BY ROB

We’ve barely had time to process the Raiders win over the Panthers in Saturday night’s trial match, and yet the second of the Green Machine’s two preseason hit-outs looms large on the calendar.

This Thursday night, to be precise.

There was a lot to like in trial number one, particularly because it was a match played in pretty unfavorable conditions. Both sides dropped plenty of ball, especially as the game wore on and fatigue kicked in. Owen Pattie should be singled out for some early plaudits, along with Ethan Sanders who served up Canberra’s first try with a deft pass to Simi Sasagi.

The trick for Sticky and his coaching colleagues is to determine which youngsters should get a second taste of the preseason pie, and which ones clearly need to be jammed back in the oven that is NSW Cup. Part of the problem is that a lot of our exhilarating youngsters have excellent first-graders in front of them. Dilemmas, dilemmas.

Then you have others like Albert Hopoate, who acquitted himself very well on Saturday but will definitely be on leave come round 1. Do you run him big minutes again, or sideline him knowing that he’ll be good to re-enter the extended bench for round 2?

Then there’s the matter of first-graders who might need a little tune-up before half the club decamps to the middle of Nevada. Saturday saw the likes of Sasagi, Saulo, Mariota, Hoppa and Cook all fire up.

They’re are sitting deep at the end of a(nother) long bench. The team list features a near full-strength first-grade squad sans Tapine (rested) and Hosking (injured). The changes are too numerous to list, so hit the link to get the full rundown.

Sticky will want sensible football on Thursday night – keep the razzle dazzle to a minimum, avoid injury and work on reigniting team connections, particularly when it comes to getting ball wide of the ruck.

A second win could put the Green Machine in the box seat for that sweet $100k prize, but it would probably need to be a blowout victory given that they’re one of only four teams to have played thus far.

The Sharks also have their top guns lining up, and those with long memories (and grudges) will spot Raiders nemesis Addin Fonua-Blake at starting prop. Here’s hoping both the crowd and Trey Mooney give him the welcome he deserves.

Unlike the first trial Thursday night’s match will be played in dry and hot conditions. The mercury will reach 30° in the afternoon, so the game will be played above 20° at the very least. A dry track does give Raiders a chance to explore their backline speed, something that’s only gone up with the inclusion of Savelio Tamale in the starting back five.

And that’s pretty much all I have for you at this point. After this it’s on to Vegas and the opening game of the season, our first step on the path to a Raiders premiership in 2025.

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