Among those Guernsey are welcoming back are centre John Dawe, who is returning from international duty with Germany, and also powerful forward Hugo Culverhouse, who has registered with Raiders for the rest of the season.
Although head coach Jordan Reynolds is waiting on a couple of fitness tests before naming his match-day squad to face Havant at Footes Lane, he revealed that up to another half-a-dozen players who missed the defeat at Westcombe Park a week ago could bolster the team.
‘We were really disappointed with last week, but we could have up to eight players back in the squad this week, which will be good,’ he said.
‘That should make a huge impact in this game because we are talking about quality players across the board.
‘We also actually trained on the pitch this week and getting the right preparation is really important.
‘I’m the last person to make excuses, but I reckon we have trained on the pitch only about four times since November and that includes sloshing around up to our ankles in water and mud, the rest of the time we have been in the Elizabeth College sports hall and there is only so much you can do indoors.’
The 47-22 loss against a powerful Westcombe Park outfit last week ended a three-match winning run for Raiders, but tomorrow’s visitors have been in rich vein of form in 2026, winning five of their six games with their only defeat coming on the road at third-placed Bury St Edmunds.
That has seen Havant climb to eighth in the table, two places and three points above Raiders.
‘They have had good wins – putting 54 points on Sevenoaks at their place is no mean feat,’ Reynolds said.
‘They are obviously playing with a lot of confidence and if you put it down on paper and were a betting man, you would probably have to back them.’
However, he believes that the chance to rise above their opponents gives his side added incentive this weekend.
‘We are super motivated to have a reaction from last week, just knowing that we underperformed, but on top of that there is so much more.
‘We drew 45-45 at Havant earlier in the season and everyone was frustrated after that, but we also know that if we can beat them and not give them a point, we can climb above them and also create a bit more room from the teams below us, too.
‘So I think there’s going to be a huge amount of energy coming into Saturday’s game and having fresh faces coming back will help as well.’
Raiders against Havant kicks off at 2pm on Saturday at Footes Lane.
