We love the mighty Canberra Raiders
Canberra winger Jordan Rapana says he doesn’t know why pundits continue to write the Raiders off, but it suits them down to the ground.
“You’d have to ask them – I don’t really know, and quite frankly, I don’t really care,” Rapana told AAP ahead of Friday’s NRL semi-final against Parramatta.
“They can keep writing us off. We’ll worry about what we’ve got here and our belief, and if people want to write us off, especially other teams, that’s beneficial for us.”
Junior Paulo says he has his 18 months as a Raider to thank for the way his career has taken off at Parramatta.
Current Canberra coach Ricky Stuart handed Paulo his NRL debut at the Eels back in 2013 and then lured him to Canberra midway through 2016.
A lucrative deal brought Paulo back to Parramatta, where he has been selected for State of Origin honours nine times and assumed the Eels’ co-captaincy.
Josh Papalii isn't bothered by the short turnarounds the Raiders have faced between games in recent weeks.
No matter what the schedule throws at them, the Green Machine are not hedging their bets - they're determined to keep pushing for a spot in no less than the grand final.
The Raiders will travel north on Thursday afternoon, play in their do-or-die match Friday night, and then take a bus back to Canberra immediately after the game.