Prop Paul Vaughan says the Canberra Raiders' performance will have no bearing on whether he re-signs with the NRL club, with the Canberra junior keen to remain in his home town.
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But the NSW Country Origin star wasn't thinking about extending his current contract, which expires at the end of next year, his only focus was on atoning for what he described as "one of the worst games" he's ever played on Monday night.
Vaughan was not happy with his handling errors against the South Sydney Rabbitohs and was desperate to make amends against the New Zealand Warriors at Canberra Stadium on Sunday.
Raiders coach Ricky Stuart labelled the 34-18 loss to the Bunnies as below NRL standard and the club is now in the running for its first wooden spoon since 1982 – its first season in the league.
They face another tough test on Sunday – the Warriors are pushing for the top eight and gave the Raiders a 54-12 hiding when they met in round nine.
Vaughan is off contract at the end of next season. His stocks have risen since he re-signed last year, making his NSW Country Origin debut in May and also starring for Italy at last year's World Cup.
He turned down interest from the Melbourne Storm before he signed his new deal and has no plans to leave the club he grew up supporting.
"I don't think [the way the Raiders are going will influence my decision]. I grew up in Canberra and I've always wanted to play for the Raiders," he said. "It's a great honour for me to play for the Raiders week in, week out.
"I want to stay for as long as possible and hopefully we can get something sorted pretty soon."
But Vaughan wasn't thinking about a new contract – he just wants to make amends to his teammates against the Warriors.
The 23-year-old was disappointed with his game on Monday night, dropping the ball a couple of times in the first half.
He wasn't alone, with Stuart labelling the team's efforts as NSW or Queensland Cup standard.
"I'm just trying to concentrate on my footy,'' Vaughan said. ''The game that I tossed up on the weekend I was pretty filthy about, it was probably one of the worst games that I've played.
"I just want to try and play a better game this weekend and make it up to the boys and the coaching staff."
Vaughan's disappointment was shared by fellow forward Joel Edwards.
The Raiders are unable to blood any young talent because they have already reached their second-tier salary cap limit, but Edwards backed the players available over the remaining six games to ensure the club avoided just its second wooden spoon.
Edwards felt the NRL needed to look at re-jigging the second-tier cap, which prevented Jeremy Hawkins from making his debut three weeks ago. But he was confident his teammates could finish the season strongly.
"With the injuries that we've had – we've been without Edrick Lee since basically the start of the season and we've had Jack Wighton out through injuries," Edwards said. "It's something the NRL need to have a look at I suppose.
"The belief is there in the team, it's just little fundamental errors that we need to get out of our game and we're working on that each day."
Edwards said they would go back to basics at training to try to address those issues.
NRL ROUND 21
Sunday: Canberra Raiders v NZ Warriors at Canberra Stadium, 2pm
