NRL greats' advice for Raiders' rookie after horror benching

SEN’s Chad Townsend and Justin Horo have backed Savelio Tamale to bounce back from his horror showing against the Dragons.

Tamale was benched by Ricky Stuart after 32 minutes of the Raiders Round 17 clash with the Dragons.

The young winger was evidently struggling under the high ball, making four errors.

Stuart’s call to remove Tamale and send on Seb Kris was a crucial one in the scheme of the game, with the Raiders walking away 24-16 winners in the nation’s capital.

Given the public nature of his hooking, 2016 premiership winner Chad Townsend believes this could be a make-or-break moment for the rookie winger, encouraging him to make the most of his time in reserve grade to remove the errors from his game.

“I mean, the thing is now, because there was such a magnifying (of the incident)... like, obviously it's on TV, everyone's talking about it,” Townsend said.

“He may not play next week, I don't know what Ricky Stuart will do with his line-up, but now it's like this kid has years to go in his career.

“Now he can use this moment to either show some resilience and bounce back and mental strength, or it's almost like you potentially get the yips, and it really just affects you moving forward.

“So mentally, more than ever, I think it's important that the Raiders get around one of their own teammates and obviously, if it is the high ball that's the thing that's causing him dramas, get back there at training and practice everything.

“If I'm him, I'm catching 30 high balls after training every single day.

“And then I'm showing my teammates, that's what it takes.”

Tamale had 55 metres from 6 runs and one tackle in his 30 minutes of game time.

Former Manly forward Justin Horo echoed Townsend’s sentiments, urging Tamale to improve in the pressure-less environment of reserve grade and re-earn a spot next season.

“I brought up the 1 percenter in the game, Joseph Tapine, like the middle forwards can help out their winger by putting good genuine kick pressure or, even better best result, shutting it down before it gets out there,” Horo said.

“As you said, he'll get another opportunity. He's too talented, he's a strong ball carrier.

“He'll go back to New South Wales Cup… Savelio Tamale will probably finish the season in New South Wales Cup after a performance like that.

“It can make or break you, continues to work on his craft, continues to play strong in New South Wales Cup, has a big preseason… he’s clearly a dangerous x-factor type of player once he gets his hands on the ball.

“He's just got to continue to work at that particular part of his game, and you'll get an opportunity to do that in New South Wales Cup, as well without the pressure.”

The Raiders take the two points into their Round 18 bye, before a clash with the Bulldogs on Saturday week.