When losing is a danger of becoming a habit, you can't afford to be mired in negativity.
That's Canberra star hooker Josh Hodgson's approach to leadership at the NRL club who are desperately trying to end a three-game losing streak.
"You can't really explain the same situations over and over because people tend to get bogged down by it," Hodgson said.
"We all know we're not at out best at the moment and we all know we could be playing a lot better, but reinforcing that every two minutes and drilling that into the boys is only going to put them down."
The England international said the Raiders' attention is solely on Parramatta, who they face at ANZ Stadium on Saturday night.
The Eels will be without playmaker Corey Norman, who was a shining light in his side's 30-18 loss to Canberra earlier in the year, allowing Mitchell Moses to come straight into the side after being released from Wests Tigers earlier in the week.
Hodgson believes Moses is a good signing for Parramatta, but the Raiders won't be changing their plans because of his inclusion.
"I think they'll probably look for him to give them a bit of direction," Hodgson said.
"(But) we're not really worried about that."
The Raiders' capacity to attack with flair has been well-documented.
But Hodgson believes a more measured approach earlier in sets can lift them back to winning ways after their season hit its lowest ebb with a loss to lowly Newcastle on Sunday.
"We've got big powerful blokes and sometimes they poke their nose through a line and there is that option there to maybe push a pass sometimes when we don't really need to," he said.
"I think that's just something we're learning as we go along this year.
"We had a few too many errors and a few poor options at the back end of our sets."
A loss to Parramatta would see Canberra slump to 4-7 and facing a tough road to meet the premiership expectations many set for them at the start of the year.
But with their competition rate and possession the chief concerns, Hodgson says there's no cause for panic.
"The good thing for us is that it's not something that's a massive issue, it's something we can fix up pretty quickly."
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