LeagueNews.co | Cooper McEnroe
The Canberra Raiders need to mentally and physically regroup if they want to prolong their season against the well-performing Cronulla Sharks in the first NRL semi-final on Saturday evening.
Last weekend, the Raiders thought they had secured victory in their qualifying final against the Brisbane Broncos not just once, but three times. However, a late field goal by Ben Hunt in the 94th minute dashed their hopes, resulting in a loss that not only ended their week off but also forced them to compete against Cronulla on a tight six-day turnaround.
This situation was always a potential risk that coach Ricky Stuart acknowledged when the team requested to play on Sunday afternoon in the first week of the finals, knowing that a loss would lead to a quick turnaround for the next game.
While not the typical worst-case scenario, the Raiders faced 94 minutes of intense physicality paired with the mental challenge of believing they had the game won. Now, Stuart has the daunting task of preparing his team to perform against a Sharks squad that has recently improved its defensive capabilities.
Interestingly, this defensive turnaround for the Sharks occurred after the season-ending injury of Cameron McInnes. They managed to restrict the Bulldogs to only six points in the final round and effectively limited the high-scoring Roosters to just a couple of tries last week in a vital elimination final victory.