Melbourne head into Saturday’s NRL elimination final against Canberra as deserved favourites, but Raiders coach Ricky Stuart has a simple answer to that: “I love it”.
The Raiders have produced a stellar back half of the campaign to reach the post-season but will need to find another level to keep their season going, despite boasting an impressive record at Melbourne’s AAMI Park.
They’ve won their last four matches in Melbourne, including a thrilling 20-16 win in round 18.
“We’ve been written off for so long … there’s a feeling of joy, and a feeling that we go again,” Stuart told reporters.
“I never really worry if I’m favourite or the underdog, that doesn’t come into the mentality after the first tackle.
“It’s why coaches talk about the first game of the year … to the last one.
“Every game is important when you’re trying to make the final eight, it’s a very tough job … we’ve had some good luck now going into the back-end of the season and it’s our turn to get some.”
Melbourne remain sweating on the fitness of halfback Jahrome Hughes, the playmaker named to play despite having missed their round 25 loss against Parramatta with a calf complaint.
There’s no similar fitness issues for the Raiders though, captain Elliott Whitehead and star half Jack Wighton both ready after resting through their side’s easy win against the Wests Tigers.
But there’ll be nothing easy about their Storm clash, the contest bringing together two stellar forward packs headlined by the front-row battled between Melbourne’s Nelson Asofa-Solomona and Jesse Bromwich and Canberra’s Josh Papalii and Joe Tapine.
“I don’t think it’s gonna be a great spectacle, it’s gonna be a fair battle in the middle,” Stuart said.
“I don’t know of many games where it hasn’t been won in the middle, that’s where the platform is laid.”
Both sides are looking to become the first since 1995 to win a premiership from outside the top four, when the Sydney Bulldogs won an ARL crown from sixth.
They’ve split their two most recent playoff battles, the Raiders winning a famous qualifying final in 2019 before the Storm avenged that loss the following year.
By Alex Mitchell in Canberra
