The Canberra Raiders’ Jersey Flegg side will look to make it four games without defeat when they take on the New Zealand Warriors at North Harbour Stadium on Saturday morning.
The Raiders head into the match off the back of 26-26 draw with the Penrith Panthers, with the Green Machine scoring four tries in nine minutes late on in the match to salvage a draw.
The Warriors enter the clash with confidence after beating the Eels 34 – 18 in Round 19 and entering the top eight.
Raiders coach Ash Barnes says he is proud of the character his side displayed in order to finish the game with a draw against high flying Penrith Panthers.
“I’m proud of the resilience and the character the boys showed to get back into the contest,” Barnes said. “But obviously as a group we’re a little disappointed that it got to the stage where we were down by that margin.
“But I am proud of the character they showed to come back and take a point away from the game.”
Barnes is hoping his team’s defensive efforts will be enough to stop the Warriors from repeating last weekend’s high scoring efforts.
“They’re a similar side to the Panthers,” Barnes said. “When they get momentum, they’re very difficult to stop and they score a lot of points.
“We need to make sure defensively we have the right attitude and we’re working for each other to turn them away.”
With only seven points difference between the top eight sides Barnes is hoping a win this weekend for his side will spark a home run to the finals.
“Every game is big for us with the congestion of the ladder,” Barnes said. “We’re two points in front of the Warriors and two points out of the four so it is really important for us to go there and perform to the standards that we expect of ourselves.
“And if we do win then that goes a long way, it takes us in the right direction in making sure we solidify our finals spot.”
