It was a spray that stripped the little remaining paint off the Brookvale walls and will keep the Canberra Raiders focused.
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Raiders five-eighth Jack Wighton still remembers it, when coach Ricky Stuart labelled them soft after their loss there last year.
He said it was a good reminder for them to stay focussed against Manly-Warringah at Brookvale on Sunday.
The Raiders are looking to celebrate co-captain Jarrod Croker's 100th NRL game in charge with their fifth consecutive win.
It's the perfect test for the revamped Raiders, up against a Sea Eagles outfit that's been in good form over the past month.
"He definitely did come out and give us a good spray," Wighton said of Stuart.
"It is a good indicator not to nap, not to fall asleep.
"We're going up there for a job and we've got a big job to do no matter whether we've got a couple of wins or not.
"I think that's the point he gets across too. Hopefully we get up there and can do the job for him."
Wighton said their five wins from the opening six rounds wouldn't mean anything if they didn't put it to good use.
It's the Raiders' best start to a season since 2003, when the Green Machine won the opening seven rounds.
"It means absolutely nothing. We've seen teams go good at the beginning of the year and come nearly last and other teams go crap at the beginning of the year and win the comp," Wighton said.
Brookvale's traditionally been an unhappy hunting ground for most clubs, with the Sea Eagles winning 70 per cent of their games there.
The Raiders have also struggled, having won just one of their past seven.
That win came in 2016 when the Green Machine stormed into the preliminary final.
Manly will be looking for revenge - the NRL said they should've had a penalty in the dying minutes of their 12-10 loss to St George Illawarra last weekend.
It would've given them a chance to either win it or send it to extra-time.
Raiders co-captain Josh Hodgson said Manly had a strong pack, perfectly guided around by halfback Daly Cherry-Evans.
It boasts New Zealand prop Marty Taupau and Australian lock Jake Trbojevic, but will be without Addin Fonua-Blake (suspended).
"They had a bit of a controversial loss last week so if we go down there and we're not in the right mindset we know we'll get beat," Hodgson said.
"It's a tough place to go. We know they're a good side and we're not taking them lightly."
NRL ROUND SEVEN
Sunday: Canberra Raiders v Manly Sea Eagles at Brookvale Oval, 2pm.
Raiders squad: 1. Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad, 2. Nick Cotric, 3. Jarrod Croker (c), 4. Joey Leilua, 5. Jordan Rapana, 6. Jack Wighton, 7. Sam Williams, 8. Josh Papalii, 9. Josh Hodgson (c), 10. Dunamis Lui, 11. John Bateman, 12. Elliott Whitehead, 13. Ryan Sutton. Interchange: 14. Siliva Havili, 15. Emre Guler, 16. Sia Soliola, 17. Jack Murchie. Reserves: 18. Aidan Sezer, 19. Bailey Simonsson, 20. JJ Collins, 21. Hudson Young.
Manly squad: 1. Brendan Elliot, 2. Jorge Taufua, 3. Moses Suli, 4. Brad Parker, 5. Reuben Garrick, 6. Kane Elgey, 7. Daly Cherry-Evans (c), 8. Toafofoa Sipley, 9. Apisai Koroisau, 10. Martin Taupau, 11. Joel Thompson, 12. Curtis Sironen, 13. Jake Trbojevic. Interchange: 14. Manase Fainu, 15. Jack Gosiewski, 16. Corey Waddell, 17. Morgan Boyle. Reserves: 18. Kelepi Tanginoa, 19. Sam Smith, 20. Lachlan Croker, 21. Taniela Paseka.