Josh Hodgson flicks on the television to see two rival clubs fighting to be there on NRL grand final day, struggles to watch for too long and promptly switches it off.
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The Canberra Raiders co-captain has had enough of sitting at home in September.
The Raiders' attack is first class, but Hodgson says for too long they have let themselves down on the other side of the ball - and "it’s no secret the best defensive teams are usually up there and a fair chance of winning the competition".
An increased emphasis on defence looms as the key for Canberra's bid to slice the gap between their best and their worst heading into the Raiders' season opener against the Gold Coast Titans on Sunday.
Canberra's Jack Wighton is set to shift into the front-line at five-eighth as coach Ricky Stuart builds his best 17 around defence in a bid to secure the club's second finals appearance since 2012.
Hodgson says the Raiders will continue to back their attacking flair - with Nick Cotric, Jordan Rapana (when fit), Joey Leilua and Jarrod Croker in the outside backs, they would be crazy not to.
"We’ve got such strike weapons, especially on the edges. We know we can score points, that’s never been one of our downfalls," Hodgson said.
"We’ve scored plenty of points before and not made the eight, so it’s about really fixing up our defence and making sure we’re consistent there.
"We’ve definitely been working really hard on our defence this pre-season, I’m sure every team has. It’s no secret the best defensive teams are usually up there and a fair chance of winning the competition.
"It’s something we have been working really hard on, it’s just about being consistent with it. We’ve shown in games we can be really good defensively and shut teams out, and not let them score a lot of points.
"But it’s about making sure if we have an off day then it’s not too far below our good day. It’s just about closing that gap a little bit on the consistency.
"[Waiting for round one] is a bit like waiting for Christmas, it seems like it’s taking longer the closer it gets. The buy-in has been fantastic from the lads, we couldn’t have done anything more than what we have done in the build-up to round one. We’re ready to put into practice now."
Chances to put their work into practice will come thick and fast in the opening rounds of the season with Canberra set to play their first three games in the space of 12 days.
The Raiders' season opener on the Gold Coast is followed by a five-day turnaround before the host perennial contenders Melbourne , while the resurgent Newcastle Knights come to town a week later.
But their four-month pre-season slog has the Green Machine well oiled before a turbulent start to the season as they look to end a two-year finals exile and turn around their dire record in close games.
Raiders forward Elliott Whitehead says it is time Canberra's run of outs came to an end as they set their sights on reaching the lofty heights of 2016 over a consistent period.
"It’s not the nicest thing, being sat at home watching the finals," Whitehead said.
"We definitely want to be there, pushing for the grand final this year. We’ve been working harder and focusing in the pre-season. It starts this week against the Gold Coast, we need to start well and get the two points."
NRL ROUND ONE
Sunday: Gold Coast Titans v Canberra Raiders at Gold Coast, 6.10pm. TV time: Live on Fox Sports.
