The Raiders NYC side will be aiming to start strongly against the Tigers when the two teams clash on Saturday afternoon at GIO Stadium.
The Raiders started poorly in their 32-6 loss to the Sharks and NYC captain Zac Woolford said the side is aiming to rectify that against the Tigers.
“It’s obviously well documented that in six of the first seven rounds we’ve started poorly and given away leads. If we can rectify that we won’t be on the back foot so much,” said Woolford.
“We just want to lock down our defense, especially when other teams are coming out of their own half. We seem to be really ill-disciplined there.”
The departure of Lachlan Lewis has led to Jack Hickson’s inclusion in the halves and Woolford was full of praise for the new halfback.
RAIDERS NYC TEAM
“He probably never gets the credit he really deserves,” said Woolford. “He’s been really good for the boys, he’s a great talker and he’s willing in defense. The boys really love having him around, especially in the halves.”
The Raiders take on a Wests Tigers team who have started the season strongly and are sitting fifth on the ladder.
The Tigers smashed the Melbourne Storm 44-12 last weekend, and will be riding a wave of momentum into the game against the Raiders.
WESTS TIGERS NYC TEAM
“They’re a pretty big team, they try and dominate you in the middle. They’ve got a good little 9 [Jacob Liddle] who likes to play off their big forwards,” said Woolford.
Although the Tigers have had a strong start to the season, the Raiders are boosted by the return of Daniel Dole. The prop suffered a concussion early in the match against the Sharks and was unable to return to the field.
The Raiders v Sharks game kicks off at 3pm at GIO Stadium on Saturday. Live updates from the game will be posted on the Raiders Twitter account @RaidersCanberra
