It has been an interesting last three weeks for the Mama Africa Raiders since their win in Bowen, starting with the Whitsunday side travelling to Cathy Freeman oval on May 28.
Raiders fought it out in a tough draw with Slade Point - 24 all - with the game brought back from the brink of defeat by the mentally tough group of Raiders, including debutant to both the side and the sport of Rugby union, Riccie Arriola.
Best on field for that day was Andre Houston, Kainoa Close-Houston, and Rhys Ward.
The first June fixture on June 4 was due to be a home game against Mackay City Redmen but was forfeited at the last minute due to Cities being unable to field a team.
It was a letdown for Raiders who had been pumped up to play their archrivals for the first time in the season but gave an opportunity to rest a few niggly injuries.
June 11 saw Raiders Mackay, this time to play Brothers.
The game had been moved to Quarry Hill and the player bus decided it needed to have a rest on Friday night, which meant a mad rush to organise car pooling to travel.
It didn’t affect the result however, with Raiders winning 51-3.
The whole team played as one, with strong defence across the field and great tackling, all spurned on by the sides determined work on and off the ball for some timely turnovers.
The pressure was always on the Brothers attack to force errors, and The Raiders set pieces improved as the game progressed with the scrum again being a solid platform to work off.
Attack was scintillating with the eight tries for the day a sign of that, even though the wingers scored most of them, Ethan Hoffmann (1), Rhys Ward (2) and Jack Briskey (4).
The majority of these were finishing touches on hard-fought line breaks by forwards, as well as the centres.
Niall Clancy put away four conversions and a penalty goal in a stiff breeze that was blowing the length of the field all game.
Best on field was a tough choice -Jack Briskey with 4 tries, Kumya Gabey and Nate Williams making line breaks with every carry, Hone Casey-Bloomer putting in some big hits, fantastic aerial manoeuvres as well as big carries and work rate across the field.
Grant Restieaux had a fantastic first game of the year, and the bench players certainly made their presence none.
Hone Casey-Bloomer came away with the three points in the end, Nate Williams two points, and Kumya Gabey one point.
Big tackles were the order of the day when Raiders met Brothers at Quarry Hill
The home side were water-tight in their 51-3 win after time away from the field
