Canberra are on the brink of their worst NRL home streak in almost a decade but there’s no reason to panic just yet, according to coach Ricky Stuart.
The Raiders have not heard the GIO Stadium viking horn sound in triumph since a golden-point victory over Gold Coast in round seven.
A loss to the Warriors on Friday would extend the home victory drought to at least 15 weeks.
The last time the Raiders lost five in a row at home was in 2014, when they finished the season second bottom.
Despite losing their last four games home and away to slump to 11th on the NRL ladder, Stuart is confident his side is about to click into gear.
“I don’t need to go and reset anything because there’s a football team there that can play footy,” he said.
“We’ve just got to get a little bit of luck.”
Despite winning in golden point twice this season, luck hasn’t always been on the Raiders’ side.
Injuries to key players have forced Stuart to blood rookie backs Ethan Strange and Kaeo Weekes earlier than he would have hoped.
But with first-choice halfback Jamal Fogarty and second-rower Zac Hosking returning to the side after long-term injury lay-offs, the stars are aligning for a late-season finals run.
Before rupturing his biceps in April, Fogarty led the league in metres kicked and nailed the field goal against the Titans that gave the Raiders their last home win.
His recovery coincides with a return to form of sorts in terms of performances, if not in terms of results, said Stuart.
“The first two games I was very disappointed with our energy and enthusiasm, but the last two games I can’t deny that the passion and the hunger was back. We just got beaten,” he said.
“We’ve got some experience coming back now and hopefully we can perform well tomorrow night.”
The 12th-placed Warriors are smarting after their golden-point loss to Canterbury last time out.
They have similarly suffered through an up-and-down season blighted by injury.
The latest blow to their finals hopes was news skipper Tohu Harris will be out for the remainder of the season after undergoing surgery on a chronic wrist injury.
Coach Andrew Webster is still weighing up whether State of Origin forwards Liam Martin and Kurt Capewell will back up 48 hours after they squared off in the bruising series decider.
The Raiders, who have lost their last three fixtures against the Warriors, won’t be taking them lightly, regardless of who lines up.
“Ever since the Warriors have come into the NRL, they’ve had big guys who run really hard,” Fogarty said.
“So for us, it’s definitely about front-loading our energy. With my kicking game, if I can put them in the corner and make them come off their try-line as much as possible, it’s going to give us a pretty good chance to defend their big carries.”
By Jacob Shteyman in Canberra
