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The Canberra Times
The Canberra Times
Lucy Arundell

'It was really hard': Velda moves to the wing as Raiders aim for comeback

Maddison Bartlett fulfilled her dream of being a Raiders mascot, but don't expect her to get back in the costume anytime soon.

Claustrophobic and challenging were the words the seasoned player used to describe her experience as Velda the Valkyrie.

"It was actually really hard," she said. "I'm not claustrophobic but having the head so tight on you, it [was unpleasant].

"It was a dream come true and now that's it, being the mascot once was enough."

The NRLW winger put on the Victor the Viking's suit for the men's game after the regular mascot wearer dropped out.

She'll be wearing a different kind of get-up for the NRLW game this Saturday, with the Raiders taking on the Sharks at Canberra Stadium.

Raiders winger Madison Bartlett and Velda the Valkyrie. Pictures by Gary Ramage, Elesa Kurtz

Bartlett said the team will be heading into a tough game with the Sharks coming off the back of two wins.

"They've obviously got some form about them, but we know that we just need to work on bits and pieces in our own game and we're trying to focus on us as a team," she said.

"It's such a short comp so we can't go into any game thinking that it's gonna be easy or hard or anything like that. We've just got to show up on the day and do what we need to do."

The team is ready for a win after a tight match against Newcastle, where a controversial penalty try ended the game in favour of the Knights.

Coach Darrin Borthwick said the girls have come into training with a positive attitude after the previous week's lost.

"[The Sharks] are a really good side and they've improved on their debut season last year," he said.

"They'll be coming down here and they'll be a really hard opponent, so it's all about us going down there on Saturday and doing our job and hopefully we get the result."

It's set to be a big day of football on Saturday with a quadruple header at the stadium.

The Raiders' Grace Kemp playing against the Knights. Picture by Gary Ramage

Gates open at 10.15am for the Jersey Flegg Cup game, with the Canberra Raiders playing the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles.

The NRLW is at 12.45pm, followed by the NRL (Raiders v Sea Eagles) at 3pm. Fans can honour 300-game Raider Josh Papali'i, with plenty of merchandise on sale and an after-match presentation planned.

The Raiders' NSW Cup side will host the Blacktown Workers Sea Eagles immediately after the NRL game. They'll be looking to make a comeback for the top spot on the ladder after falling short to the Bulldogs last weekend.

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