At Apex Oval on Saturday the ability to pile on points, the attacking spark provided by Jai Merritt and the long-awaited return of Chris Daley were all positives for the Raiders.

However, at the end of the day the men in blue and white suffered another defeat with the ongoing battle for consistency showing no sign of ending anytime soon.

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After a poor start on Saturday the Raiders got themselves back within two points at one stage in the first half against Wellington.

But the Cowboys shot well clear and while Macquarie again fought back and got within a converted try in the second stanza it wasn’t to be, with ill-discipline and errors at crucial times proving to be the problem once more.

A disappointed Hill struggled to explain his side’s continual struggles after the 44-32 loss, stating it was “hard to say” if his team had even improved in that regard since the start of the season.

One thing he was eager to talk about was the effort of 18-year-old Merritt, who started on the bench before helping his side to roar back into the contest.

After a recent injury and plenty of conjecture about his playing future, Merritt came off the pine and was outstanding with his running game and, in particular, his kicking game giving the Raiders a sniff of victory.

“It’s a confidence things for him,” Hill said, Merritt having been rumoured to join brother Josh at Nyngan this week.

“It’s his first year in first grade and he’s taking on a massive responsibility leading around this senior players, it’s a big ask for a kid.”

“He came off the bench and provided a lot of spark, kicked a 40/20  which turned the game and they’re the things we need from him.”

Macquarie hosts the Parkes Spacemen next weekend.