The Toyota Forklifts Canberra Raiders Harold Matthews Cup team will head to Sydney this Saturday, taking on the Paramatta Eels in an elimination final at Ringrose Park.
Sitting on the brink of the top eight heading into the final round, the Raiders produced a dominant 38-8 victory against the Cronulla Sharks, displaying their credentials to play finals footy.
First-year coach, Kristian Nordin, highlighted the confidence held amongst the playing group, compounded by a positive trend in their performances.
“The group is really confident and really positive from last week against Cronulla, but also probably since our Roosters game. There’s been this quiet confidence amongst them, and they’ve just gotten better and better each training session and each game we’ve played"
The positive nature mentioned by Nordin, is something he attributes to the squad’s focus on the games fundamentals, rather than being fixated on results.
“We spoke early on in the year, not about where we wanted to finish up in terms of results, just where we wanted them to finish in terms of their fundamental skill and just their competitiveness.”
On the other side of the field, Parramatta head into the finals sitting fifth on the ladder, coming off of a 26-4 victory over the Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs.
The Raiders are yet to have faced the Eels this season, but this isn’t something that will affect the team’s preparation heading into Saturday’s elimination final.
“We’ve been building quite nicely over the last month, and our preparation is staying pretty much the same. It has been just focusing on us and what we need to be good at.”
Saturdays game marks Canberra’s fourth game in-a-row on the road, a factor the squad hasn’t allowed to impact their motivation heading into games, according to Nordin.
“The belief in the squad is what’s helping motivate them. Trainings are really enjoyable, like they’re just getting amongst each other really nicely.”
The Raider’s backline is sure to cause the defence of Paramatta some headaches, with Nate Stokes, Altas Atilua, and Mason Morrissey all heading into the fixture having scored double’s against the Sharks.
Image by Mrs G Sports Photography
