Round 8 Preview - Canberra Raiders Cup

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Canberra Raiders Cup Round 8 Preview



Canberra Raiders Cup Round 8 Preview

Queanbeyan Kangaroos (1) v Tuggeranong Bushrangers (7) on Saturday at 2:00pm at Freebody Oval

Luck has not been kind to the Tuggeranong Bushrangers so far this year in the Canberra Raiders Cup as the side has been plagued by injury to several players.

Their fortunes don’t improve this week against the Queanbeyan Kangaroos, the undefeated reigning premiers of the competition. Instead of cursing their luck however, Tuggeranong Coach Jarrod Teka is looking forward to the challenge.

“It’s definitely a massive challenge for us this week but the boys are looking to put in a good performance to get our season back on track,” said Teka. standard of where we wanted to be and how we wanted to play as a club but we’ve fallen well short of that mark this year.

“The boys are really looking to turn things around and start building back to where we want to be. We have got a hard task tomorrow but there’s no better team to do it against than the team at the top of the table to give our side a boost in confidence.”

The injuries suffered by the Bushrangers have been to particularly key players such as Teka himself and talented halfback Kurt Hamilton. Their replacements have risen from the Canberra Raiders SG Ball team who were grand finalists in the under 18s competition.

Teka believes that these budding stars will rise to the challenge of taking on grown men after dominating opponents in their own age groups.

“We’ve had our hands forced pretty badly with bad injuries suffered to players in key positions. We’ve brought in a few new blokes and tried a few new combinations for this weekend and it’s a good opportunity for some young kids coming up that have played Canberra Raiders SG Ball in Carl Johnson and Jamal Nchouk who are both fairly good players who have brought a lot of energy and a lot of enthusiasm to the club.”

“Our halfback Kurt Hamilton was going pretty well but unfortunately he’s got a stress fracture in his back so he’s gone for the year too so it’s just been bad luck after bad luck for us but it gives a good opportunity for Carl Johnson to play five-eighth with Reece Brown shifting to halfback.”

“It’s a stepping stone for Carl to find his feet in first grade. He’s good kid and he’s got good skills and a good attitude. Those players have definitely proved their worth in their age group so it’s just all about the next step for them and developing them for years to come.”

A strong component of the Kangaroos success this year has been the fact that they haven’t taken any opponent lightly.

Captain Coach Aaron Gorrell is adamant that this trend will continue against the Bushrangers, who on their day possess one of the most devastating forward packs in the competition.

“We’ve started the year pretty well and we haven’t been beaten yet but I guess every win is one game closer to a loss so we’ve got to continue to keep our mind on the job,” said Gorrell.

“I don’t think that we’re playing to the best of our ability so we can’t afford to get carried away. I think every team in the comp can beat each other on their day so we just need to keep working on our game and take each week at a time.”

“Tuggeranong are certainly dangerous and they’ve got a lot of quality players. They’ve got some of the best forwards in the comp so we’re going to have to limit their impact on the game and if we do that that will go a long to winning the game.”

Belconnen United Scholars (2) v Queanbeyan Blues (4) on Sunday at 3:00pm at Northbourne Oval

Belconnen United Coach John Hawke would have certainly given his side a tough week at training during the week after they drew 28 all with the 8th placed Goulburn Workers Bulldogs last round.

The Scholars have the firepower and the talent to beat any side and Hawke will be looking for more consistency from his troops on Sunday against the Queanbeyan Blues. The Blues will be looking to bounce back from their second loss of the year against the Yass Magpies.

Goulburn Workers Bulldogs (8 ) v Gungahlin Bulls (5) on Sunday at 3:00pm at Goulburn Workers Arena

Coincidentally, Goulburn will be full of confidence after they nearly beat one of the competition favourites, the Scholars, last round.

Whilst the match resulted in a draw, the side gained a mountain of confidence from the encounter. James Aubusson’s side will still need to be wary of the under-rated Gungahlin Bulls outfit that is coming off a narrow victory over the Woden Valley Rams.

Woden Valley Rams (6) v Yass Magpies (3) on Sunday at 3:00pm at Phillip

Yass may have surprised everyone with their spectacular start to the season, however the message has now settled in for the rest of the competition that they are a serious premiership threat in 2012.

They bounced back from their first loss of the year last week with an 18 point win over last year’s grand finalists the Blues. The Magpies will look to continue this form against the Rams who will again be without strike centre Tim Crome

West Belconnen Warriors have the bye.

Source: Raiders