Through green eyes 2022

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The Nickman
Mal Meninga
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Re: Through green eyes 2022

Post by The Nickman »

Billy Walker wrote:
The Nickman wrote: April 29, 2022, 8:14 pm Coach doesn’t deserve another shot to improve. Overhaul the coach first and then let the new guy decide what to do with the roster.

Sacking half of what should be a fairly decent team to save a poorly performing coach is just lunacy.
Yeah coach has to go but take his CEO mate with him.
I have absolutely no problem with that either. All I’m saying is start at the top, starting at the bottom is absolutely ridiculous,
Billy Walker
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Re: Through green eyes 2022

Post by Billy Walker »

The Nickman wrote: April 29, 2022, 8:39 pm
Billy Walker wrote:
The Nickman wrote: April 29, 2022, 8:14 pm Coach doesn’t deserve another shot to improve. Overhaul the coach first and then let the new guy decide what to do with the roster.

Sacking half of what should be a fairly decent team to save a poorly performing coach is just lunacy.
Yeah coach has to go but take his CEO mate with him.
I have absolutely no problem with that either. All I’m saying is start at the top, starting at the bottom is absolutely ridiculous,
I’m in furious agreement with you there. I think Dubs made some good points about culture and that starts at the top. At the moment you’d be more confident of your 17 year old son reaching his full potential if he entered the Storm or Chooks system but you’d worry about whether the Raiders are set up to bring out his best.
Billy Walker
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Re: Through green eyes 2022

Post by Billy Walker »

I actually wouldn’t be shocked if in the face undisputed evidence the club was forced to accept Ricky ain’t got it, but rather than punt a favourite son they spin a narrative and put a structure around him where a Tim Sheens/Phil Gould style oversight position is created. For us it will likely be David Furner or Laurie who comes in. It will only serve to make things worse and prolong the Ricky reign.
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dubby
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Re: Through green eyes 2022

Post by dubby »

I'm not calling to sack 'half the team', but we can improve it.

We need a centre. Semi just doesn't offer much, and I'm disappointed with some of Timokos defensive decisions. With Matt though, he has shown some potential. He's fast, can break the line and is difficult to tackle. He'll improve in time.

Lock. Not sure who we have coming thru but EW is not the consistent performer he was. I thought AE actually went well vs Panthers so maybe there is some scope there?

Hooker. Bonehead pointed out that Tommy doesn't get the forwards onto the ball as well as other 9s. I think this is a vastly significant observation because we really lack metres gained and our pack suffers when Papa and Tapine are off.

We have to give Trevily more game time to develop.

And for some reason I had a dream last night Fogarty was playing.
The spiral of silence refers to the idea that when people fail to speak, the price of speaking rises. As the price to speak rises, still fewer speak out, which further causes the price to rise, so that fewer people yet will speak out, until a whole culture or nation is silenced. This is what happened in Germany.

If you do not speak, you are not being neutral, but are contributing to the success of the thing you refuse to name and condemn.
The Nickman
Mal Meninga
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Re: Through green eyes 2022

Post by The Nickman »

All of the players you’ve mentioned would be a lot better with good coaching and good systems around them
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greeneyed
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Re: Through green eyes 2022

Post by greeneyed »

Through green eyes: As I saw it

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"Yeah that whole second half was undisciplined, lacked any quality, execution, it was just very disappointing. I am glad they were as bad as us. Publicly I am lost for comment in regard of the quality of that performance in the second half and for any loyal fan, any real fan we have got left, I feel really embarrassed and sorry for them. I can put my finger on it, but as I say from a public point of view it is not something that I need to discuss here at a press conference."

Canberra Raiders coach Ricky Stuart


2022 Round 8. New Zealand Warriors 21 - Canberra Raiders 20. The Canberra Raiders found a way to lose in the second half, yet again. Well, the second half, plus a bit of golden point extra time. Five losses in a row. For the fifth time this year, the Raiders were held scoreless in the second half. The opposition was beaten by 60 points last week, conceding 70 against the Storm. Today, the Warriors played downright awful football. But the Raiders just kept giving them an invitation back into the game.





The Raiders dominated in the first 40, but handed the Warriors two try scoring opportunities. They took them. Canberra led 20-12 at half time, but didn't score a point after the 35th minute of the game. The first half was poor quality, but the second was just diabolical. It was littered with errors and penalties. The Warriors scored the only try in the second stanza, through Euan Aitken in the 65th minute. It was off the back of a Raiders error. They forced golden point with a penalty goal in the 80th minute - after Corey Horsburgh tackled Matt Lodge high. Some have said it was controversial. Lodge laid down for the penalty. But the referees really had no option. There wasn't serious contact and it probably wasn’t reportable - which is the test for the bunker to intervene. But the high contact was clear.

Another Raiders error in the first set of golden point - a forward pass from Tom Starling - gifted the Warriors the territory needed for the winning field goal. Shaun Johnson eats those chances up, no problem. Golden point was over before it had barely begun.

The Canberra Raiders are in dire straits. They lost five straight games last year, starting with the Round 5 loss to the Panthers. They lost five in a row when they opened the 2018 season with four defeats. They had five losses in a row late in 2014. But you have to go back to the dark days of 2013, when David Furner was coach, to find a longer losing streak.

Next week, the Raiders face the Bulldogs, the team in last place on the ladder. Tonight, the Dogs upset the Roosters - and are only placed behind the Raiders on points differential. If Canberra can't win that game, they're staring at wooden spoon territory, the days of 2013. In the month following the Bulldogs clash, the Raiders face the Sharks, Rabbitohs, Eels and Roosters. That's a tough run. If something doesn't change, quickly, Canberra's season could be effectively over by the half way mark.

Coach Ricky Stuart says he can put his finger on what's going wrong. He apologised to the fans, to "any loyal fan, any real fan" the club has left, at least. But he didn't offer any explanation to the fans as what is actually wrong, saying he couldn't discuss it publicly.

One clear problem is that there have been injuries in key positions, and the players available are still developing. They have to do it in the unforgiving environment of NRL football. But ultimately the responsibility for that rests with the recruitment and retention record of the club.

There are too many veteran players who have seriously declined in form or that the coach has decided he can no longer select in first grade. There is no better evidence of that than the late inclusion of Adam Elliott at dummy half. He played pretty well overall, but he's no hooker. There have also been some baffling selections and the use of the bench has been poor at times. Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad played precisely zero minutes tonight. He was left idle on the bench.

The second half fades? The players clearly have a mental block now - but mental preparation is not just on the players. A lack of leadership on field is probably the other main issue. That reflects some of the issues just mentioned. Then there's the issue of completions. I've written before about the vicious circle that creates, including last Thursday. I won't go through it again. The team doesn’t look well drilled enough to execute the tactics.

The Canberra Raiders have been devoid of success for 28 years. There's been a premiership drought longer than any club other than the Eels. At some point, stronger accountability for results will be needed. Not just for players, but for coaches and administration. I've rarely seen the supporters of the club as disengaged as they are right now. All of the club's fans deserve better and deserve some explanations too.

Stats that mattered? The Raiders had more than enough possession and territory to win this game. They had over 60 per cent of the ball and 65 per cent of the territory in the first half. They had 19 tackles in the Warriors' red zone. The Warriors had just two red zone shots - and scored two tries, off the back of errors from Jordan Rapana. Canberra should have been leading by more than eight at half time.

Things turned in the second half, with the Warriors getting a 55 per cent possession share. Territory was close to even. But Canberra still had twice as many shots in the opposition red zone than the Warriors in the second forty (18 tackles for the Raiders, just nine for the Warriors).

Overall, the Raiders had 54 per cent of the ball - despite completing at just 67 per cent. The Warriors completed only 25 of 43 sets, a 58 per cent completion rate. There were 35 errors in the game, 18 from the Raiders and 17 from the Warriors. There were also 15 penalties conceded (Raiders eight, Warriors seven) and eight set restarts conceded (Raiders five, Warriors three). The Raiders made more runs (164-144), running metres (1436-1168), post contact metres (533-453), metres per set (36-27), offloads (10-5) and tackle breaks (24-20). Line breaks were level at three apiece. The Raiders kicked more (17-13), while making fewer kicking metres (354-410). That reflected the fact the Raiders were in better position for attacking kicks (Raiders six grubbers, Warriors one). Those attacking numbers generally come with a victory.

The Raiders had the slightly better effective tackle rate (91 per cent, just under 90 per cent for the Warriors). The Warriors tackled more (342-305), while missing more (25-20) and posting more ineffective tackles (15-11). Yet both teams conceded three tries.

The bottom line? The Warriors made the most of their chances, the Raiders did not.

Memorable moments? The Raiders produced three good tries in the first half - all of them the result of sending the ball to the left edge. First, Timoko was put into space by passes from Schneider and Wighton. A good, late offload from Adam Elliott set up a similar try, with Hudson Young the beneficiary. Five minutes before half time, Wighton ran himself to the line. But you know what, this game was mostly unwatchable, due to the constant errors and penalties. One to forget. Not if you're a Warriors fan, I guess.

