Canberra coach Ricky Stuart says the Raiders' squad should aspire to be as good as the Sydney Roosters after Sunday's 34-6 defeat at Allianz Stadium.
Six of the Roosters backline scored tries against the hapless Raiders who continually turned over possession and struggled to fire in attack.
The defeat was their third in four matches and losing to Manly in Albury next Saturday will have the alarm bells ringing in the nation's capital.
Stuart maintained it's too early in the season to be concerned and vowed he will eventually build a team that is good enough to challenge for a top-four spot.
"We all go 'wow' about that roster they've got," Stuart said.
"Not from a jealousy point of view, but that's what I've got to aspire to.
"They are the benchmark. We've got to aspire to getting that type of roster.
"We've got to keep developing our own and bringing people into our squad."
The defeat was Canberra's 16th in their last 17 encounters at Allianz Stadium and Stuart said his side's woeful start to the game - which saw them fall 12-0 behind in the opening 11 minutes - came back to haunt them.
"The boys are a proud squad and they are upset they didn't give more of a fight," he said.
"But we didn't lose the game in and around the middle. Our forwards were very good today.
"They were just too smart in the halves and classy around the edges and that is where they got us."
"But it's round four ... we won't worry about this."
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Topic: Stuart vows to improve Canberra
