Canberra coach David Furner says the Raiders aren’t getting carried away despite a positive pre-season which delivered two trial wins and a blessedly short injury list heading into the start of the NRL season.

He says the Raiders still have a lot to prove, much of which will be tested when they take on Melbourne on March 3 in their round one clash.

The Raiders, who finished second from bottom last season, have had a solid start to 2012, winning their first trial against a depleted Storm outfit 27-18 a fortnight ago and again on the weekend, 16-14 against a near full-strength Canterbury.

While Terry Campese was a late omission for the last trial with a groin strain, he and front-rower Tom Learoyd-Lahrs are the only Raiders with injury niggles and both are expected to be right for the opening round.

Furner said the aim now is to extend a positive pre-season into competition points.

“I’m satisfied in what we needed to get out of the trial (which was) obviously not receiving any injuries and having a full squad to pick from, but we’re not getting carried away,” he told reporters on Monday.

“We’ve had some good trial form, some confidence, but we’ve still got to win games.”

Depth, for once, is providing a welcome headache for Furner, who now has two weeks to cement his top-tier line-up.

New recruit Shaun Berrigan is solidly lobbying for a starting spot in the centres, and Furner has yet to figure out where Joel Thompson will slot in.

“The team as a whole, they performed quite well so we need to have a look at the video,” Furner said.

“Certainly there are some headaches for me about who’s going to start.”

The Raiders are stressing that defence will play a key role in their fight to make the finals this year, with Furner to look at their clash with Melbourne to see how they stack up.

“We’ve made it a real defensive focus,” Furner said.

“At times when you’ve got to defend back-to-back sets, that’ll test our character.”

AAP cj/l