The Kiwi international left the field with a rib injury in the first half as the Raiders (5-2) missed a chance to secure a fifth straight win and return to a share of the competition lead.

The Raiders led 12-0 after as many minutes thanks to a Jack Wighton double. But a 13-5 penalty count against them and an inability to stop Manly's offloads eventually told on their defence, which had leaked the least points over the first six rounds of the competition.

Rapana was sorely missed as Canberra was forced to reshuffle its backline against a Manly side which also lost skipper Daly Cherry-Evans to an ankle injury early in the second half.

"I don't think it's broken. I think it's cartilage and if it's cartilage he'll be OK," Stuart said.

"They came down that (right) edge (where Rapana plays) a fair bit today but we held them out for the most part.

"We just got outplayed today from a team perspective.

"Considering the amount of penalties they (Manly) got - and that's not to say they were all wrong - I thought we did a pretty good job defensively.

"We didn't defend anywhere as near as good as we have. I thought to be only 4-3 in tries, considering the weight of penalties, was not too bad."

Canberra's clash with Penrith at Equex Centre on Saturday is the first of two home games the club will bring to the city, with the Raiders also penciled in for a game next year.

The only NRL game Wagga has hosted was in 1998 when the Roosters thrashed Gold Coast 34-10.

Penrith (2-5), touted as a premiership contender by many before the season began, will be desperately looking to snap a three-match losing streak and kick start their season.

However, the signs were more promising the Panthers may be starting to find their feet in a 22-18 loss to joint competition leaders South Sydney Rabbitohs on Friday night.

Tickets can be found at raidersshop.com.au/tickets until 9am this morning, the Wagga visitor information centre or the Oasis Aquatic Centre.

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