Shannon Boyd is heading back to the country as he celebrates 50 NRL games this weekend in Bathurst.
The Raiders will take on the Penrith Panthers at Carrington Park, which is the ground where Boyd played most of his junior footy for Cowra.
“It’s pretty exciting for me and my family, it will be good to go back and play my 50th game right near my home town,” Boyd said.
“It's more of a home ground there for me compared to playing at Penrith.
“I played a lot of my junior footy there, I played against the Bathurst Panthers which were always one of the best teams and I played a few grand finals around that area.”
Boyd made his debut for the Raiders in Round One of the 2014 season, also Ricky Stuart's first game in charge of the club. He has been a consistent high-performer for the Raiders ever since debuting, playing 21 games in his first season and 20 in his second.
Ahead of his 50th game, Boyd has been to working hard with losing weight and improving his fitness the key objectives.
“My weight has been a big thing for me; I have been trying to work hard at it, especially this year with the 8 interchanges.”
The Raiders had a massive win on the weekend, however, Boyd says they are aware consistency is a big thing and that they need to back it up week to week.
“If you look at the Broncos and Cowboys they are always consistent and always turn up and do the same thing. We need to be more like that and make sure we don’t leak too many points each week.”
Penrith have only been losing games by a few points each week, including the nail biting clash against the Raiders in Round One.
Boyd believes they are a quality side and will be out looking for revenge following the defeat.
“They have only been losing a lot of their games by 2 or so points, they are up there they just aren’t quite getting it.”
“They will be tough this week and we have to be careful.”
Following the team's loss to the Sharks, Boyd acknowledges that himself and the forwards need to start well and gain an early upper-hand, which was key in the Raiders victories over the Bulldogs and Tigers.
Looking forward Boyd is a chance at being selected for the upcoming City vs Country clash. Last year he was 18th man for Country and says it would be a bonus if he got selected this year.
“I’m just trying to play good footy for the club at the moment and if I get picked it will be a bonus, but at the moment I’m just trying to concentrate on getting the win for ourselves."
The Raiders take on the Panthers at 3pm on Saturday.
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