Raiders coach Ricky Stuart has given a blunt assessment of his team’s performance in their 18-12 loss to the Dragons at WIN Stadium on Saturday night, labelling their second half as “dumb”.
Canberra’s nine-game winning streak was brought to an end by the Dragons, and the Raiders’ spot at the top of the premiership ladder is now at risk.
If the Bulldogs beat the Wests Tigers by 17 or more points at CommBank Stadium tomorrow, Canterbury will leapfrog the Raiders into top spot.
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The Raiders and Dragons were faced with horrendous conditions in Wollongong, with heavy rain and strong winds throughout the game.
Stuart said the Raiders didn’t play well in the conditions.
“I’m disappointed about the result,” Stuart said.
“I thought we were dumb in the second half. I thought we were very courageous, played really good football in the first half.
“In that second half we made too many errors and forced passes, turned the footy over too much and gave them a lot of field position against that breeze.”
When asked whether it was a loss the Raiders needed to have as the finals series approaches, Stuart didn’t agree, believing the game was there to be won.
“No, we didn’t need (the loss), Stuart said.
“We’re a good enough team to win that game. But as I said we were dumb in the second half.
“And to their credit they played really good football to be honest. They deserved to win.
“When we had a chance to get into good field position, we dropped the ball, or we kicked it out on the full.
“When we had a chance to earn some good field position, we failed.”
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Stuart said the Raiders aren’t even thinking about resting players heading into the finals, with a very close race for spots in the top four.
“We’re not looking too far ahead and we can’t,” Stuart added.
“I haven’t got that experienced squad to be looking too far ahead.
“Because it’s still such a tight four.
“We don’t want to take our eye off now.
“If you take your eye off the now, and you’re looking at down the track, it might be pretty bleak down the track.”
