If Canberra are to break into the NRL’s top eight, they’ll have avoid slipping into an old, potentially destructive habit – losing the games they’re expected to win.
Heading into a season-defining block where the 11th-ranked Raiders will face bottom-eight teams in four of their next five encounters, they simply must take full advantage of the favourable fixturing if they’re to overturn their one-game gap to eighth.
Forward Corey Harawira-Naera admitted winning those games wouldn’t just be about cementing a finals berth, but proving the side had taken a true step forward.