A devastated Canberra Raiders side will dust itself off as the club's premiership tilt continues the hard way, coach Ricky Stuart said after a gruelling loss to Brisbane in week one of the finals.
After the bunker twice denied them a win and a two-week rest before a home preliminary final, the Raiders were brought back to earth by a Reece Walsh masterclass and a Ben Hunt field goal in golden point to lose 29-28 on Sunday.
Stuart was left to pick up his players after their emotional turmoil before a sold-out crowd at GIO Stadium.
"That's my job," he said after the match.
"But if you're not hurting right now, you shouldn't be doing the job. We'll dust ourselves off and go again."
Following 94 exhausting minutes, Canberra have just six days to back up for a sudden death semi-final against Cronulla at home.
Despite the physical and mental toll on his players, Stuart won't be altering his team's preparation.
"We'll keep the same schedule but we certainly won't be doing a lot of work this week," he said.
"If you need to be doing a lot of work this time this year, you're probably doing something wrong. So after playing 94 minutes, the most important thing is getting players up physically."
Stuart also faces a judicial cloud over Hudson Young, who was controversially sin-binned after celebrating in the face of Walsh and receiving an apparent headbutt, and Zac Hosking, whose follow-through on Walsh's kicking leg conceded the penalty that sent the game to extra time.
Despite pivotal moments going against his side, Stuart was philosophical about their ill fortune.
"We've won games like that this year too, you've got to remember that," he said.
"Imagine how Ivan (Cleary) and his (Penrith) team were feeling three weeks ago in Mudgee, the way we won that game. So, you know, that's part of our job. We've got to be professional enough to have a day off tomorrow and we'll get going again.
"We've got a strong resolve. It doesn't increase it. We've just got to do it the hard way now.
"We're a good enough football team, but I've said a number of times you need a little bit of luck. We were without a little bit of luck tonight. But we've got into a position in this competition this year with having some luck on our side."
If Canberra overcome the Sharks on Saturday, they will face a diabolically difficult trip to Melbourne against Craig Bellamy's Storm.
