The Canberra Raiders face the West Tigers on Sunday, hoping that a win will be enough to secure a top two berth.
The Raiders travel to Leichhardt Oval having won their past nine games - the club’s best winning streak since 1995.
Currently sitting two points behind the Cronulla Sharks, the Raiders need the Sharks to lose to Melbourne to have a chance at securing second spot.
Paul Vaughan is hopeful of securing second place but isn’t concerned if it doesn’t eventuate.
“It’s always a good advantage to have a home semi-final. The last home game in Canberra was packed, and it was really good to see as a local bloke,” Vaughan said.
However, the Tigers know that if the Titans lose to the Cowboys on Saturday night, a win would be enough for them to play finals football for the first time since 2011.
Raiders fullback, Jack Wighton, is aware the team needs to be at their best to beat the Tigers this Sunday.
“They’re going to be on fire, and they are going to turn up with their best game. So we are going to have to be at our best too,” Wighton said.
“We let ourselves down in a few areas on the weekend, so we have a few things that we need to fix.”
TEAM LISTS
Ricky Stuart has kept the same side that defeated Manly last Saturday. Junior Paulo and Blake Austin remain on the sidelines. However, Ricky Stuart has hinted he could rest players if Cronulla beat Melbourne on Saturday night.
Chris Lawrence returns to the Tigers lineup after recovering from a knee injury. Kyle Lovett returns to the bench. Second-rower Michael Chee-Kam is named 18th man.
Relive highlights from the Raiders 60-6 victory over the Tigers in Round 8 in the video below.
