A bullish Ricky Stuart is in no doubt his Canberra team has already been chalked up as another Melbourne Storm statistic ahead of their NRL clash on Thursday.
But the Raiders coach is using that as motivation, claiming “nobody else seems to be game” to beat the Storm as they eye an 18th straight victory and an incredible 29th on the trot in Queensland.
“I want to win; nobody else seems to be game to (against the Storm),” he said ahead of their Sunshine Coast Stadium clash.
“I love these types of games when nobody thinks you’re going to win, and they’ve all got their headlines and stories written before the game.
“Those types of games are easy to prepare for.”
The Raiders are one of three teams equal on 20 points straddling either side of the top eight entering the final month of the regular season.
“I haven’t done the (top-eight) calculations; it’s not concerning me because you can do all the calculations in the world but if you’re not winning games it’s pretty easy to add up,” he said.
“We got ourselves into this position, we have to try and get ourselves out of it.”
The Raiders have won three of their past four and could make a statement in their revival with a win over the Storm, who have had five days to recover from a tough 28-18 win over Manly.
“There’s no type of blueprint off last week; we’ve got our own style and standard of game,” Stuart said of what could be learnt from Manly’s performance.
“The Storm are a very good football team. We’ve got a major challenge ahead of us but we’re certainly not intimidated, put it that way.
“Nobody else has given us any hope, but I certainly do.”
Bailey Simonsson (toe) returns for Canberra after five games on the sideline and is set to wear the No.1, with Jordan Rapana shifted to the wing.
CNK set for early return
Stuart said fellow backline gun Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad had returned to full training and could feature next week after recovering well from neck surgery that many expected would rule him out for the season.
“We’re hoping it’s a situation where by next week he’ll be available to play,” Stuart said.
“It’s always a bit of the unknown those sort of injuries and surgeries, you just leave it in the hands of the medical people.
“Charnze has come back. He’s a very professional young player who has done everything right.
“He’s got to do a bit more contact and a bit more work until that gets the tick.”
The ladder leaders welcome back Felise Kaufusi (suspension) and Nelson Asofa-Solomona (hamstring).
But coach Craig Bellamy admits some doubt remained over Asofa-Solomona’s fitness.
“I know they’ve had some injuries, especially in their outside backs, but there’s a lot of real quality with Josh Papalii, Joseph Tapine … Jack Wighton is one hell of a player,” Bellamy said.
“I know they will come ready tomorrow night in the position that they’re on the table at the moment, every game is really important for them.”
AAP
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