Cryotherapy, ice baths and even changing superheroes - the Canberra Raiders have pulled out all the stops to help them overcome a five-day turnaround before their heavyweight battle against the Brisbane Broncos on Friday night.
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The Raiders had their only training session of the week on Thursday morning before flying to Brisbane in the afternoon.
They could have a late change to the starting 17 that beat Wests Tigers on Sunday after forward Joe Tapine trained with the main group less than three weeks after having surgery on a broken finger.
He injured it in the round-one loss to North Queensland and was listed as returning in round 6-7.
His return to the squad comes as the rest of the group faces a short turnaround compared with the Broncos' eight-day break.
Raiders captain Jarrod Croker said they'd focused on recovery this week as they look to battle not only the five-day break, but Brisbane's heat and humidity as well.
Croker was enjoying the cryotherapy - the use of freezing temperatures to help his body recover - and said it had helped him sleep better and he was ready to face the Broncos.
"We've done as much as we can. We've had ice baths, cryotherapy and all that sort of stuff," he said.
"It's been a big week of recovery, I can't speak for everyone, but I know I'm okay. It's always tough, but at the end of the day there's nothing we can do about it either."
They've also changed jersey's for the superhero round, with them struggling to win in their previous Incredible Hulk top.
This time they'll wear Iron Fist jerseys - although Raiders star hooker Josh Hodgson said he wasn't superstitious about what he wore.
It's one of six jerseys the Green Machine will wear this season.
Hodgson said there were no issues with his ankle, which he hurt against the Cronulla Sharks in round two.
The Raiders are starting to get their best 17 back from the injuries and suspension that had plagued their opening rounds, with back-up hooker Kurt Baptiste the only long-term concern.
Hodgson wasn't giving anything away about whether Tapine would come into the 17.
"I'm not sure what the situation is with Joe, I'll leave that down to Stick [coach Ricky Stuart] and the physio, but if he is available that's obviously a plus for us," Hodgson said.
"He's a great player and certainly adds a lot of impact off the bench when he comes on. He's a big physical kid and he's one you like to play alongside."
Recruit Dave Taylor would be the most likely to give way for Tapine after he made his Raiders debut last weekend.
Both Clay Priest and Sia Soliola were excellent when they came off the bench against the Tigers.
Hodgson was also impressed with Taylor's first-up effort on Sunday.
If he keeps his spot then he'll face his original NRL club for the first time in a Raiders jersey.
Hodgson said regardless of who was on the bench, he was always confident they were good enough to get the two points.
"We've got a great squad and no matter who's on the bench and who isn't, we always believe our 17 can go out there and do a job," he said.
"Against the [Cronulla] Sharks we weren't great and I don't think our bench was to blame for that. I think as a whole as a team we were off. Our completion rate was down and our errors were up.
"I don't think it was fair to blame the bench, but last week the boys that were on the bench did a good job. That's what we definitely took from that."
NRL ROUND FOUR
Friday: Canberra Raiders v Brisbane Broncos at Suncorp Stadium, 8.05pm. Live on Fox League and Channel Nine.
Raiders squad: 1. Jack Wighton, 2. Nick Cotric, 3. Jarrod Croker (c), 4. Joey Leilua, 5. Jordan Rapana, 6. Blake Austin, 7. Aidan Sezer, 8. Junior Paulo, 9. Josh Hodgson, 10. Shannon Boyd, 11. Josh Papalii, 12. Elliott Whitehead, 13. Luke Bateman. Interchange: 14. Adam Clydsdale, 15. Sia Soliola, 16. Clay Priest, 17. Dave Taylor. Reserves: 18. Jordan Turner, 19. Scott Sorensen, 20. Dunamis Lui, 22. Joe Tapine.
Broncos squad: 1. Darius Boyd (c), 2. Corey Oates, 3. James Roberts, 4. Tautau Moga, 5. Jordan Kahu, 6. Anthony Milford, 7. Ben Hunt, 8. Korbin Sims, 9. Andrew McCullough, 10. Adam Blair, 11. Sam Thaiday, 12. Matt Gillett, 13. Josh McGuire. Interchange: 14. Alex Glenn, 15. Tevita Pangai, 16. Herman Ese'ese, 17. Jai Arrow. Reserves: Benji Marshall, George Fai, David Mead, Jonus Pearson.