Best performers?

Jack Wighton. One try, 12 runs for 105 metres, two try assists, two line break assists, five tackle breaks, six kicks for 94 metres.

Joseph Tapine. 16 runs for 138 metres, 46 post contact metres, 30 tackles, 100 per cent tackle efficiency.

Adam Elliott. 12 runs for 89 metres, 39 post contact metres, two tackle breaks, three offloads, 35 tackles.

Top tacklers: Tom Starling 37, Ryan Sutton 37, Adam Elliott 35
Most metres gained: Corey Horsburgh 143, Joseph Tapine 138, Jordan Rapana 121, Matthew Timoko 121

My player ratings:

Jordan Rapana 4
Nick Cotric 3
Matt Timoko 6
Semi Valemei 4
Xavier Savage 4
Jack Wighton 7
Brad Schneider 5
Josh Papalii 6
Adam Elliott 6
Joe Tapine 7
Hudson Young 6
Corey Harawira-Naera 6
Ryan Sutton 6

Tom Starling 6
Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad dnp
Corey Horsburgh 5
Harry Rushton 4

Do you agree with the ratings? Let us know!

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RedRaider
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Re: Through green eyes 2022

Post by RedRaider »

Thanks for the write up GE. Comprehensive as always. I know Rapa is playing with a bung knee and I am one of his biggest supporters but yesterday was not a good day for him imo. I know his run meters look ok and he was always looking to get involved but that nothing pass to Cotric which led to the Warriors first try was a head shaker. His continued shakiness under the high ball when at fullback means he will be targeted. He was formerly very good under the high ball. I would like to see Savage in his favored position. He had a crack at it last year so what have we got to lose this year.
Billy Walker
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Re: Through green eyes 2022

Post by Billy Walker »

Hmmm I’m not in full agreement with all the scores this week. Elliot the obvious one being too low and Starling, Papa, Young Sutton and Timoko a little high
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BadnMean
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Re: Through green eyes 2022

Post by BadnMean »

Why are people all over criticising Papa this year? He was part of absolutely rolling Warriors through the middle in the first half. He dominated- along with Tapine. Then in the 2nd half, you won't find him dropping a single ball, or pushing a pass or even missing a tackle while everyone else turned to mud alongside him. He is being given less minutes though, by supercoach.

Ratings are probably about right this week.
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greeneyed
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Re: Through green eyes 2022

Post by greeneyed »

Through green eyes: For better or worse

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6 MINUTE READ

The Raiders lost to the Warriors last Saturday in golden point. It was their fifth loss in a row.

There were some controversial decisions from the on field referee and the bunker in the game.

Let me say up front, I don't think the Raiders lost because of any officiating error.

The Raiders had plenty of opportunity to win the game and wrap it up well before the match went into golden point.

But there is no doubt the officiating was substandard and at least one critical error from the officials cost the Raiders, dearly.

In the final stages of the game, Corey Horsburgh went high in a tackle on Warriors forward Matt Lodge. Lodge then clearly took a dive. It might well have been a penalty for high contact, but the referee did not rule it that way on the field.

The bunker looked at the replay - and almost anyone looking at it could easily see that there was not much in the high contact. Plenty of commentators said just that during the game and afterwards.

The bunker is only supposed to intervene in that situation if the incident is so serious it is "reportable". That's what they decided, putting Horsburgh on report and awarding a penalty in front of the sticks.

The penalty goal that ensued leveled the match and forced golden point. The Raiders still had more opportunity to win the game. Instead they produced yet another error and gifted the Warriors the field position needed for Shaun Johnson to slot the winning field goal. The Raiders have to be accountable for that.

But the officials also should be accountable.

The day after the loss to the Warriors, the match review cleared Horsburgh of any wrong doing. At the very least, that cast doubt on whether the incident was "reportable".

The rule that the bunker could only intervene in reportable incidents was originally introduced to stop players taking dives for things that were minor. Yet that is exactly what Matt Lodge did on Saturday. He is said to have admitted that after the game.

The NRL's head of football, Graham Annesley didn't even address the issue in his weekly briefing on Monday. When later contacted by The Canberra Times, he defended the officials.

"It's very difficult to accuse a player of lying down, because obviously I don't know whether he was injured in a tackle or not," Annesley said. "There was some contact with the head and I've often said that if your target area is in that upper part of the shoulders, and something goes wrong, then you're at risk of being penalised."

That was all he said on that incident.

He also admitted he hadn't reviewed another controversial incident in the game, a raised elbow from Lodge while he was in possession - which came into contact with Corey Harawira-Naera's head. Most commentators thought it should have resulted in a sin bin, or possibly a send off. Annesley said it was a 50-50 call. Lodge subsequently received a grade one charge from the match review committee, which attracts a fine only.

There was another incident where Joe Tapine was elbowed, yet Tapine was the one put on report for a "facial". The match review committee cleared Tapine, too.

We heard nothing more until last night when it was revealed by Phil Rothfield that senior video referee Steve Chiddy had been "dropped" - reportedly because the bunker had erred over the Horsburgh report and penalty.

There's been no public statement from the NRL or Annesley admitting the error.



But Raiders coach Ricky Stuart weighed in on the issue today.

"It's frustrating times. It's hard to get over those losses when it's taken away from you the way it was, with some really poor bunker decisions," he said.

"The effort is there from the players, and that's the one thing I'm fortunate about, is that the effort is there. We've got to polish up on a few parts of our game, but you can't do that if you haven't got effort. And that's what made it very hard for me last week as a coach to see how much it hurt us, all of us, the staff, the club and the players. I believe it was wrongly taken away from some critical decisions in the bunker."

"I've spoken with [referees boss] Jared [Maxwell] and Graham [Annesley]. I've had good communication as I always do with those two gentlemen."

"I believe the bunker is damaging our game. I don't believe we need the bunker, because they can't get it right."

"For some unknown reason, I can't understand how two elbows last week didn't get a charge. I really don't understand how we can penalise Corey Horsburgh on that shot on Lodge, where he's even come out and said that he faked it. We all knew he faked it. Everybody at the ground knew he'd faked it."

"We have a bunker doctor... and yet [Lodge] laid on the ground for a number of seconds after a so-called head shot and the bunker doctor didn't even want to have any HIA protocol involved with it."

"I really believe the bunker is getting it so wrong, we really need to only have the bunker be involved in contentious tries."

"We've even got the referee coming back now where a goal kicker has to wait and the bunker gets an extra 30 or 40 seconds to then want to review it."

"It's just damaging the fabric and the way we want the game to be viewed."

"It's annoying and it makes it even more annoying when you lose games from it. And the situation we're in, where we need as many two points as we possibly can, to have it taken away from us like that through a decision, that I just don't know how he got wrong, is really disappointing."

I think it is fair to say that there has been some over-reach in the NRL's use of the bunker. It is one area where the game has become more and more complex.

There's also been over-reach in the number of rule changes in recent years. That's made the game too complex too. Rules like two point field goals, 20/40 kicks and "six agains" in part of the field.

The officials need to be accountable for their errors. Less spin and obfuscation from the NRL would be desirable, when there's an error. We got a lot of spin this week.

I think that we also need to recognise that the increased complexity in the game's rules is making life more difficult for the officials.

For better or worse, technological advance means that the bunker is here to stay. There's no going back to the days before every match was broadcast, before the days of replays in high definition and from multiple camera angles.

But perhaps it is time to think seriously about some simplification of the games rules and procedures.

****

In recent weeks, the mood amongst Raiders fans has been gloomy, to say the least. Many have become disengaged. I have not seen them so disengaged for a long, long time.

But the announcement on Tuesday that club captain Jarrod Croker would be returning to first grade has bouyed the spirits of everyone who loves the Green Machine.

Croker has spent the opening two months of the 2022 season playing in NSW Cup, after an off season stem cell procedure to help his chronic knee injury.

He's nine games short of his 300th NRL match for the club, but it seemed like he might never have the chance to get there. If he does, few Raiders would deserve it more.



"Jarrod is a great club person," coach Ricky Stuart said today.

"We sat down at the start of the year and mapped out a plan. He knew he was going to be playing NSW Cup. He needed to get minutes into his conditioning and for his body. He's done all that and he's done it very well."

"He went back like the club person he is, the professional he is, and went back to NSW Cup and led from example. He captained that team, led from the front and he's played really well there. He deserves to be back playing at NRL level, in first grade."

"I'm as excited as Jarrod. I want Jarrod to be reaching 300 games as much as Jarrod, his family and all his friends do. I just hope that can be achieved this year".

Me too.

****

Every week I rate the Raiders players on a scale of 0-10... and here is the latest points tally. Tell us what you think of the ratings!

