Gary Belcher is loathe to jump on any bandwagon writing off the Canberra Raiders' class of 2009, despite being at Olympic Park on Monday night when the Melbourne Storm blew them away by a record 40 points.
It's a sentiment shared by plenty of the Raiders' other former premiership heroes, many of whom have a close affinity to club legend and new Canberra coach David Furner.
But facts speak for themselves and the former Queensland and Australian fullback said there was an urgent need for senior players to step up.
Premiership-winning forwards Brad Clyde and Paul Osbourne argued the Raiders relied too much on Terry Campese to spark their attack.
Laurie Daley said the team must toughen up under sustained pressure and Kiwi international Ruben Wiki said the team's combinations were taking time to click.
A season that started with so much promise for the Raiders is in danger of sliding into another year of mediocrity.
There have been few signs of the attack that thrilled Canberra crowds throughout the second half of last year, when scores of 40-plus points became the norm.
The effort is still there but the brash confidence of the likes of five-eighth Terry Campese seems to be missing.
''To get that confidence I think they need their senior players to really take the lead and show the way,'' Belcher said.
''It takes a certain number of players, if not everyone, to really turn up with the right attitude to totally make it happen.
''It needs to be those senior players, the relatively new players that have only got a season or two under their belt, some of them are going to be followers.
''The senior guys would know that too, they really need to lead the way.''
There is no doubt that of all the Raiders' senior members it is Campese who needs to fire for Canberra to get back to the winning ways of late 2008, when it won seven of its final 10 games.
It was on the back of his stunning form that the Raiders reached the finals last year.
That is a view shared by all the Raiders legends The Canberra Times spoke to this week.
Clyde and Osbourne said a lack of experience in the key positions of halfback, hooker and fullback where Marc Herbert, Glen Buttriss and David Milne will line up against the New Zealand Warriors at Canberra Stadium tomorrow was hurting the team badly.
''It's taken a while for the Raiders to really establish confirmed, quality players in those positions,'' Clyde said.
''The guys that are in there are certainly trying their hardest and they're all developing at the moment.
''But they probably need that experience within those key positions.
''The difference between winning and losing sometimes can be experience about knowing what to do in different times of the game.''
Osbourne said the fact Campese had been slightly off the boil in recent matches had left the Raiders wanting for direction.
He said the Raiders relied on too few players to get them going.
''If they are off a little bit it makes it a lot more difficult,'' Osborne said.
''Clearly Campese is their key.
''Campese has been a little off, he hasn't had the impact that he had early in the season and towards the end of last season.''
Daley was another former Raider who was at Olympic Park on Monday.
The NSW State of Origin selector and Fox Sports commentator has been at most of Canberra's games this year.
He said the Raiders' big loss to Melbourne wasn't indicative of the team's efforts this season, pointing to the fact that five of Canberra's seven losses had been decided by 10 points or less.
For Daley the Raiders' real issue was having the ability to hang tough when things weren't going their way.
''I don't think there's too much going wrong, I just think they need to stay mentally in the contest for a little bit longer,'' Daley said. ''I think at times when the game is in the balance and you've got to go set for set they're just not doing that at the moment.
''They're sort of breaking down and leaking points at a fast rate.
''They just need to learn to stay tough together.
''At times they've probably got six players that are digging in, but three or four that at some stage just fall away in their performances.
''All the good teams are able to sustain pressure longer than their opposition.
''Mentally you have to be on your game and mentally when the scoreboard's not ticking over, you can't be frustrated by that.''
Wiki has kept a particularly close eye on the Raiders since retiring from the NRL last year.
The former Raiders and Warriors enforcer urged the players to stick tight behind his 1994 grand final teammate Furner.
''I think they've had the opportunities, they're just not getting that lucky, they're not quite getting over the line,'' Wiki said.
''Like a lot of teams they're still finding their combinations.
''But they're working very hard, no doubt Furnesy has got the game plans, it's just not working at the moment.''
Email a friend