It's official. The Canberra Raiders have had the short end of the scheduling stick over the opening eight rounds of the NRL season.
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But Raiders coach Ricky Stuart said he was proud of the way his team had rolled up their sleeves and hadn't used it as an excuse - despite the toll it's taken.
The Green Machine's clash against the Penrith Panthers at Wagga Wagga on Saturday will be the fifth time this season they've had a shorter preparation than their opponents.
They've only had the same advantage once, with their other game - against Parramatta - scheduled on an equal footing.
It's the hardest start in the NRL in terms of preparation days, with the Eels the only other team to have had the same tough ask.
In contrast, the Panthers have only had a shorter preparation than their opponents twice.
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They come in off the back of an eight-day break since their loss to South Sydney, while the Raiders have had just six days since their 24-20 defeat at Manly.
The Panthers have had a poor start to 2019 and are staring at their fourth consecutive loss, but they have won their past four against Canberra - including that crazy comeback in Bathurst.
"Unless you're in the sport you don't understand the benefit of the extra one, two or four-day turnaround," Stuart said.
"It's a massive, massive advantage to the opposition that has even one day turnaround more.
"I'm really proud of how we haven't whinged about it, we just get on with it ... the way we've handled it, the way we've started is a great credit to the players.
"But we're used to copping the short end of the stick with scheduling. We're very good at handling the adversity."
The Melbourne Storm have had the easiest opening - just once going into a game with a shorter preparation than their opponents.
It might not sound like much, but taking on fresher opponents week after week can take its toll.
The Raiders faced the Storm in round two with three days less recovery, just as they did against the Brisbane Broncos in round six.
Manly had two extra days off going into the game on Sunday.
"As soon as the draw came out we knew we had to be very smart with the way we prepared," Stuart said.
"But there's been a noticeable effect over the last two weeks.
"But at our session [on Wednesday] our data, and physically how the boys are, we're better than we were this time last week."
NRL ROUND EIGHT
Saturday: Canberra Raiders v Penrith Panthers at McDonalds Park, Wagga Wagga, 3pm.
Raiders squad: 1. Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad, 2. Nick Cotric, 3. Jarrod Croker (c), 4. Joey Leilua, 5. Bailey Simonsson, 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. Hudson Young, 16. Sia Soliola, 17. Corey Horsburgh. Reserves: 18. Aidan Sezer, 19. Michael Oldfield, 20. Emre Guler, 21. Jack Murchie.
Panthers squad: 1. Caleb Aekins, 2. Josh Mansour, 3. Dallin Watene-Zelezniak, 4. Waqa Blake, 5. Malakai Watene-Zelezniak, 6. James Maloney (c), 7. Nathan Cleary, 8. James Tamou, 9. Wayde Egan, 10. Tim Grant, 11. Viliame Kikau, 12. Isaah Yeo, 13. James Fisher-Harris. Interchange: 14. Sione Katoa, 15. Liam Martin, 16. Moses Leota, 17. Reagan Campbell-Gillard. Reserves: 18. Jarome Luai, 19. Kaide Ellis, 20. Dylan Edwards, 21. Tyrell Fuimaono.