Total points

Joe Tapine 55
Jack Wighton 54
Josh Papalii 50
Tom Starling 49
Corey Harawira-Naera 48
Corey Horsburgh 46
Matt Timoko 44
Brad Schneider 42
Semi Valemei 38
Adam Elliott 37
Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad 35
Hudson Young 35
Jordan Rapana 33
Elliott Whitehead 32
Nick Cotric 27
Emre Guler 25
Ryan Sutton 23
Matt Frawley 11
Sebastian Kris 11
James Schiller 10
Xavier Savage 9
Harry Rushton 8
Adrian Trevilyan 4
Josh Hodgson 1

Average points per match

Joe Tapine 6.9
Jack Wighton 6.8
Josh Papalii 6.3
Tom Starling 6.1
Brad Schneider 6.0
Corey Harawira-Naera 6.0
Hudson Young 5.8
Corey Horsburgh 5.8
Ryan Sutton 5.8
Jordan Rapana 5.5
Matt Timoko 5.5
Sebastian Kris 5.5
Elliott Whitehead 5.3
Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad 5.0
James Schiller 5.0
Semi Valemei 4.8
Adam Elliott 4.6
Nick Cotric 4.5
Emre Guler 4.2
Adrian Trevilyan 4.0
Harry Rushton 4.0
Matt Frawley 3.7
Xavier Savage 3.0
Josh Hodgson 1.0

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greeneyed
Don Furner
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Re: Through green eyes 2022

Post by greeneyed »

Through green eyes: As I saw it

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7 MINUTE READ

"It was just important for the feel to the club. Get a little bit of happiness back into our lives. Nobody on the outside understands how hard it is. It's tough losing a game. Losing five in a row when you're not used to it, I can promise you, nobody understands what you go through. I was happy for the players. Every week they get back on, get back on the platform to prepare. I must say our senior players have been instrumental in the last five weeks, in keeping everybody upbeat, get to training and start again.

You know, we don't like losing. We're like all our supporters and people out there. We don't go to prepare to lose. There is so much effort in every game. And we haven't been winning. But we've been copping a lot of whacks. I don't think there's a spine in the competition that's copped the whacks that we have over the last 12 months. Nobody wants to talk about that, they just want to criticise. There's been so much effort. There's been a lot of work put in. And look, that's just one game. I'm not saying that turns everything around. But what it does turn around is we can have a nice weekend with all our old boys and enjoy one another's company.

We haven't had a player that hasn't tried hard over the last five weeks. There's not a club or a squad of players I'd prefer to be coaching. And I said that to them pre-game. They're all trying. I'm trying. We're just doing everything we possibly can.

In 2019 and '20, that was our bread and butter. We won tight games. We didn't let leads go and we had quite successful seasons. But we've had change of roster. We've had a lot of disruption to our spine and your spine is such an influential part of your processes of your game. We've got young people, we've lacked having any cohesion and then pressure sets in and you make error. We've made a lot of errors in the start of this season and it disrupts it. It halts your process of play. Pressure creates all types of different emotions. At times we haven't handled it and tonight we did.

Matt Frawley tonight, he led the team really. He was a great voice. He talked very well, he was a great voice for Brad Schneider. What I like about Frawley's game is old school. He plays the margin game, he plays inch for inch. He'll play, if not a high-risk game, it's just a metre-for-metre game and I like that type of half's game.

Jarrod Croker brought a lot of calmness to the game, the team tonight. I've seen that when I picked him on Tuesday. I could just sense the boys love having 'Toots' in the team. I haven't been picking Toots for any reason but to help him, because he needed to get minutes into his body in regards to football. He went back like the good person he is to second grade. He captained second grade, played really well in second grade, gave himself some time and confidence and came back and he was a very solid contributor again tonight. He gives me confidence.

If I could get one more thing in life, is for these players to win a Grand Final. Because it changes your life. And you can ask any of those boys in there, I've often said it to them. If I could have one more thing, for these boys to win a Grand Final, because I know how good it is. But we've got a lot of work to do before we get there."

Canberra Raiders coach Ricky Stuart


2022 Round 9. Canberra Raiders 14 - Canterbury Bulldogs 4. One of the best things about the Raiders' victory over the Bulldogs was that it was a win. It brought relief, relief that a five game losing streak was over. It should also bring some confidence back to the team. Confidence that they can hold onto a lead, that they can hold on in the second half.



It wasn't a high quality match. The Bulldogs had a glimpse of their improvement in last week's win over a heavyweight team, the Roosters. Young half Matt Burton was often dangerous last night, while winger Josh Addo-Carr is a top quality winger. But last year's wooden spooners are still a team that is trying to climb their way out of the cellar.

The Raiders have their own well documented problems. They lost new halfback recruit Jamal Fogarty to injury before the season even started. They lost hooker Josh Hodgson for the season ten minutes into the season, after suffering another ACL injury. Last night, five eighth Jack Wighton was sitting in the coach's box, suspended. They fielded a make-shift spine against the Dogs, with Matt Frawley stepping in for Wighton and back rower, Adam Elliott, playing at hooker. They were two of Canberra's best last night. Frawley scored what proved to be the winning try, a terrific break down the middle of the field, with stepping and a dummy fooling the Bulldogs defence. However, the attack often still looked blunt. The Raiders were unable to cross the try line in the final 50 minutes of the game. Canberra's only points of the second half came from penalty goals.



Club captain Jarrod Croker returned to first grade in the game and it had an impact. There's been something missing in terms of leadership in the opening two months - and Croker's presence added experience when the Bulldogs challenged in the second half. He has a quiet authority that the team has needed. His wing partner, Nick Cotric, playing his 100th game in green, had his best game in a long time. Sadly, Croker suffered a shoulder injury while helping to save a try, late in the game. It was the same shoulder that required surgery at the end of 2020. He left the field to a huge ovation, an indication of how much he means to the club and supporters. Perhaps the crowd was sensing it might be his last game, that one more injury might be too much. Hopefully that's not the case. His comments after the game offered some hope that it might not be as bad as it first appeared.



In any case, a win's a win - and it has lifted the Raiders out of the bottom four, for now. The Raiders face a much sterner test next week - against the Sharks - in Magic Round at Lang Park. Canberra beat Cronulla in Round 1. It was an exciting, roller coaster game, with the Sharks taking a one point lead inside the last 10 minutes, before a Hudson Young try sealed victory for the Green Machine. Hopefully, the Raiders can now make it back to back wins.

Stats that mattered? The Raiders had almost 80 per cent of the territory and over 60 per cent of possession in the first half. They had 25 tackles in the Bulldogs' red zone, the Bulldogs had none at the other end. The Raiders really should have scored more than two tries, 10 points, given that advantage. Things swung to the Dogs a little in the second half. But the Raiders still had more of the ball and almost 60 per cent of the territory in the second stanza - and couldn't score a try.

The Raiders ended with a 57 per cent share of possession, almost eight more minutes with the ball in hand. Canberra completed at 80 per cent, the Bulldogs just 69 per cent. Canterbury made 14 errors (Canberra eight). They also conceded seven penalties (Raiders five) and four re-starts (Raiders one). That is what sealed the Bulldogs' fate.

Canberra dominated most of the attacking numbers. They made more runs (194-158), running metres (2062-1454), post contact metres (774-509), metres per set (50-44), kick return metres (156-112) and offloads (13-7). But the Bulldogs made more line breaks (3-2) and tackle breaks (36-29). I can't remember the last time the Raiders topped 2000 running metres. That's over 700 metres more than the team's 2022 average. Nick Cotric produced 225 metres gained, while Joe Tapine and Josh Papalii both made around 200 metres. Ten Raiders posted more than 100 metres gained. What do all those numbers tell us? The Raiders really should have put on more points.

The Bulldogs had to put in in defence, making a lot more tackles than the Raiders (412-283). But Canberra missed more tackles (36-29). And despite making more ineffective tackles (22-13), the Bulldogs ended with the better effective tackle rate (89 per cent, Raiders 85 per cent). Nevertheless, the Raiders conceded only one try, the Bulldogs two. That's the most important defensive indicator.

Memorable moments? Elliott Whitehead had some good moments running wide - and scored a try early in the match as a result. But the best moment was definitely the Frawley try. He really showed up Matt Dufty.

Best performers?

Matt Frawley. One try, seven runs for 81 metres, one line break, two tackle breaks, 11 tackles, 393 kicking metres from 14 kicks.

Joseph Tapine. 17 runs for 201 metres, 92 post contact metres, three tackle breaks, 18 tackles, 86 per cent tackle efficiency.

Josh Papalii. 19 runs for 198 metres, 77 post contact metres, two tackle breaks, four offloads, 16 tackles, 80 per cent tackle efficiency.

