By Cameron Warner
St George Illawarra Dragons second-rower Bronson Harrison is not fazed by whatever reception is directed at the Red V when they face the Canberra Raiders at GIO Stadium, Canberra on Saturday.
The New Zealand international is in the midst of his second season with the Red-and-Whites having previously played for the Raiders and is one of several players, including Josh Dugan and Joel Thompson, who have swapped the nation’s capital for the Red V in recent years.
Harrison expects the home side’s crowd will direct a ‘little bit of flack’ and banter towards all three players but admits it will only provide further incentive to play well on the field.
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The Five Dock Leichhardt junior is under no illusion that the team needs to win all four remaining fixtures if they are to mathematically reach the Finals and has identified line speed in defence as a key area for improvement.
“We are all aware that it is an important match for us if we are to grab a Finals spot and to do so we need to play teams like the Raiders at home,” said Harrison.
“Duges might cop a little bit of flack in particular as reports are saying but he’s the type of player that enjoys feeding off that.
“We need to make sure we pick up for the game this week and learn from our mistakes committed against the Penrith Panthers last round.
“We’ve got a few key areas we need to pick up our game in such as the forwards who need to charge in with a little more line speed and hit them up together.
“The hunger to play Finals is definitely still there and all the boys are disappointed after last week so hopefully we can turn it all around.
“I can’t think of any reason why the hoodoo would continue, I think it’s going to stop this week.”
