Canberra Raiders coach Ricky Stuart has fired a warning shot for his players, challenging them to take their game to another level without relying on their returning star trio.
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He said it was up to everyone to build on their performance against the Brisbane Broncos and not lean on Jack Wighton (suspension), Joe Tapine and Nick Cotric (hamstring).
The Raiders almost bullied the Broncos with their physicality, with that effort now becoming their baseline.
Stuart was concerned by the "noise" he was hearing in the lead up to their round-seven clash against St George Illawarra at Canberra Stadium on Sunday.
The Raiders produced their best performance of the season in their win over the Broncos, but they still sit second last on the NRL ladder.
They now face a Dragons side that's also struggled in the opening rounds, with many telling Stuart the Green Machine should get their third win.
Especially with Tapine, coming back in following the birth of his daughter Ilua, Wighton and Cotric strengthening the side.
But it wasn't up to that trio to return and lead the Green Machine to victory.
It was up to everyone involved in the Broncos win to take their games to another level against the Dragons.
"It's great having Jack and Taps, Nick Cotric coming back from suspension, injury and Taps with the birth of his little girl," Stuart told The Canberra Times.
"It's great getting them back, but it's not up to those players returning to come in and win us a game of football.
"It's to come back and join those players that played last week to find improvement in our game.
"My greatest fear is the players listen to all the noise that I hear about how good it was against Brisbane and you should win this weekend.
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"The Brisbane game for me is dead and buried.
"What it's done is create a standard that we need to improve on and it's very important to improve on those performances and that's what I'm looking for this week.
"I expect it and it's something we have to improve on."
The Raiders' record against the Dragons was their best of any current team in the NRL - winning 62.5 per cent of their 36 clashes.
That record's especially strong at Canberra Stadium where they've won 14 of their past 16 encounters.
But they've also struggled at times against the Dragons - highlighted by their 12-10 loss in cyclonic conditions at Wollongong last year.
"It's a level of expectation - that type of performance last week and it's up to every one of those players that played in that game to improve on their performance," Stuart said.
"That's crucial at this time of the year - to keep improving in performances and leaving that game last week.
"We need to make sure this performance this weekend is an even better performance. That's my expectation."
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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
