Canberra Raiders v Wests Tigers
Sunday April 19, 11:45am, Leichhardt Oval
Coverage: 11:30am on Fox Sports 1.
After a come from behind win against the Melbourne Storm, the Canberra Raiders NYC team are heading into this week’s match with the Wests Tigers looking to secure back-to-back wins for the first time this season.
Last week’s man of the match Brett Solomon said that the victory over the Storm gives them great confidence heading into this weekend.
“They are a really well drilled side and getting a comeback win over a team like the Storm gives us a lot of confidence” Solomon said.
He also outlined that the key reason for the comeback was that the Green Machine kept their heads up.
“The boys stuck together and our structure gelled as a result. We also kept the negativity out because we knew that mistakes were going to happen but we just rolled off them and moved on to the next job and kept going.”
Solomon also said that they key focus leading into this week’s game was to try and get back-to-back wins for the first time this season.
“We are just trying to stay consistent," Solomon said. "To get consistency we need to start getting back-to-back wins and to start gelling as a team and keep moving forward.”
The Raiders will be going into this clash with an unchanged team for the first time this season. This allows for the new halves combination of Jared McIIwrick and Bradley Speechley to develop while the normal halves pairing of Lachlan Croker and Lachlan Lewis are still sitting on the sideline recovering from injury.
CLICK HERE to see the NYC team line-up.
This week’s match sees two sides that are matched up very evenly. Both teams having won three games this season with the Tigers sitting in 7th position and the Raiders in 10th position.
Key to Success
A replication of the gritty defence that was key to the comeback victory over the Storm last week will put the Green Machine in a good position for back-to-back victories. This, in addition to the fighting spirit that they showed will be critical to getting the win.
Player to Watch
Brenko Lee was instrumental to the comeback last week in both attack, with runs that kept the Storm defence on edge, and also in a defensive capacity, where he frequently pulled off important tackles down the left side of the field.
The game starts at 11:45am on Sunday at Leichhardt Oval with the NRL side starting at 2:00pm.
