Riverina eyes stronger performances as rep season nears

Both the Andrew Johns Cup and Laurie Daley Cup seasons kick off next month and with the Canberra Raiders starting to have a real impact in the region, Bulls under 16s coach Ben Mott is confident it can translate on the field.

"It's helping their game a lot, it's helping their confidence and it gives a bit of a boost to the program knowing the Raiders take it seriously and there's opportunities there for the kids," Mott said.

"If the kids can see that the Raiders are involved and invested in our program they feel more inclined to participate and take it more seriously."

The Raiders Academy was introduced last season to offer Riverina kids access to higher level coaching without the extra burden on travel.

The Riverina have struggled over the past few seasons but Mott is hopeful of a change of fortunes this year.

"There's some really promising signs with how things are coming along," he said.

"It's been pretty tough going over the last couple of years but I probably haven't gone into a year like this, with a squad that seems as invested and going as well, for a while."

Both teams had a second hit out in a trial with Western at West Wyalong on Saturday, while an under 17s development team also played against the Melbourne Storm Harold Matthews squad in Albury over the weekend.

However Riverina do have a tough start to the representative season with their first three games on the road.

They tackle Illawarra South Coast on February 4 and then tackle Western and Macquarie Wests Tigers before their first chance to play on home soil.

The Bulls will host Newcastle Maitland Region at Laurie Daley Oval on February 25 before a clash with Monaro at Equex Centre the following week.

Mott expects they will soon discover the level they need to be at.

"It's very tough as we got straight down to Illawarra, who are always in the top two or three and kick off with them in round one down there but that's not a bad game to get out of the way, test us out early and show us where we have to get to," he said.

"Hopefully we can build something as this group of 16-year-olds particularly quite a few of them have had some work with the Raiders Academy and we've had some really good input from the Raiders around the program this year.

"We're hoping to see a real improvement."