And just when you thought we’d turned the corner, oops, a blip!
Raiders fans haven’t had to feel the frustration of a come behind loss in 2016 and let’s hope it doesn’t become a regular pattern.
We had just about enough of that last year thank you very much and we don’t need any more reminders.
And just to rub it in, David Shillington just had to come back and haunt us, didn’t he?
Ooh it was enough to make any Raiders fan’s stomach turn.
Most disappointingly, it wasn’t the Raiders attitude we’ve started getting used to this year.
To be fair, our boys haven’t clicked for a whole game yet, but the one thing that’s been there, has been that grind it out attitude.
Despite the injury setbacks of losing both halves in round 1, and a suspension to a starting centre, the boys managed to stay undefeated until last weekend, which was no mean feat.
There are certainly plenty of positives to take out of that, so hopefully it was just a minor slip back into old habits, and will rectified this week.
And rectified, the performance will need to be!
The Bulldogs are off to a red hot start this year, with a near impenetrable defence.
They’ve shown so far they can win pretty and they can win ugly.
Our boys will need to have the right attitude, and as the old cliché goes, they’ll need to play for the full 80 minutes.
In saying that, make no mistake, the Raiders boys are well and truly capable of winning this one.
The ‘experts’, aka Sydney media harp on all day about the strength of the Bulldogs pack, but the Raiders pack is certainly nothing to scoff at.
Shannon Boyd is the size of my car and I fear, a little stronger. He’s been an absolute war horse this year and if he isn’t on the way to Origin at some point in his career, I’ll be surprised. He’ll be up for this one.
And speaking of a future Origin star, if Paul Vaughan stays healthy, he will surely be a NSW pick in the near future.
He might be coming off the bench but his impact on a football field cannot be underestimated. He plays well above his size, which is already big, and opposition teams struggle to contain him. He’s a key this Monday night.
Of course, no bragging about the Raiders pack would be complete without a mention of the Dally M surprise packet, Josh Hodgson.
His direction out of dummy half and his kicking in general play are dead set game changers.
So with size, speed and strength across the park to match the Dogs, this Monday shapes up to be an absolute cracker!
Have your popcorn ready, tell the boss overtime does not happen on Raiders Mondays, and be ready for an invasion.
The Raiders are coming to Sydney and we’re here to tame some puppies!
CLICK HERE to read the Raiders v Bulldogs match preview.
