The video tape is going straight in the bin. Canberra Raiders coach Ricky Stuart won't take anything out of their 38-28 victory over the Cronulla Sharks at Kogarah on Saturday night.
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The two teams will meet again in a knockout final at Canberra Stadium next weekend, but they'll be the same teams in name only with both clubs resting a host of players for their final-round clash.
With the Parramatta Eels edging out Wests Tigers 28-24 it meant the Raiders finished fifth, but they'll be refreshed having given the likes of Jarrod Croker, Josh Papalii, John Bateman and Elliott Whitehead a week off to prepare.
The Sharks will also welcome back some players, led by halfback Chad Townsend who returns from suspension.
"We won't be reviewing it. We'll jump straight into next week," Stuart said.
"It's semi-final football and they'll be a different team next week and we will too.
"I'll take nothing out of tonight and I'm sure John won't take anything out of it either.
"They've got a very experienced team, they've got experience coming back. It will be a different game to tonight."
Stuart was full of pride for the way his Green Machine has proved all the doubters wrong this season.
His young side of rookies was written off, but beat the Sharks.
They were written off when co-captain Josh Hodgson went down with a season-ending knee injury.
They've had the toughest travel schedule of any other team in the competition since the coronavirus lockdown.
But they've finished fifth and are just three wins from returning to the NRL grand final.
"Whatever happens happens over the games we've got," Stuart said.
"I couldn't be more proud of this squad of players of where we've ended up in the competition.
"I get it. We got wrote off a lot. We got wrote off for this game. I got criticised for playing these players.
"We love that in Canberra - getting wrote off, getting bagged and pushed around. It's what makes us tough down there.
"As soon as we started to get written off this week about this game that just made me more confident. These players were stirred up over it."
AT A GLANCE
CANBERRA RAIDERS 38 (Dunamis Lui, Nick Cotric, Tom Starling, Sam Williams, Kai O'Donnell, Matt Frawley, Harley Smith-Shields tries; Williams 5 goals) bt CRONULLA SHARKS 28 (Briton Nikora 2, Ronaldo Mulitalo, Wade Graham, Bryson Goodwin tries; Mawene Hiroti 3 goals) at Kogarah. Referee: Ashley Klein.
David Polkinghorne
Covering the Raiders, Cavalry, cycling and racing, plus everything else that involves sport in the ACT, for The Canberra Times. Basically I love sport and watching it is a full-time job. Email: david.polkinghorne@canberratimes.com.au
Covering the Raiders, Cavalry, cycling and racing, plus everything else that involves sport in the ACT, for The Canberra Times. Basically I love sport and watching it is a full-time job. Email: david.polkinghorne@canberratimes.com.au