Top tacklers: Hudson Young 31, Tom Starling 37, Adam Elliott 28
Most metres gained: Nick Cotric 225, Joseph Tapine 201, Josh Papalii 198

My player ratings:

Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad 5
Nick Cotric 6
Jarrod Croker 6
Matt Timoko 6
Jordan Rapana 5
Matt Frawley 7
Brad Schneider 5
Josh Papalii 7
Adam Elliott 7
Joe Tapine 7
Hudson Young 7
Elliott Whitehead 6
Corey Harawira-Naera 6

Ryan Sutton 6
Tom Starling 6
Sebastian Kris 4
Corey Horsburgh 6

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Begbie
Laurie Daley
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Re: Through green eyes 2022

Post by Begbie »

Good read. Cotric, I think, deserves a 7 or 8.
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greeneyed
Don Furner
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Re: Through green eyes 2022

Post by greeneyed »

Begbie wrote: May 7, 2022, 1:33 pm Good read. Cotric, I think, deserves a 7 or 8.
I certainly toyed with a 7 for Cotric.
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Billy Walker
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Re: Through green eyes 2022

Post by Billy Walker »

greeneyed wrote: April 3, 2022, 5:48 pm
gangrenous wrote: April 3, 2022, 2:28 pm
Hong Kong Raider wrote:
Billy Walker wrote: April 2, 2022, 10:41 pm I don’t think you could objectively watch Semi’s performance and give him a 4. Take a look at his stats this year - that’s a wrong call.
Agree with this. He wasn't a 4
Get this fixed GE, make it a 3
I thought a 3 was a bit harsh. I did look at the statistics for this game, I always do before making the ratings. It could be argued I'm a bit too influenced by the numbers. In any case, I struggle to see how some people were giving Valemei points in the Fans' Choice voting. He made just 79 metres from 10 runs. The rest of the back five broke 100 metres at least. CNK clocked up 192 metres. Valemei made zero line breaks and one tackle break. He did make 18 tackles (that happens when opposition runners target a defender) and had an 86 per cent tackle efficiency rate, missing two and making one ineffective tackle. For mine he has one try cause at least. No errors yesterday, which makes a change, but conceded a penalty. But the defensive positioning vulnerablities are the main issue for me.
I’ll just respectfully put this here for you to consider GE and will leave it at that.
RedRaider
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Re: Through green eyes 2022

Post by RedRaider »

It was interesting to see EW on the right for his try and the lead up passing from Frawley to Schneider to CNK to EW for the TRY. Some will say the game was only against the Dogs, but that was a fine backline play which looked planned and practiced and executed well.

I thought Frawley's short kicking game was a step up over what we have seen in recent weeks. The kicks were well supported by the chasers. He must have been nudging an 8. Tapine also ran so well to set up the platform for Frawley. He looked very good to me and knocking on the door of an 8. Over 200 run meters for a Prop forward is a fantastic effort.
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greeneyed
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Re: Through green eyes 2022

Post by greeneyed »

Through green eyes: Will there be magic?

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UPDATED
5 MINUTE READ

The Canberra Raiders face the Cronulla Sharks in Magic Round on Sunday - for the second time in the space of 10 weeks. The two teams have played 78 games over the past 40 seasons - and a bit - and the spoils have been shared at 39 wins apiece.

The rivalry between the clubs has waxed and waned over the years. The Raiders produced their very first away win in 1983 against the Sharks at what was then known as Endeavour Field. But Cronulla would prove to be a very difficult road trip for Canberra. The Raiders have won only 13 of the 34 games played between the clubs at "Shark Park". They went on an eight game losing streak at the venue between 1994 and 2002. For quite a while, it was a real "bogey" ground. So, in a way, it is fortunate that this weekend, the Sharks will host the Raiders at Lang Park, rather than in "the shire".

The Sharks were one team that the Raiders disposed of in the 1989 finals campaign - on the way to the club's first premiership. That is one of my favourite memories of the Raiders' 40 year history. So is the finals clash of 2012 at Canberra Stadium. That was the game in which the Raiders' attack was so blistering, commentator Ray Warren exclaimed: "Stop it, it's starting to hurt! Rugby league! Rugby league!". It was also the game when a young Josh Papalii more than matched Cronulla forward Paul Gallen. He got under Gallen's skin. So much so that Gallen unjustly claimed one Papalii tackle was "a dog act". The Raiders won that one - and it helped create a more modern rivalry between the teams.

I'd rather forget the finals match in Canberra in 2016, when Cronulla won by just two points - and Sharks hooker Michael Ennis mocked the crowd with his own "Viking Clap". The Sharks went on to win their first and only premiership that year. There was some small measure of revenge in 2019, when Aidan Sezer kicked three field goals to spoil the party for Paul Gallen's final home game. That golden point win certainly was golden. For the Raiders, it was another step on the path to their first grand final appearance in 25 years.

In any case, for the past decade, the Raiders and Sharks really haven't liked each other much.

The Sharks of 2022 are not the niggling, grinding team of recent years. This Cronulla team has an attractive attacking style under new coach Craig Fitzgibbon and with halfback Nicho Hynes calling the shots.

The Raiders beat them in Round 1 this year in a roller coaster of a game. Canberra had to come from behind to seal victory in the final five minutes - with a Hudson Young try being the decider. The "new" Sharks were really still coming together in that game, but they certainly have impressed since then.

On Sunday, Cronulla will be without fullback William Kennedy and centre Jesse Ramien, both suspended for illegal tackles. Hynes will fill the No. 1 jersey as a result. But the Raiders are even more disrupted - missing their first choice hooker, half and five eighth. Canberra won against the Dogs last week, but it was not high quality footy. Their attack is seriously wanting. Taking all that into account, I've tipped the Sharks to win this weekend. But I'd like nothing more than for Canberra to get win number 40. After all, "new" or not... they're still the Sharks. Those with green eyes still don't like them much. And it would almost be like magic if the Green Machine could pull it off.

****

I can't say I'm a huge fan of Magic Round. The great thing about the old Auckland Nines was that on each day, everyone's team was in action. Like the Nines, there is good atmosphere inside and outside Lang Park for Magic Round, big crowds. But I'm not that interested in paying for the days of an event when the Raiders aren't playing. Not at the exorbitant ticket prices they charge. I'll be going Sunday, and once the Raiders' game is done, I'll be heading home. I do get why others have a different view.

I'll also head to The Paddo on Sunday for the event arranged by Matt Cleary, author of the new book, "The Milk", on the 40 years of the Raiders. Former Raiders David Shillington and Matthew Wood and Raiders CEO will appear on a panel and there'll be a question and answer session. There are bound to be some great stories told. It's a free lunch time event, so make sure you get along. The Paddo is a five minute walk to Lang Park.



There was news this week that the NSW government was pushing for Magic Round to be staged in Sydney next year - at the newly rebuilt Sydney Football Stadium. Late today, it was reported that the Queensland government has staved off that challenge, for 2023 at least. A formal announcement could come as early as tomorrow.



The NRL is going to keep hawking this event around, and that's understandable. That will generate the biggest financial flows from State government event corporations. Shifting it about also helps maintain the novelty factor and avoids destination fatigue for those travelling.

But, hopefully Magic Round is never awarded to Sydney. The NRL already structures the draw to maximise local derbies in Sydney... and it is a market already over served for games. I'd like to see it go to New Zealand next myself, given the lack of top class footy across the Tasman during the pandemic. Or a new frontier like Perth. Hopefully, the NRL thinks not just about the dollars, but about the development of the code as well.

****

Every week I rate the Raiders players on a scale of 0-10... and here is the latest points tally. Tell us what you think of the ratings!

Total points

Joe Tapine 62
Josh Papalii 57
Tom Starling 55
Corey Harawira-Naera 54
Jack Wighton 54
Corey Horsburgh 52
Matt Timoko 50
Brad Schneider 47
Adam Elliott 44
Hudson Young 42
Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad 40
Elliott Whitehead 38
Jordan Rapana 38
Semi Valemei 38
Nick Cotric 33
Ryan Sutton 29
Emre Guler 25
Matt Frawley 18
Sebastian Kris 15
James Schiller 10
Xavier Savage 9
Harry Rushton 8
Jarrod Croker 6
Adrian Trevilyan 4
Josh Hodgson 1

Average points per match

Joe Tapine 6.9
Jack Wighton 6.8
Josh Papalii 6.3
Tom Starling 6.1
Corey Harawira-Naera 6.0
Hudson Young 6.0
Jarrod Croker 6.0
Brad Schneider 5.9
Ryan Sutton 5.8
Corey Horsburgh 5.8
Matt Timoko 5.6
Elliott Whitehead 5.4
Jordan Rapana 5.4
Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad 5.0
James Schiller 5.0
Sebastian Kris 5.0
Adam Elliott 4.9
Semi Valemei 4.8
Nick Cotric 4.7
Matt Frawley 4.5
Emre Guler 4.2
Adrian Trevilyan 4.0
Harry Rushton 4.0
Xavier Savage 3.0
Josh Hodgson 1.0

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greeneyed
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Re: Through green eyes 2022

Post by greeneyed »

Through green eyes: As I saw it

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"I know what's inside that jumper. We saw that today. I was very proud of that effort. It was courageous. It was a very, very tough win. We played better. We completed and kicked well. we played better. There were games at the start of the year where we were making under 12, under 14 age group errors. It's not good enough at this level. But we've played better football.

I was very happy for [debutant hooker] Zac Woolford. It was the responsibility of all of us to make his first game a memorable one and I'm sure he'll remember this one, because he had a wonderful contribution. He was very good tonight. He probably could have played more minutes at the start of the game but I knew I was going to need him at the back end. He got a clearance from the NRL yesterday at half past ten, just before we trained. That was the confidence I had in bringing him into the team [and putting him into a starting role]. He had good control around the ruck. There was never any lack of confidence in Zac.

