Dragons hunt hoodoo-breaking win With a 12-year winning streak to their advantage, Canberra's Tom Learoyd-Lahrs says the Raiders won't have to try anything too flash in their NRL battle with St George Illawarra.
The forward says it will all come down to the basics on Monday, when the struggling Dragons will be out hunting their first win at Canberra Stadium since 2000.
"Over the years I think we've had a pretty good style of playing against the Dragons, but it will come down to just the basics for us," Learoyd-Lahrs said.
"Using the big blokes we've got and the pace we've got on the edges - not trying to over-complicate things."
Canberra have proved to be the hoodoo team for the Dragons, who've lost 12 of the past 13 games against the Green Machine.
They also have to win without Ben Creagh, Brett Morris and Beau Scott, who are all missing through State of Origin duty.
But Learoyd-Lahrs admitted it hadn't been a perfect week for the Raiders either, after losing a handful of players from last week's loss to North Queensland.
Makeshift five-eighth Josh Dugan (ankle), Trevor Thurling (shoulder) and Joel Thompson (hand) were all casualties from that game, although Thompson has since been cleared to play.
Bronson Harrison was on Sunday a late scratching with a dodgy hamstring, which puts Mark Nicholls in line again to make his NRL debut.
Dragons veteran Dean Young retires at the end of the year, meaning Monday's clash is his last chance to notch a victory in the nation's capital.
He said the Dragons were well aware of their poor record against the Raiders, but that they couldn't afford to take notice of it.
"The field's the same size, so you can't come up with any excuses," Young said.
"It hasn't been pretty the last couple of years, but we're sitting at 10th and when you're sitting in that position, you can't worry about other teams."
Having Trent Merrin returned from the NSW squad will be a boost for the Dragons, while the Raiders will miss David Shillington to Queensland ahead of Wednesday's Origin decider.
Source: The SMH
Topic: Learoyd-Lahrs: Raiders Wont Have to Try Anything Flash Against Dragons
