Raiders captain Alan Tongue's joy at being selected to play for NSW Country Origin for the first time has been tempered by his team's poor start to the season.
Country selectors named Tongue and Raiders five-eighth Terry Campese yesterday in their team to play City in Orange on Friday night, boosting the pair's chances of forcing their way into the NSW side for this year's State of Origin series.Raiders centre Joel Monaghan was also named for Country but could instead play in the Anzac Test for Australia on Friday night if St George Illawarra winger Darius Boyd succumbs to a thigh injury.
Former Raiders prop Michael Weyman was also named for Country.But not even the prospect of playing representative football could brighten the mood of a despondent Tongue at the Raiders' recovery session yesterday, following Saturday night's 18-10 loss to Penrith.
The Raiders have now slipped to 15th on the ladder heading into this weekend's bye, with just two wins from their opening eight games.Tongue admitted it was nearing desperation time for the Raiders, but pointed to last year's stunning finish to the season as a reason for hope.The Raiders won just four of their opening 11 games last year, before storming into the top eight thanks to nine wins from their final 14 regular-season games.
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