Canberra Raiders under-20s prop Zac Merritt insists his team is still in good shape going into its do-or-die Toyota Cup qualifying final, despite the fact it has won just one of its past eight games.
The Raiders suffered a 36-24 loss to the Brisbane Broncos at Suncorp Stadium yesterday, but still clung to eighth spot on the ladder by points differential. They will play minor premiers Manly in a qualifying final at ANZ Stadium on Saturday.
Merritt conceded the Raiders needed to dramatically improve to have any hope of defending last year's premiership, but said his team would lift for the big games ahead.
''I think we were pretty ordinary tonight, but hopefully next week we can build on what we've done in the past and move on in the semi-finals,'' Merritt said.
''We're still confident, we've been there in big games before and we know we can beat the top teams.''
The Raiders will be boosted by the return of Toyota Cup hooker of the year Travis Waddell this week, after he played for Canberra's NRL team last night.
More Raiders news in today's Canberra Times
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