Canberra Raiders captain Alan Tongue knows his side isn't playing with the same confidence it did in the back half of last year, but believes one win could trigger a resurgence for the green machine.
Tongue expects to be back to almost 100 per cent fitness for Monday night's clash with the North Queensland Cowboys.
But rather than be concerned with his side's 0-3 win-loss record after the opening rounds of the NRL, Tongue is confident the Raiders can turn around a sluggish start and get back on the winners' list.
He knows it's important to stay in touch with the top eight sides on the NRL ladder.
''There is no doubt [we can't fall behind],'' Tongue said yesterday.
''It's always tough coming towards the finals at the back end of the season, you look at the draw knowing you have to win four of your last six matches, that always makes things difficult.
''But we can't look too far ahead, it's important that we just get the most out of every training session and learn from our losses.''
Tongue said his side still had plenty of confidence and believed the season could have been very different if a few decisions had gone the Raiders' way. ''The belief has always been there, we haven't got the confidence we were playing with at the back end of last year, and I know with my game it's just not clicking like it did,'' he said.
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