Canberra Raiders book a hotel room with view to winning
Canberra might have secured a home final but the Raiders won't be treating it like that.
In what has already proven to be a masterstroke this season, the Green Machine will check into the relatively nondescript Rydges Hotel at Eagle Hawk on the outskirts of Canberra the night before their qualifying final against Cronulla at Canberra Stadium.
"It would be a bit foolish to change a winning formula like that," skipper David Shillington said. "I'm glad we're doing it. It's good and all the boys are hanging out and preparing for footy.
"Obviously it's a mental thing but it works well for us so don't change it."
Raiders coach David Furner came up with the idea to treat home matches as "away games" after the club managed only three wins from nine games at a ground that was once seen as one of the strongest fortresses in the game.
Since the move, the club has won its last three games at home over Brisbane, the Sydney Roosters and, probably most importantly, this year's minor premiers and one of the favourites for the premiership, Canterbury.
"It's not five star but 'Furnsy' said if you want five stars, poke your head out the window and look up at the sky and you'll see plenty of stars around," Shillington said. "It's more the principle of it. The boys play cards and we're all working on our hydration and eating the right foods and having a good night's sleep."
Shillington said the players were proud of the fact that they had managed to turn things around at home. He also acknowledged that the club would have to improve after their last performance against the Warriors in which they trailed 22-6 before storming home in the second half.
"Early in the year, we were shocking at home and that's not a great feeling," Shillington said.
"We'd rather be winning more at home than we do away, to be honest, and most teams are like that. The standard we showed against the Bulldogs is the standard we'll need to be successful in this year's finals series.
"On the weekend against the Warriors, we were probably a little bit complacent there in the first half. Thankfully we turned it around in the second half to put quite a few points on them and put ourselves in sixth spot there.
"We do need to pick it up another gear."
The Raiders yesterday named fullback Josh Dugan (ankle) and halfback Sam Williams (shoulder), who both missed last Sunday's game against the Warriors.
Source: http://www.foxsports.com.au/league/nrl-premiership/canberra-raiders-maintain-winning-formula-for-finals-booking-their-hotel-home-away-from-home/story-fn2mcuj6-1226465388302?from=public_rss
Topic: Raiders Get a Room With a View to Winning
