Round 1 Preview for the Toyota CupThe Canberra Raiders Toyota Cup side may be coming up against a Melbourne Storm outfit that narrowly defeated them 26-20 in their first trial of the year, but Coach Andrew Dunemann is adamant the result will mean nothing come round one.
“The trial against the Storm means nothing in regards to this week,” said Dunemann.
“Both clubs had nowhere near a settled team and we were still trying to form some combinations. I think if you asked them they’d say the same thing.”
“Melbourne’s always a strong team. They’ve got a great culture down there and whoever pulls on that Storm jersey, whether its first grade or NYC, knows what’s expected of them so we’ll have to be on our game.”
Whilst injury has ruled out players such as such as Jack Ahearn and Uiti Baker, the NYC lineup will be bolstered by the return of Shannon Boyd and Jack Wighton, who have been training with the first grade squad.
Dunemann strongly believes the two will lift his side but is under no illusions the duo will win the contest single handedly .
“I think Jack Wighton and Shannon Boyd dropping back down will provide the team with a boost but in saying that if the rest of the boys just sit back and think those two are going to win the game for them they’re kidding themselves.”
Wighton, who captaining the NSW Under 18s side last year, will provide the backline with plenty of attacking spark and leadership.
“Wighton will line up at six for us inside Mitch Cornish, which provides us with a pretty strong halves combination.”
“Jack’s going to have a fairly long career; he’s a very good player. He’s a fantastic runner of the football and defensively he doesn’t mind getting himself in front of the big boys. He’ll definitely provide us with a lot of attacking prowess.”
Whilst the 123kg Boyd will deliver an intimidating presence up front, Dunemann will use aim to use the mobile forwards he has at his disposal to his advantage.
“If you have a look at our pack, minus Boydy, we’d have one of the smallest packs in the comp but we can use that to our advantage.”
“We’ve got players there with very good motors that can play long minutes. I don’t think we’re going to be a team that tries to outmuscle other teams; we’ll be trying to be a lot smarter with the footy. Hopefully if we do that we’ll be able to handle the other team’s size and register some good wins.”
The key for the NYC forward pack will be to provide a staunch platform for the side’s highly potent backline, which should be brimming with confidence after an impressive display against the Bulldogs last weekend.
“We’ve got a pretty lethal backline that can cause a lot of damage. I think the win over the Bulldogs last week provided the boys with an extra bit of belief and confidence heading into round one,” Dunemann enthused.
“It was good to get a win under our belt to gain a bit of confidence and get that winning feeling back again.”
“We’ll aim to keep that feeling for the rest of the year.”
The Toyota Cup kicks off this Saturday at 3:15pm at Canberra Stadium.
Source: Canberra Raiders
Topic: Raiders Rd 1 Toyota Cup Preview
