Canberra coach Ricky Stuart will consider icing some of his stars from the last game of the season in a bid to freshen them for the NRL finals.
The Raiders clinched a top four spot on Sunday after edging Cronulla in a golden-point thriller thanks to three clutch field goals from halfback Aidan Sezer.
The result means Stuart’s men will finish in third or fourth spot, leaving him with the option of sitting out some players from Saturday’s clash with the Warriors.
Skipper Jarrod Croker, breakout star Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad, and veteran second-rower Elliott Whitehead have played all 23 games so far this season.
“I didn’t want to think about that stuff until I knew we were there. But I’ll check injuries and how players are,” Stuart said.
“If there’s a couple of niggles, I’ll have a look at that. It’s important to just keep building, keep some momentum and rhythm.
“But it’s also important to get into the semi-finals with everybody physically prepared and their well-being, physically, in the best possible shape.”
The victory over the Sharks completed a challenging month for Stuart’s side, who have faced the Sydney Roosters, Melbourne, and Manly before taking on Cronulla.
Should Canberra end up in third, they will face defending premiers the Roosters at the SCG in a qualifying final.
But should the Raiders end up in fourth, they will battle minor premiers the Storm at AAMI Park for the right to advance through to the final four.
“There’s a few more of those games ahead of us now,” Stuart said.
“And the practice we’ve had over the last four weeks for our younger players, who haven’t played semi-final football, I don’t think we’re going to have a better preparation for them.”
In any case, Stuart believes their hard-fought win over Cronulla is further proof that his team is mentally ready to compete in September.
“It proves what I know. I know what the culture is, I know the standards that we’re setting. I can coach it, the hard thing is they’ve got to execute it,” he said.
“To their credit, they’re a resilient bunch.
“They’re everything people told us that we weren’t.”