Raiders' recruit Joshua Cheek reveals he's a defensive midfielder

The 27-year-old joined the club last week after moving to the region with the Army.

"I had a lot of good references, people through the defence forces that I played Army footy with, I spoke to them about joining clubs and they all recommended Raiders," he explained.

Cheek is a physical training instructor and will play as a small, inside midfielder, who's capable of kicking 50m goals, particularly on the left foot.

However, it's his thirst for the defensive side of the game which could prove just as important.

"I see myself as a defensive mid, not so much a tagger, but shutting players down if somebody starts getting up, I can go and get the footy myself, I'll just go and have fun really," he added.

When Cheek signed, Raiders' coach Marc Almond jokingly suggested midfielders don't traditionally 'man up', so Cheek's assertion will delight the first-year mentor, especially with a young group.

"I don't mind having a bit of experience on the leadership side, all the young sides I've played with, there's always plenty of energy, I reckon if we can utilise that we can be pretty damaging and an underdog," he offered.

Raiders will certainly be outsiders to make finals after losing a host of experienced players, including former VFL ruckman Scott Meyer (Chiltern) and Jydon Neagle (Balranald).

However, the perennial finalists have staged an off-season comeback, signing Dale Cox (ex-Henty), Jason Burke and Alex Daly (Leeton Whitton), Brendan Kantilla (Tiwi Bombers), while former Frankston VFL-listed player Mark Whitehead is returning to the game.

Raiders will certainly be quick with a host of talented youngsters, led by the impressive Max Beattie, who claimed the league's Rising Star award last year.

He played a match-winning role against top three fancies Myrtleford and produced a number of other standout moments.

As one of the more experienced players, Cheek will need to play a leadership role, even if it's in an unofficial capacity.

He was a former Northern Territory Thunder rep, debuting in 2017. kicking three goals against Sydney University in his standout game that NEAFL season.

He's also represented the Australian Defence Force.

Also in 2017, the 170cm on-baller played for the ADF All-Stars against the Australian Combined Emergency Services (ACES) as a curtain-raiser to Port Adelaide and Carlton at Adelaide Oval.

"Most of their team had played either AFL or VFL, it was that standard of footy, it was one of the best games I've ever played in, standard-wise," he recalled.

"It was good, hard footy, but you could tell there was respect on the ground, you'd have both teams helping each other up off the ground."

Originally from Swan Hill, Cheek played his first 50 games at senior level with Central Murray League outfit Tyntynder before joining the Army.

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He missed two years while undergoing basic training at Kapooka, near Wagga, but has spent his time in the NT since, playing with Palmerston and St Mary's.

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