A holiday is as good as a change, with Canberra Raiders hooker Tom Starling hoping a weekend off can act as a circuit breaker for the struggling Green Machine.
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Starling spent the weekend with family on the Central Coast and came back focused on snapping a four-game losing streak when they play Newcastle at Wagga Wagga on Saturday.
The Raiders had a tough travel schedule leading into their loss against South Sydney - travelling back from Townsville with a five-day turnaround.
But a nine-day turnaround leading into the Knights clash allowed them to have the weekend off to freshen up.
Starling said it could be the perfect tonic for the Green Machine to return to winning ways.
"It's massive. I went and saw my family and switched off from footy and I was at the beach soaking up the sun," he said.
"It is a good refresher. You come in on a Monday feeling good, feeling fresh, ready to go for a big week of training for a big game of footy out at Wagga."
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But the self-proclaimed football fan admitted it could be tough at times to switch off.
That's where his family comes in.
Starling assured Raiders fans their minds were back on the task at hand once they returned to their centre of excellence.
"We all love our footy and it's the first thing on our mind when we wake up and probably the last thing on our mind when we go to sleep," he said.
"It is hard [to switch off], but getting around my family always makes it a little bit easier when we're in a little bit of a tough patch here.
"We're back into it today and our minds are on the job."
Starling said the mood in the camp was still positive and they hadn't hit the "panic buttons" yet, but he admitted they needed to pull their fingers out.
He's been relishing his chance to start at dummy half, but said the potential return of England international Josh Hodgson (calf) would be a big boost.
"Hodgo wouldn't be skipping anything in his rehab. He's the ultimate professional and he'll be doing everything he can to get back, which will help the team for sure," Starling said.
NRL ROUND NINE
Saturday: Canberra Raiders v Newcastle Knights at Wagga Wagga, 3pm.
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