We sat down with our leaders this week and did some work on our mindset from a psychological point of view. In 2019 and 2020, when we had all our experienced spine, all our experienced players on the field, we had a majority of our season where we didn't have any disruption with injury, that was our bread and butter. We were winning games, we were coming back and winning games or were holding leads.

When it's happening at the moment [poor second half performances], it's very hard for me to come out honestly and say what I believe it is, because it might affect individuals, it might affect team dynamics, I've just got to answer with a vague type of answer. We've got no real cohesion in our spine. We brought Zac in yesterday at 10:30. Brad Schneider has played his ninth or tenth game. Matt Frawley has just come back into first grade through Jack Wighton's suspension. Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad didn't start the season well and now he's finding a little bit of form again. All I keep hearing today about is the disruption to Craig's side, losing his seven and one. We can see what happened there to their dynamic from an attacking point of view. It's knocked us around for the last 18 months. This happened last year to us when there was disruption to our seven and one. Jack Wighton had to play with five different fullbacks last year. If you don't have that cohesion and talent in those positions it's a tough struggle at this level, coaching and playing in the NRL.

Those senior boys help you hold onto leads, because they're experienced at it. You've got to experience it to improve and be better at it. We've got [sports psychologist] Chris Horsley who works with us from a consultancy point of view. It hasn't been just this week. We've been dealing with this for the past eight or nine weeks, and not just when we've lost one. We deal with it all the time in regards to different types of scenarios and mentalities you need from a mind set point of view. You can now go back and work off this and say, 'Well these are the scenarios that work for us. What was your mindset in this situation?' Players will benefit from this today."

Canberra Raiders coach Ricky Stuart


2022 Round 10. Canberra Raiders 30 - Cronulla Sharks 10. It is a game that will long be remembered in the history of the Canberra Raiders. First choice hooker, half and five eighth were all missing due to a combination of long term injury or suspension. A 25 year old debutant, Zac Woolford, started at hooker. Three Canberra players - Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad, Corey Horsburgh and Elliott Whitehead - were sent to the sin bin. At one point, the Raiders were reduced to 11 men. But the Raiders rarely lost control of the match. They went out to a 20-0 lead in the first half, and defended as if their lives depended upon it in the second.



The Sharks were flat, probably due in part to the energy expended last week against the Warriors - playing, and winning, with 12 men. But Nicho Hynes' switch from half to fullback, to cover the loss of suspended custodian, William Kennedy, would prove to be more critical. It seemed like a good idea in the lead up to the game. But in the event, Hynes was unable to effectively inject himself from the back. With the Raiders kicking to anyone but winger Ronaldo Mulitalo, Hynes was often required on kick returns - and he couldn't get involved enough in directing play. While the Sharks were clearly below their best, the effort, determination and execution of the Raiders was simply outstanding. It was the sort of performance you'd like to bottle and bring out every game day.



The game from Zac Woolford, the son of former captain, Simon, was great to see. Zac was a Raiders junior, but headed to Bulldogs and Knights in search of an opportunity. He didn't really find one. He re-joined the Raiders on a lower grade contract a matter of weeks ago from the Newtown Jets - with Canberra in the midst of an injury crisis in the position. It looked like an NRL debut might have passed him by. He was called up late as a replacement for Adam Elliott and grabbed his chance. He ended the day with two try assists - setting up the decisive try for Brad Schneider in a moment fit for any debutant's dreams. What scenes after the match as he embraced his father on the fence.



Raiders coach Ricky Stuart was tight lipped about the sin bins decisions - and probably some of the other calls. In my view, the referee was a trigger happy in sin binning Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad. The decision to sin bin Elliott Whitehead was harsh, given the circumstances of the tackle. His shoulder came in contact with the head of Sharks' captain Dale Finucane, but he was propelled into Whitehead by the angle of his own run and the legal contact with other tacklers. The match review committee seems to agree it was harsh, as no charge has been laid. I don't think anyone could argue with a sin bin for Corey Horsburgh. That one was as clear as day.

There were some other baffling decisions. At one stage, both the referee and bunker erred in not ruling that Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad had been effectively tackled before being put over the sideline. The Raiders lost a captain's challenge on that one. Then shortly afterwards, Wade Graham obviously knocked on in slapping the ball from the possession of the Raiders. It was ruled a Raiders knock on. Fortunately, the calls did not push the Raiders off course.

Canberra now heads to the country town of Dubbo for a meeting with South Sydney. The Rabbitohs are really not playing well, just staving off a big comeback from the Warriors on Saturday. If Canberra can repeat the sort of performance they produced yesterday, they have every chance of making it three in a row.

Stats that mattered? The Raiders had 54 per cent of possession and 60 per cent of the territory in the first half. That turned, sharply, in the second half. The Sharks had 60 per cent of the ball and over 70 per cent of the territory. Cronulla ended the game with a 54 per cent share of possession - and had three times the opportunities in the opposition red zone than the Raiders did. The Sharks completed at just 71 per cent (Raiders 82 per cent) and made 14 errors (eight for the Raiders). But the Sharks were awarded 10 penalties (Raiders four). The fact that the Raiders won by 20 points, in the face of those sort of numbers, is extraordinary.

The Raiders were in front in the attacking statistics in the first half, but the Sharks had clearly overtaken Canberra by the end of the match. Cronulla made more runs (195-169), running metres (1593-1488), post contact metres (603-585), kick return metres (180-123), line breaks (4-3) and offloads (13-11). The Raiders made more tackle breaks (35-23) and metres per set (38-35).

The Raiders kicked a bit more (23-19) and made more kicking metres (677-488). However, the attacking kicks were the thing that paid off for Canberra, especially in the first half (eight to three). The Raiders targetted the wing of Sione Katoa to great effect. The Sharks forced four line drop outs, the Raiders just one.

Canberra had the better effective tackle rate (89 per cent, 86 per cent for Cronulla) and that doesn't surprise. It did surprise that there wasn't a bigger disparity in tackles made (Raiders 338, Sharks 320). Cronulla missed 35 tackles (Raiders 23) - and that's a lot. All up, five tries to two is a fair indication of the defensive performance of the two teams.

Memorable moments? There were plenty for the Raiders this week. Just six minutes in, Matt Frawley put up a perfect kick to Katoa's corner - with the winger looking straight into the sun. The result? Sebastian Kris out-leaping Katoa and four points. Next, a bomb from Brad Schneider produced a Nicho Hynes error - and that gave the Raiders an opportunity for a few crash balls. Josh Papalii... try under the posts. Try assist No. 1 for Zac Woolford. Then in the 26th minute, a Sebastian Kris tackle on Katoa produced a dropped ball. It was regathered by Nick Cotric and he offloaded to a storming Corey Harawira-Naera. Suddenly it was 18-0.

Canberra had to wait until the last five minutes for two decisive tries. The Sharks had put on all the pressure in the second half, but the pendulum finally swung Canberra's way. In the 75th minute, Zac Woolford made a 20 metre break from dummy half - putting Brad Schneider in for a well deserved try. It put the result beyond doubt. And when Hudson Young produced an intercept try from half way, well, that capped a magic day. No moment was better, however, than the Woolford-Schneider one-two.

Best performers?

Josh Papalii. One try, 13 runs for 102 metres, 42 post contact metres, one line break, three tackle breaks, three offloads, 34 tackles, 95 per cent tackle efficiency.

Joe Tapine. 14 runs for 132 metres, 73 post contact metres, two tackle breaks, one offload, 24 tackles, 92 per cent tackle efficiency.

Zac Woolford. Three runs for 34 metres, one line break, one line break assist, two try assists, one tackle break, 20 tackles, 95 per cent tackle efficiency.

I would love to have found space for 3-2-1 points for Matt Frawley, Brad Schneider and Hudson Young too.

Top tacklers: Tom Starling 39, Josh Papalii 34, Elliott Whitehead 33, Corey Horsburgh 30
Most metres gained: Hudson Young 174, Joe Tapine 132, Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad 132, Jordan Rapana 125

My player ratings:

Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad 6
Nick Cotric 6
Matt Timoko 6
Sebastian Kris 7
Jordan Rapana 6
Matt Frawley 7
Brad Schneider 7
Josh Papalii 8
Zac Woolford 7
Joe Tapine 7
Hudson Young 7
Elliott Whitehead 6
Corey Harawira-Naera 7

Tom Starling 6
Ryan Sutton 6
Xavier Savage 3
Corey Horsburgh 6

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RedRaider
Laurie Daley
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Re: Through green eyes 2022

Post by RedRaider »

A game to savor for those who love the defensive side of the game. The Raiders kept turning up in numbers in the defensive line for the full 80 minutes. The pressure told on the Sharks imo.

