Raiders fell to the bottom of the ladder after the previously winless Hoppers grabbed a 23-point win.

"Where we're at as a club, it's not about getting them (the players) up each week, it's about putting things in place so they can see the vision and what we're trying to build towards," the first-year coach suggested.

"We're trying to sell them not just for this week, but the next month, the next two years.

"It might sound like a cop-out or a cliche, but every club is at different stages of the development.

"That doesn't mean we don't want to win each week, but it's no different to when I was at Corowa-Rutherglen, they hadn't won a game in three years and that messaging wasn't about having to play finals, it was more about how we want to look as a footy club, what's our brand look like, how we want to play each week and putting a dream in front of them that they can buy into.

"The messaging would be totally different than what it would at Wangaratta or Albury, clubs like that I would imagine."

Raiders are away to Albury on Saturday.

The Tigers revealed earlier this week Daniel Cross will play his first game of the season, while Werribee star Nick Coughlan has been named for a rare appearance.

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The Tigers share a three-two win-loss record with three other teams and given how tight the top five battle is, they simply can't afford to lose.

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