CANBERRA RAIDERS V CANTERBURY BANKSTOWN BULLDOGS
SUNDAY MAY 24, 1.45PM, GIO STADIUM
Losing against one of your fiercest rivals is never easy; slipping out of the top eight because of it is even harder.
The Raiders NYC side suffered a tough loss at the hands of the St George Illawarra Dragons last weekend, a game which needs to be quickly forgotten as the side aims to reclaim a top eight position this Sunday at home against the Canterbury Bulldogs.
As the table sits, the Raiders are only just outside the eight sitting in ninth position. However, a win this weekend could see them jump up to fifth, whilst a loss could see them fall further down the ladder to 11th position.
The aforementioned scenario demonstrates just how tight this year’s Holden Cup is.
It would be an understatement to say that the young side needs a win this weekend, especially when heading into a couple of tough matches which could set up the rest of the season.
NYC winger Cameron Booth provided some insight into what the side needs to improve on heading into the crucial home game this Sunday.
“We need to definitely improve our first 10-15 minutes,” Booth said. “If we start as well as we have for the last couple of rounds, as well as completing our sets and staying within our structure, then we can definitely get the win.
“Out wide we could have helped out the forwards a bit more against the Dragons and we got caught out a couple of times so it was a pretty disappointing loss.”
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Cameron also talked about the importance of a win in front of their home fans this weekend after the disappointing loss to the Dragons.
“We need this win coming up as we have a couple of tough games ahead,” the Souths Logan Magpies junior said.
“We are above the Bulldogs at the moment, but we can’t be thinking about that, we just need to play our game. We need to turn up and give it to them and hopefully the result will sort itself out.”
The next couple of rounds are anything but easy for the side. In consecutive weeks, Canberra faces competition leaders the Brisbane Broncos, then the Knights away and then the Cowboys who are full of Junior Kangaroos representatives.
Booth is excited for the team ahead of a challenging run of games, showing just how much confidence and self-belief the side has at the moment.
“It should be good. If you want to be the best you have to beat the best. We will look to put in some good performances and slowly creep back up that ladder.
“As long as we play our game, keep to our structures and don’t let each other down we should definitely come away with a few wins.”
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