Written by Jon Kroiter.
Away from home for the first time this season, the Raiders’ Holden Cup side will be looking to bounce back from last week’s loss as they play the Newcastle Knights this Saturday.
Raiders NYC Head Coach, Brett White, will be coaching against his former Melbourne teammate Todd Lowrie and White knows what Lowrie has implemented at the Knights.
“They [The Knights] will take the wrestle techniques from Melbourne into their game, so they’ve been working hard on that. We’ll need to try and work around that,” said White.
The Raiders have named an unchanged lineup for the clash but Nick Cotric is in doubt after injuring his left knee in the loss to the Roosters. Despite the uncertainty around the centre’s fitness, White is giving him as much time as he needs to be fit for the weekend.
“I’ll give Nick as long as he needs and see how he pulls up. He’s got some running again this afternoon and I’ll see how he is come game day,” said White.
CLICK HERE to see the Raiders NYC team.
The coach was full of praise for prop Daniel Dole who made 18 carries and gained 205 meters last week.
“He’s been tremendous. He’s been our best player. I’ve been talking to him this week about just making sure his routine is right and he’s got consistency in his performances. If he makes sure he is consistent with his game, I’m sure he’ll have a bright future ahead.”
The Raiders NYC team is unchanged from the Roosters game, with Zeik Foster staying at halfback with Lachlan Croker named again for the Raiders NRL team.
After a cameo for the Knights in last week’s NYC game, Sione Mata’utia has been named for the NRL game this week with Nick Meaney starting at fullback. Brett White was happy with the news, saying “I much rather Mata’utia playing in first grade than in under 20s.”
CLICK HERE to see the Newcastle Knights NYC team.
The Raiders v Newcastle game kicks off at 12.40pm at Hunter Stadium on Saturday afternoon and will be broadcast live on Fox Sports Channel 501. Live updates from the game will also be posted on the Raiders Twitter account (@RaidersCanberra).
