The Canberra Raiders are confident an extra long pre-season regiment will prepare them for a hectic three-week start to the season, coach Ricky Stuart declaring "we just have to grit our teeth and get on with it."
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The NRL has hit the Raiders with the busiest schedule in the opening rounds of the year, giving the Green Machine a five-day turnaround between the first and second games.
It starts with a clash against the Gold Coast Titans on the glitter strip on Sunday night before returning to the capital to play against the Melbourne Storm five days later.
The Raiders will complete a frantic three-week opening when they play the Newcastle Knights at Canberra Stadium on March 29, which will be their third game in 12 days.
Parramatta is the only other team forced to empty the tank so early in the year, while the Storm comparatively have eight days between round one and two and play their first three games in 16 days.
The short turnaround is a less than ideal snub from NRL officials, effectively giving the Raiders just three days to train before playing against Melbourne because a late Gold Coast kick-off delays travel back to Canberra.
But Stuart's only focus is lifting the Raiders back into the top eight for the first time in three years, starting training in November for a four-month fitness slog to get the players back to their peak.
"There's no excuses," Stuart said. "We'll handle it, we're fit and given we get no bad luck with injuries, we'll be fine.
"We've got to be men about the fact that we've got a five-day turnaround and we'll get through it. It's not going to be the worst thing to happen to us this year, we've just got to toughen up and respond."
Stuart is still mulling selection decisions for the season-opener, with Jack Wighton expected to shift to five-eighth to partner Aidan Sezer in the halves.
Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad looms as the man to replace Wighton at fullback, while there is uncertainty about who will replace the injured Jordan Rapana on the wing.
Michael Oldfield was considered the favourite, but there was speculation his groin injury was more serious than first thought. If he was unavailable, former New Zealand sevens player Bailey Simonsson could make his debut.
Rookie forward Corey Horsburgh could also come into selection contention for a new-look Raiders forward pack, with English recruits John Bateman and Ryan Sutton also expected to play.
Stuart has left no stone unturned in his bid to make amends for two missed opportunities in the past two years.
He has a refreshed coaching staff with Andrew McFadden joining Brett White as an assistant. Stuart has also employed a sports psychologist to help the Raiders be better prepared to win close games.
Canberra has lost 16 games by six points or less in the past two seasons, as well as surrendering big leads to suffer unexpected losses.
"I've really enjoyed this off-season with implementing new things at training," said Sia Soliola.
"There's been a lot surrounding defence and I think that has been the change. We've identified the areas that let us down and we're trying to replicate those into our training sessions.
"A lot more high-pressure and mentally-demanding sessions at training. We've obviously been trying to get that full level of focus for a full 80 minutes and hopefully that's beneficial for a good start to the season."
NRL ROUND ONE
Sunday: Gold Coast Titans v Canberra Raiders at Gold Coast, 6.10pm. TV time: Live on Fox Sports.
