Raiders NYC Coach Brett White has stressed the importance of defence in the lead up to his side’s clash with the Canterbury Bulldogs at Belmore Sports Ground on Monday.
Currently sitting in ninth position on the ladder, the Raiders will be looking for their third win of the season against a Bulldogs outfit riding a three-game losing streak.
White will be looking for a solid 80-minute performance from his players, after a disappointing finish against the Titans on Saturday.
“We were in it with twenty minutes to go and let it get away from us,” said White.
“I know the boys are disappointed. We’ve had a look at the reasons why and tried to fix that – [there’s] a big focus on defence this weekend.
“We were able to score points, we just unfortunately let them score more than us. There was probably some poor decisions being made defensively, and we need to look at that and fix that.
“We’ve worked hard on it this week, and hopefully it flows into our game on Monday night.”
The squad’s depth has been tested in the opening rounds of the competition, but halfback Zeik Foster has proved to be a revelation in the absence of Lachlan Croker. White is hopeful that the young number seven can continue his run of good form.
“The thing that has impressed me is every week he’s improved his game, and looked more comfortable with every game he’s played.
“That’s the main aim, is making sure these players look to improve their game each week, and that’s certainly what Zeik’s been doing.”
White has named the same seventeen that took on the Titans last weekend. The only change is Connor Cheeseman being moved into the starting line-up, with Stanley Takulua filtering back onto the bench.
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Zac Woolford will again lead from the front, looking to continue his impressive start to the season.
“We are feeling pretty confident leading into the match. Last week we got a bit carried away with the win the week beforehand,” Woolford said.
“We are looking for consistency. If we bring that I’m 100% confident we can come away with the win.”
Kickoff is scheduled for 4:45pm at Belmore Sports Ground on Monday. Live updates from the game will be posted on the Raiders Twitter account (@RaidersCanberra).
CLICK HERE for the Bulldogs NYC team.