I am a HorsPower fan but that sin bin was a shocker. Perhaps you could take a point off him and give it to Taps GE. The 'go forward' from Tapine has been exceptional all year and with the players exhausted due to the defensive load he continued to churn out the post contact meters with nearly every run.
Billy Walker
Laurie Daley
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Re: Through green eyes 2022

Post by Billy Walker »

The ratings look fair to me GE - glad to see Schneider getting a decent score, his defence was next level.
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greeneyed
Don Furner
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Re: Through green eyes 2022

Post by greeneyed »

Through green eyes: Papalii 250

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Canberra Raiders forward Josh Papalii made his debut in the big time in the unfamiliar surroundings of Bleak City. The 19 year old arrived in first grade in Round 10 2011, wearing jersey 19.

The Raiders had headed to Melbourne in last place on the competition ladder - on an eight game losing streak. The Green Machine had produced a big win over the Sharks in their season opener, but after two months of misery, few were expecting the Raiders could upset the Storm. Canberra had not won in Melbourne since the year 2000.

But win they did. A chip and chase from winger Blake Ferguson down the sideline sealed the memorable victory. Almost all the focus was on the sheer brilliance of that try, not on a young second rower.



Josh Papalii had been selected for the Under 20s match that week, but he did not play. He'd travelled to Melbourne, believing he was going to cover for any injuries in the NRL squad. But on the day before the game, he was told he'd be making his first grade debut. Included at the expense of Trevor Thurling, club great, Gary Belcher, presented Papalii with his first NRL jersey, the day after his 19th birthday.

The young Papa became the 300th Raider when he entered the fray 11 minutes into the second half. He started with a good hit up and was promptly penalised due to some milking from Billy Slater. It was an unfair penalty. After all, all he'd wanted to do was figuratively "Kill Bill". He played for 17 minutes, making four hit ups for 47 metres. He also posted 13 tackles, missing none.

Papalii was born in Auckland, and came to Australia with his family at the age of five. They settled in Woodridge on the southern edge of Brisbane - and he played his junior football with Logan Brothers.

The Raiders had a partnership with the Souths Logan Magpies at the time - and Josh Papalii's arrival in the national capital in 2010 was one of the fruits of that affiliation.

The unexpected nature of his NRL debut meant there was no time for his family to travel from Queensland for the match.

''It was pretty hard to get mum and dad, obviously they have church commitments as well but they were always in my thoughts. Hopefully I can get my parents or some family down next time,'' Papalii said, after the game.

Papalii really made his presence felt in firsts when the team travelled to Lang Park in Brisbane in Round 14. Starting on the bench and wearing jersey 18, he had only been brought into the game at the last minute, in place of Josh Miller.

The Broncos went to a 24-0 lead, 10 minutes into the second half. But then Josh Papalii inspired the most extraordinary comeback, bulldozing his way through the Broncos defence to score two tries in the space of three minutes. Canberra went on to score two more quick tries to force golden point. Sadly, a Peter Wallace field goal won it for the home team, putting paid to what might have been the Raiders' biggest ever comeback. The next week, Papalii was rewarded with his first starting game, in the second row, against the Eels.



Eleven years later, a 30 year old Josh Papalii is set to play his 250th NRL match - against the South Sydney Rabbitohs - in the unfamiliar surroundings of Dubbo. All of those games will have been in green. Only two Canberra players have done that before, Jason Croker and Jarrod Croker.



Papalii admitted this week that he's had his ups and downs over his career. At one stage he signed with the Parramatta Eels, only to later back flip. He's had some off field dramas at times. At other times, he's found himself dropped to "reserve grade".

As with his debut, his family won't be able to be at Dubbo. But they were out in force last week, when the Raiders played the Sharks at Lang Park in Magic Round. They celebrated one week early, wearing "Big Papa" shirts.

"To come through as a young junior from Brisbane, I just dreamed of playing one game, as against 250 this weekend, it's pretty special," Papalii said.

I'm obviously proud and honoured to represent the Raiders everywhere I go. To play 250 at one club is something I will cherish for a long time."

"I've been dropped a few times in my 250 games. I've played pretty crap some games, some good games. But it's a journey I'm pretty happy with."

The Raiders held a function for players and staff to honour Papalii's milestone yesterday at Walsh's Hotel in Queanbeyan. He was presented with his 250th NRL jersey by former forward, Sia Soliola.



"It's a massive achievement," coach Ricky Stuart said today.

"He's nowhere near finished his career. But, the legacy he's going to leave as a football player, one of the greatest to have ever played at the Raiders. A person who is a very famous character, a person we all love dearly. I don't know too many people that don't respect Josh Papalii. He's an enormous character at the club."



There have been many famous moments in Papalii's playing career so far. Like the day he bested Paul Gallen in the finals win over the Sharks in 2012 at Canberra Stadium. How about the day he chased Titans halfback Jamal Fogarty and ankle tapped him from behind? But the most memorable was his try in the 2019 Preliminary Final against the Rabbitohs.



I have never experienced such an outpouring of joy at Canberra Stadium, before or since. It sealed the win. It ensured that the Raiders would go to their first Grand Final in a quarter of a century.

Josh Papalii has plenty of time left in his career. It'd be a surprise if he did not now make it to the 300 game mark. Perhaps he can become the most capped Raider of all time. Hopefully he can top that moment when he crossed under the posts in 2019. If he can, it'll be one hell of a moment in the history of the club.

****

The Canberra Raiders are aiming for their third straight win when they face the South Sydney Rabbitohs in Dubbo. But it is going to be tough. The club has been hit hard by an outbreak of the flu this week - and up to eight players are reported to be in doubt for Sunday's game.

"It's been quite a disrupted week, but we've made good of what we could do on the field," coach Ricky Stuart said today.

"One session where we didn't have any type of meetings or gather inside. We just had an outdoor field session. Yesterday the players that were without any symptoms in regard to influenza had some gym and a field session."

"The boys who are ill at the moment, some of them have had a bit of a training session yesterday afternoon, just together, so they didn't affect anybody else."

"I'll give them until tomorrow morning. I'll go to the captain's run and give them every opportunity to be fit enough to play."

It is just more adversity for the Raiders, who have been blighted by injuries to key players in 2022.

"They're certainly used to it [adversity]," Stuart said.

"They say it makes you tougher, and I think that's the way we played last week. I've always been in awe of how they handle the scenarios that have been thrown at them, especially over the last 18 months."

"A lot of our senior players have really stood up over the course of the last 10 weeks. Because it's really been a tough start to the season. But the leaders have pulled the other guys in with them and I've been very proud of how they've handled a couple of tough scenarios."

Canberra went on a five game losing streak between Round 4 and 8 this year, but wins against the Dogs and Sharks have given the team a boost.

"I think every win you get a little bit more confidence, you get some belief. That's quite evident with the way they're training. It was good to be able to bounce back in this week."

"In saying that, the enthusiasm and energy has been in the squad all year, even through difficult periods."

The return of Jack Wighton from suspension this week is another boost for the club.

"He is buzzing to get back out there," Stuart said.

"He looks fresh. Having the two wins whilst Jack's been out has been a massive bonus for us. It gives Jack a little bit of a rest. He's been in probably some of the best form of his career over the first eight games. So getting Jack back fresh and healthy has been a massive bonus for us."

The Rabbitohs have been up and down in form this year. But when they put it together, they can really pile on some points.

"They are a wonderful attacking team," Stuart said.

"They've got a very big middle. Cody Walker is instrumental towards their attack. I take my hat off to Walker, he's a fabulous player. I know they ride on the back of him."

Earlier this week, I tipped the Raiders to add to their winning "run" on Sunday. However, the influenza outbreak has put a different complexion on the game. We won't know until tomorrow afternoon, at the earliest, how disrupted the team line up will be. Fingers crossed for some very rapid recoveries.

****

Every week I rate the Raiders players on a scale of 0-10... and here is the latest points tally. Tell us what you think of the ratings!

Total points

Joe Tapine 69
Josh Papalii 65
Corey Harawira-Naera 61
Tom Starling 61
Corey Horsburgh 58
Matt Timoko 56
Brad Schneider 54
Jack Wighton 54
Hudson Young 49
Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad 46
Adam Elliott 44
Elliott Whitehead 44
Jordan Rapana 44
Nick Cotric 39
Semi Valemei 38
Ryan Sutton 35
Emre Guler 25
Matt Frawley 25
Sebastian Kris 22
Xavier Savage 12
James Schiller 10
Harry Rushton 8
Zac Woolford 7
Jarrod Croker 6
Adrian Trevilyan 4
Josh Hodgson 1

Average points per match

Zac Woolford 7.0
Joe Tapine 6.9
Jack Wighton 6.8
Josh Papalii 6.5
Hudson Young 6.1
Corey Harawira-Naera 6.1
Tom Starling 6.1
Brad Schneider 6.0
Jarrod Croker 6.0
Ryan Sutton 5.8
Corey Horsburgh 5.8
Matt Timoko 5.6
Elliott Whitehead 5.5
Jordan Rapana 5.5
Sebastian Kris 5.5
Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad 5.1
James Schiller 5.0
Matt Frawley 5.0
Adam Elliott 4.9
Nick Cotric 4.9
Semi Valemei 4.8
Emre Guler 4.2
Adrian Trevilyan 4.0
Harry Rushton 4.0
Xavier Savage 3.0
Josh Hodgson 1.0

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greeneyed
Don Furner
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Re: Through green eyes 2022

Post by greeneyed »

Through green eyes: As I saw it

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"That performance out there, that win, after the week we've had with the flu and injuries to players - I've had to pull two out today on the day of the game. We had to change our whole schedule around in regards to influenza, trying to protect the healthy ones from influenza. We had eight or so blokes, five out of the starting 17, had to train at different hours. These blokes don't want to hear too much about it because they don't like getting rapped like that, but they deserve it. It was a really, really good performance under the conditions and the pressure we had on us this week in regards to the training schedule.

