Canberra to send plenty of traffic through that channel.

Stuart, though, says the Rabbitohs are a quality side and they find a way to win in big games.

It's a trait that kept them in the fight against Manly and one, Stuart says, could help Souths find an edge come Friday night in Canberra, too.

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"It's be a tough semi-final grind and I'll be surprised if there's 10 tries like last week," Stuart said looking at the Bunnies 34-26 win over Manly.

"It's very important. The result is very important but it's also the time of the season you want the players to enjoy. And the only way to enjoy it is winning."

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Canberra's GIO Stadium has officially been declared sold out ahead of Friday's game.

The Sydney Roosters host the Melbourne Storm in the weekend's other preliminary final at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Saturday night.