Buttriss gets a chance to hook into TigersThe Canberra Raiders refuse to under-estimate the Wests Tigers without their inspirational hooker and captain Robbie Farah, but have pulled their own dummy-half switch to inject more speed into their game plan.
While Raiders coach David Furner has made a raft of changes to his squad to cover the club's injury toll, the selection of Glen Buttriss at hooker is a tactical move to add more threat in Canberra's attack.
Furner is not blaming injuries for Canberra's 14-6 loss to the Roosters on Sunday, instead addressing his players yesterday morning about a number of missed opportunities that could have turned the result.
Buttriss has been named at No. 9 to add more spark around the ruck, with Travis Waddell starting from the bench. But Furner has also challenged his halves Terry Campese and Josh McCrone to step up their running games in attack.
"It's just the style we need to play against the Tigers and I think [Buttriss] just gives us a bit more speed out of dummy-half," Furner said.
"We've spoken about it as a group. The game's about opportunities and when you get opportunities you've got to take them.
"There were a couple of areas when we were in [the Roosters'] zone, attacking their line, we needed to be a bit better and create a bit more ruck speed. If we create a few more quick play-the-balls, our six and seven can at least look to run the ball more and that's what they need to do.
"We've got to be real clinical and we need our halves to step up. We need our big game players to have big games."
The Tigers have named Liam Fulton at hooker to replace Farah, who was rubbed out for two matches after pleading guilty to a grade three dangerous throw charge from his tackle on Ben Hornby against the Dragons last Friday.
Furner said the loss of Farah had no impact on his own team selection and the Raiders would not be complacent.
"Farah's a great player from nine, but they've still got [Benji] Marshall, [Tim] Moltzen, [Adam] Blair, there's talk of [Lote] Tuqiri coming back, [Gareth] Ellis is back. We've just got to concentrate on our game."
The other major changes, mainly because of injury are: Blake Ferguson switching to fullback to cover for Josh Dugan, out with an injured shoulder; Joel Thompson coming into the starting pack and Josh Papalii moving to lock, to accommodate for Shaun Fensom's injured bicep; and Dimitri Pelo making his NRL debut on the wing.
The was some positive news on the injury-front for the Raiders yesterday, with Trevor Thurling expected to return within two or three weeks from his injured knee.
MONDAYWests Tigers v Canberra Raiders at Campbelltown Stadium, 7pm. TV time: Live on Fox Sports 2
Source: The Brisbane Times
Topic: Raiders Switch Hookers to Inject More Speed