We had to cancel half a day and push training back on medical advice. The quality session, where we couldn't train as a full team again. It wasn't until the captain's run where we had 17 train. I wouldn't have used it as an excuse, but I'll use it as a compliment to the squad.

Matt Frawley had gastro so fortunately we had Brad Schneider in the 24 travelling with us as well. Brad had a pretty disrupted preparation too because I was trying to give him a break this week more so than anything else, but he turned up and did a good job for us.

Jack Wighton brought a lot of enthusiasm and energy back into the squad this week - and it was probably needed after the boys played for 11 and 12 men for so much of the game last week. His energy on top of Josh Papalii's 250th was always going to be there. They're a resilient bunch and they weren't going to let Papa down today.

The first half was great. We had two individual missed tackles in the second half. We should have stopped those two tries. It should have been zip. That's how well we defended. Individually, you've got to make your tackles and we missed two easy ones today, where we should have made them and they scored two tries off it.

At the start of the year we had an inexperienced squad and we were disrupted by injuries, especially in the spine. I come into these press conferences and everyone wants a scientific answer or a strategic answer as to what's going on. When you're not getting 50 per cent of the ball and you're not completing over 50 odd per cent, you're not going to beat anyone. They're completing, and the kicking game again this week, like last week, was really good. It makes it so much easier for yourself. You get so much more energy in defence.

I don't know how bad [Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad's] hamstring is, but he had to come off at the break, at half-time because of a hammy. I don't know how bad it is. I'll check with that tomorrow. [Replacement fullback] Xavier Savage scored a great try. That's what he's got in him. I know, I keep hearing, everyone keeps telling me there's so much social media out there about getting Savage on. Xavier's in a learning process. There's other young fullbacks out there making mistakes I don't want Xavier to make. I want Xavier to learn the right way and he's got a great teacher in front of him in regards to Charnze. He's got experience around him and he'll keep learning the way he is now and he'll be better for it."

Canberra Raiders coach Ricky Stuart


2022 Round 11. Canberra Raiders 32 - South Sydney Rabbitohs 12. The Canberra Raiders did it tough and did it well in Dubbo. They had to overcome considerable adversity in terms of their preparation. They had to deal with an influenza outbreak and last minute changes to the team. Prop Ryan Sutton and half Matt Frawley were both ruled out, late. But this game was different in another way. It was the 250th NRL game for prop Josh Papalii, his 250th game in green. Only two Raiders had achieved that before. And there is no way the team was going to let that milestone be remembered by a poor performance. Before the game Ricky Stuart said: "If we come out flat in Papa's 250th I'll be filthy." The team certainly was not flat and they produced an admirable 80 minutes of football.



Canberra's defence was outstanding. They held the Rabbitohs scoreless in the first half, even though the Rabbitohs had as much opportunity with the ball, as many shots in the opposition red zone, as the Raiders. The half time score of 20-0 was a fair reflection of what had happened on the field. Whenever the Raiders were put under pressure, they just dug in. In the second half, South Sydney got a bit of a sniff and lifted the tempo of their attack. And while they managed to cross twice, the Raiders swiftly closed down any thought the Rabbitohs might have had of a comeback. There was no second half fade from Canberra.

In recent weeks, the Raiders have been conservative in their attack, aiming to fix their awful completion rates. In Dubbo, however, they started to chance their arm. Just before half time, the Raiders produced one of the tries of the year so far. The flick passes from Corey Horsburgh and Hudson Young - to set up a four pointer for Sebastian Kris - were breathtaking. Hudson Young didn't look sideways for a moment. In the second half, Xavier Savage showed why everyone on social media wants him in the top 17. One step and he was through and away, his pure speed left the Rabbitohs in his wake. But those weren't the only adventurous things happening. There was a short line drop out that paid off. It was simply great to see.

The Rabbitohs were poor. There is something seriously awry at Redfern. But the Raiders could do no more than beat the team that was put in front of them. And they did it well. They have now won three matches in a row, since their five game losing streak. Have they turned the corner? Have they found the solutions they needed so desperately? I'd love to think so. Next week is another test, when the Raiders host the sixth placed Eels. Winning is as infectious as losing, and Canberra will head into that match with plenty of confidence.

One new problem is the hamstring injury suffered by Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad, while he was in the process of saving a 40/20 kick from the Rabbitohs. Xavier Savage was thrown into fullback in the second half - and as mentioned, he scored a wonderful try. There were some errors as well, so it remains to be seen what Ricky Stuart will do if CNK is ruled out. In my view, Savage now needs to be getting as much NRL game time as possible - at least on the wing. Time will tell what happens. There is positive news on the injury front as well, however. Halfback Jamal Fogarty is hoping to be available as early as next week. That would be a real boost for the side.

Stats that mattered? The Raiders finished with a slightly better than even share of possession (51 per cent). Canberra's completion rate could have been a bit better (74 per cent), but it was certainly better than the Rabbitohs (65 per cent). Errors and penalties conceded were pretty close to even. There were a few too many errors towards the end of the game from both teams.

Canberra made fewer runs, but made 180 more metres with the ball in hand (1670-1489) and clearly more metres per set (43-36). The Raiders also dominated the line breaks (7-3) and tackle breaks (48-17). Offloads were even (Raiders 13, Rabbitohs 12). The Raiders' kicking game was terrific, with Jack Wighton producing the lion's share of Canberra's 541 kicking metres (Rabbitohs 350).

The Rabbitohs missed a whopping 48 tackles (Raiders 17) - and that explained most of the difference in the effective tackle rate of the two teams (Raiders 88 per cent, Rabbitohs 82 per cent). Those defensive numbers explain a lot. As does this statistic: six tries conceded by the Rabbitohs.

Memorable moments? I've mentioned the tries from Sebastian Kris and Xavier Savage already. They will be on the list of the Raiders' best tries of the year. The flick passes from Horsburgh and Young were just brilliant. But there were one or two other memorable moments. One was Josh Papalii scoring a characteristic try in his milestone game. The other was Papalii in tears after the game, his emotions spilling over. A win and a try in his 250th. What an afternoon for the great man. Defence? The highlight was Jordan Rapana's big hit on Blake Taaffe. Certain nominee for Raiders' Tackle of the Year.

Best performers?

Josh Papalii. One try, 13 runs for 129 metres, 51 post contact metres, one line break, eight tackle breaks, one offload, 27 tackles, 90 per cent tackle efficiency.

Joe Tapine. 19 runs for 189 metres, 94 post contact metres, four tackle breaks, one offload, 33 tackles, 97 per cent tackle efficiency.

Hudson Young. One try, 13 runs for 113 metres, 21 post contact metres, two line breaks, two tackle breaks, one offload, 21 tackles.

Jack Wighton and Nick Cotric were also very strong.

Top tacklers: Joe Tapine 33, Tom Starling 30, Corey Horsburgh 28, Josh Papalii 27, Elliott Whitehead 27
Most metres gained: Joe Tapine 189, Jordan Rapana 160, Xavier Savage 153

My player ratings:

Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad 4
Nick Cotric 7
Matt Timoko 6
Sebastian Kris 5
Jordan Rapana 7
Jack Wighton 7
Brad Schneider 5
Josh Papalii 8
Zac Woolford 5
Joe Tapine 8
Hudson Young 8
Elliott Whitehead 6
Adam Elliott 5

Tom Starling 6
Xavier Savage 6
Corey Horsburgh 7
Harry Rushton 6

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Re: Through green eyes 2022

Post by BadnMean »

I think you left 2 KO's off Papalii's stats there GE.
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Re: Through green eyes 2022

Post by dubby »

I'm a little concerned with Timokos defence of late. He's rushing up and making some poor reads. Some of his contact has been flimsy too.

Kris has looked good and has been an improvement on Semi.

Cotric is finding confidence and form.

The team is looking better, more like the side we are used to; playing with energy and commitment.

Hopefully we get some luck with injuries and illness and our form continues to improve.

PS it was great seeing Liam Knight get smashed
The spiral of silence refers to the idea that when people fail to speak, the price of speaking rises. As the price to speak rises, still fewer speak out, which further causes the price to rise, so that fewer people yet will speak out, until a whole culture or nation is silenced. This is what happened in Germany.

