Orford puts on brave face for his return

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Orford puts on brave face for his return

It's half a second Matt Orford would love to have over again.

Ninety-nine times out of 100, the 33-year-old halfback picks the Steeden up from the base of the scrum, makes a pass to his right and the Raiders close out the game.

Not this time.

This time Orford, a winner of the NRL's highest individual honour the Dally M Medal only three years ago, fumbles the ball.

Those at Canberra Stadium that day couldn't believe what they'd seen.

From the subsequent turnover the Gold Coast Titans levelled the scores as the full-time hooter sounded in the background. Worse was to come when Titans five-eighth Greg Bird slotted a field goal in the golden point extra-time, leaving the Raiders gutted.

Orford returns to the site of that debacle when a desperate Raiders aim to end their six-game losing streak against the Wests Tigers on Sunday.

''When you know you've done something like that, it hurts,'' Orford said.

''It happens probably once or twice in your career.

''I let the group down by half a second, a lapse of concentration, whatever it was. Hits the foot, looking to get a clean pass away and you put your team under pressure.

''In saying that when you look back at it, we shouldn't have got ourselves into that position.

''It was magnified because I made the mistake. I'm always my harshest critic. It really doesn't bother me what other people say.''

Justified or not, Orford has been hammered from pillar to post.

He even has a minute and a half Youtube video in his honour simply entitled ''Orford is s***house'', full of ''highlights'' from his first four games with the Raiders.

Orford spoke to the media for more than 12 minutes yesterday.

He was honest, forthright and precise, admitting his early-season form hasn't been crash hot.

Take a look across the Raiders roster and he's not alone there.

Somehow, spirits remain surprisingly buoyant.

''There's no benefit from having your head down, kicking stones at training,'' Orford said. ''We need to learn from what happened last week in that second half.''

The words Orford and experience have been used countless times to describe what the premiership-winning veteran brings to the table.

And even at his fifth club, that dogged determination remains.

''I've still got that belief that I can make an impact on the game,'' he said. ''I'm not going to second-question my ability, because it's the worst thing you can do as a footballer.''

Source: The Canberra Times