Unpredictable football might just be the key for Canberra to once again head down to Melbourne and roll the Storm on Saturday.
That’s according to Corey Harawira-Naera, who said offloads and other broken plays would be important in breaking down a Melbourne pack that has consistently proved their ability to step things up in finals.
The Storm have conceded no more than two tries in five of their last seven finals, and that will clearly test a Raiders unit that despite piling on 104 points in two weeks, is yet to prove they can put on a big score against the league’s best.
Speed and energy from the outset will prove vital, according to Raiders interchange forward Harawira-Naera.
“Their wrestle is real good once they get the numbers in the tackle, a little bit of a broken play will actually help us break up the ruck and get guys like Tom Starling, Xav (Xavier Savage), big ‘Germy’ (Zac Woolford) getting out there as well,” he told reporters.
“A lot of it comes down to … knocking down the front door, and then trying to get quick play-the-balls.
“You’ve got to take them on from the get-go, you can’t let them get rolling … we played them in that prelim in 2020, they got the jump on us and we couldn’t get them back.”
Harawira-Naera, who’s settled into a bench impact role and averaged 40 minutes per game since breaking back into the side in round 18, is one part of an interchange quarter firing on all cylinders at the right time of year.
Props Emre Guler and Corey Horsburgh are giving star duo Joe Tapine and Josh Papalii a perfect chop-out, while Starling is adding energy at hooker.
“Everyone prefers to start, but knowing you can make a difference when you come on the field and you’re a bit fresher is a pretty cool role as well,” Harawira-Naera said.
“I’ve been talking to (coach Ricky Stuart) in the last few weeks, I’m happy to play when ‘Smelly’ (Elliott Whitehead) needs to come off a bit early.
“I don’t mind coming off the bench when you see who’s getting a bit gassed, you can watch the game and find a way to make an impact.”
