Canberra halfback Jamal Fogarty wants his teammates to drink in the joy from their gutsy elimination final against Melbourne as they prepare for another do-or-die clash with Parramatta on Friday night.
Instead of putting the gritty 28-20 win to bed, Fogarty hopes the Raiders fully appreciate what they’ve achieved in knocking out the perennial NRL powerhouse, progressing to the competition’s final six teams despite a brutal start to the campaign.
“It’s one thing we probably don’t do enough, in the sheds post-game after a win, just soaking it in,” he told reporters.
“Jackie Wighton talks about making sure we’re in the moment, being in the present.
“That’s what you can do … enjoy each other’s company, everyone’s happy and you just embrace it, as well.
“But it is kinda easy to put it to bed now, because we do have Parramatta next week.”
Fogarty, 28, has clearly found his best Raiders form in recent weeks as he ramps up his revenge tour after Gold Coast showed him the door in favour of playing young half Toby Sexton.
Perhaps revenge could spur him on against Parramatta too, released by the Eels after half a season in 2017 without featuring for the first-grade squad.
Fogarty was more than aware of the considerable threats Parramatta would pose on Friday, despite losing to Penrith in their qualifying final.
“They’re definitely physical, when they’re playing their best their big boys are on the front foot coming off the back fence, very physical with the ball, but also without the ball,” he said.
“It’s finals footy, they had the wood on Penrith all season, then obviously Penrith turned it up a notch.
“It’s gonna be a different game, we just got to make sure we’re doing little things right, making sure our communication is clear to try and slow down their threats and minimise what they do.”
Whether or not his Raiders are now playing with house money having won a final after their early-season struggles, Fogarty saw an opportunity for the tight-knit squad to continue their journey for at least another week.
“Everyone expects us to lose and to not be where we are today,” he said.
“It’s not putting up a fake front saying we’re enjoying our football, you can see that it’s genuine, everyone’s coming to training really happy and upbeat.
“We’re hanging out with each other away from footy as well, they’re the signs a team is going well with the culture at a club.”
By Alex Mitchell in Canberra
