Canberra skipper Alan Tongue has backed his side to negotiate its latest obstacle - the dramatic season-ending suspension handed to in-form forward Tom Learoyd-Lahrs.
In a year which has seen the Raiders overcome a horror injury toll and the Todd Carney saga to climb to sixth position on the table, Tongue must now rally a team shattered by the seven-match ban given to the popular Learoyd-Lahrs following his dangerous throw on Newcastle prop Ben Cross.
The pragmatic skipper believes his courageous team will again rise above adversity.
"We've reacted well to changes in the past and this will be no different," Tongue told Sportal on Thursday.
"Our injury list is horrendous and with everything else that's gone on at the club, we're not going to use that as an excuse."
"We've been tested with various things this year but we'll keep ploughing forward."
"The guys that have come up for us have been outstanding and they'll keep doing the job."
On the loss of Learoyd-Lahrs, Tongue said: "It's disappointing for us because he's been playing some good footy of late."
"We've already lost a few forwards and this just eats into our depth even more."
"He is very disappointed. Seven weeks rules out the rest of the year but he knows he put 'Crossy' into a dangerous position and he had to face the consequences."
"We just thought seven weeks was a bit harsh."
Canberra travels to ANZ Stadium on Sunday to meet the buoyant Rabbitohs, fresh from an upset win over Manly.
It shapes as a potential banana skin for the visitors.
"We looked at them (Souths) this morning and they've won seven out of their last 10 games," Tongue pointed out.
"They're playing some good footy, they've got nothing to lose and they're really troubling sides."
"They've got some stability with Chris Sandow and Craig Wing in the halves and Nathan Merritt at the back's been pretty good for them."
"We're not in a position where we can afford to take anyone lightly."
"We know we've got a lot of work still to do to make the finals."