If you do not speak, you are not being neutral, but are contributing to the success of the thing you refuse to name and condemn.
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Re: Through green eyes 2022

Post by Billy Walker »

Not bad GE - I’d say you have Adam Elliot and Elliot Whitehead the wrong way around, possibly a little generous to Cotric and Savage and a little harsh on Kris but nothing outrageously off the mark by my eyes.
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greeneyed
Don Furner
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Re: Through green eyes 2022

Post by greeneyed »

Through green eyes: When the going gets tough

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Forty years ago, on a Sunday in April, the Canberra Raiders travelled to Sydney for their first ever meeting with the Parramatta Eels.

The Eels had just won their first premiership, defeating the Newtown Jets in the 1981 Grand Final. In 1982, the Eels were based at the home ground of the Canterbury Bulldogs, the Belmore Sports Ground. On the night of their first Grand Final victory, the fans infamously burned down the grandstand at their home base of Cumberland Oval - the ground that would become Parramatta Stadium, and today, Western Sydney Stadium.

The Raiders, in their inaugural season, had lost their first six games, by big margins. But those margins paled in comparison to the 54-3 thrashing handed out by the Eels at Belmore in Round 7, 1982.

It would be the biggest defeat of the club's first season. It would remain Canberra's biggest defeat until the Melbourne Storm beat the Raiders, 68-4, at Bruce in 2013. At the time, it was also the Eels' biggest ever win. Parramatta winger Eric Grothe scored a club record equalling four tries. Centre, and goal kicker, Mick Cronin scored a club record equalling 27 points. The only points for Canberra came from a John McLeod try in the 25th minute. It narrowed the gap to 10 points, making the score line 13-3. It was a brief respite in the 12 try onslaught from the Eels

"They were just too hot for us," Raiders coach Don Furner said after the game. "We played badly but, full credit to them, they're a great side."

Allan Smith, normally a five eighth, who played 13 games for the Raiders, later remembered: "I was fullback one day when we were beaten by Parramatta. We led 3-0 in that game (sic). After the game, Don Furner had a bit of a laugh at me and said, 'I'm a bit worried about your one-on-one defence.' I said, 'I'm not too worried about my one-on-one defence, but I'm a bit concerned about the five-on-one'."

It was that sort of day.

There have been much better days in the history of clashes between the Raiders and Eels.

When the Eels came to Seiffert Oval in 1983, they were on their way to a third straight premiership. But on that day in June, the Raiders held Parramatta scoreless and toughed out an 8-0 victory in front of 15,578 fans.

Ron Giteau scored all the points for the Raiders – a try and two penalty goals. The Raiders led 4-0 at half time through two penalty goals. During the break, coach Furner challenged his team to continue to stifle the Eels in the second half.

"Every man we put on the field played magnificently," Furner said. "At halftime I asked them if we could keep the pressure up for a full game and they all shouted, 'Yes!' At the break I asked Terry Fahey to involve himself in the play more and his response was devastating. There is no stronger wing in the game and I'm surprised the representative selectors don't give him another go."

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The only points in the second period came from the Giteau try, scored at the 47 minute mark. The Raiders just smothered Parramatta for the rest of the match. The Eels were without Peter Sterling and Eric Grothe on Test duty and Ray Price, through injury. But they still had the likes of Michael Cronin, Brett Kenny and Steve Ella. The Raiders too were missing captain Allan McMahon, Jon Hardy and regular fullback Steve O'Callaghan. The next day, the headlines in Sydney read "Eels humbled by discards" and "Eels stunned".

Second rower John McLeod later recalled: "I remember we beat Parramatta 8-0 around the time that Irishman Bobbie Sands died [in jail from a hunger strike]. In the sheds after the game one of us yelled out, 'What's Parramatta and Bobbie Sands got in common? Ate nothing, ate nothing!" Perhaps the joke was a little too soon.

Hooker Jay Hoffman said later of the match: "I don't think there would have been too many better wins from a club point of view. It wasn't luck, it wasn't because they were missing their stars, we just played better footy."

Halfback that day, Chris O'Sullivan said: "That would be the pick of them in the early years. We just went out and got stuck straight into them. We knocked them around severely, we really gave them a bashing. We were in their faces. They didn't cross our try line and never looked like it either."

David defeated Goliath again in 1984, when the Raiders produced a 14-10 victory over an Eels team littered with all the big names... Sterling, Kenny, Cronin, Grothe, Price... in front of a record crowd of 17,407. Another tough victory, with the forwards and defence laying the platform for the attack.



There have been days when things were much easier. The Raiders' biggest ever win came against the Eels - when they held Parramatta scoreless and posted 68 points, late in the 1993 season. Sadly, it was also the day which marked the end of Canberra's premiership hopes that year - with half Ricky Stuart suffering a season ending injury.

But if the Raiders are going to win this Sunday, they are probably going to have to do it tough. Like those days at Seiffert in 1983 and 1984. Like the last match they played against the Eels, a 12-10 victory on the Gold Coast. Jordan Rapana's last gasp try saver on Maika Sivo in that game encapsulates the sort of defensive effort that will be needed. It'll be a tough match to win on Sunday, but I think the Raiders can do it.



****

Speaking of Jordan Rapana, it was great to see the Canberra Raiders Fans' Choice trophy in the hands of the 2021 winner this week! Thanks to Ben Pollack at the Raiders for organising the pic!



****

Every week I rate the Raiders players on a scale of 0-10... and here is the latest points tally. Tell us what you think of the ratings!

Total points

Joe Tapine 77
Josh Papalii 73
Tom Starling 67
Corey Horsburgh 65
Matt Timoko 62
Corey Harawira-Naera 61
Jack Wighton 61
Brad Schneider 59
Hudson Young 57
Jordan Rapana 51
Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad 50
Elliott Whitehead 50
Adam Elliott 49
Nick Cotric 46
Semi Valemei 38
Ryan Sutton 35
Sebastian Kris 27
Emre Guler 25
Matt Frawley 25
Xavier Savage 18
Harry Rushton 14
Zac Woolford 12
James Schiller 10
Jarrod Croker 6
Adrian Trevilyan 4
Josh Hodgson 1

Average points per match

Joe Tapine 7.0
Jack Wighton 6.8
Josh Papalii 6.6
Hudson Young 6.3
Corey Harawira-Naera 6.1
Tom Starling 6.1
Jarrod Croker 6.0
Zac Woolford 6.0
Corey Horsburgh 5.9
Brad Schneider 5.9
Ryan Sutton 5.8
Jordan Rapana 5.7
Matt Timoko 5.6
Elliott Whitehead 5.6
Sebastian Kris 5.4
Nick Cotric 5.1
Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad 5.0
James Schiller 5.0
Matt Frawley 5.0
Adam Elliott 4.9
Semi Valemei 4.8
Harry Rushton 4.7
Emre Guler 4.2
Adrian Trevilyan 4.0
Xavier Savage 3.6
Josh Hodgson 1.0

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greeneyed
Don Furner
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Re: Through green eyes 2022

Post by greeneyed »

Through green eyes: As I saw it

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"As disappointed as we are in losing that was a good game of football. It went end to end and while ever they're turning up with that type of effort we'll keep developing into the team we want to get to. A couple of line breaks in the second half turned it. It was a really good game of football. We were playing against a team around the top of the table, the main section of the teams, and we've shown that we can match it with them. We're certainly not intimidated by any team.

If we can hold onto some combinations now and not have any more injuries, and keep Jack Wighton and Jamal Fogarty together, and keep the hookers playing the way they are. We've got Xavier Savage there at the back learning how to play 'one' and he did a wonderful job tonight I thought. He's going to develop into a very good young player. So if we keep those combinations and get some cohesion we'll naturally keep improving as a football team. I thought Jamal was very comfortable. He fitted in very well, had some good neat kicks. He'd be disappointed with the line break that was made on his inside shoulder [by Shaun Lane that led to the second half Dylan Brown try], but it happens. I was very happy to have Jamal back tonight and his game will just keep growing now."

Canberra Raiders coach Ricky Stuart


2022 Round 12. Parramatta Eels 28 - Canberra Raiders 20. It was a great game of football. Unfortunately, the Canberra Raiders are not in the class of the top teams, at least not yet. This is a rebuilding period. The Eels have been up and down, but they were "up" yesterday. They are a very dangerous attacking team and they showed how dangerous at Canberra Stadium. The Raiders were right in the match at half time, able to profit from the Eels' inability to defuse a couple of kicks and some inattention in goal line defence. But in the second half, the Raiders could not take advantage of a huge territorial and possession advantage. They could not score a single try. The Eels scored two. They have a wealth of game breakers. And when Eels five eighth Dylan Brown scored in the 65th minute, it was pretty much game over.



Brown was outstanding yesterday. He scored two tries and ran for almost 200 metres. He fended off Josh Papalii in scoring his first try, easily it seemed. Then there was Bailey Simonsson, the winger the Raiders released to the Eels so Nick Cotric could return to the Green Machine. Simonsson had only scored one try and made four line breaks all year. But he produced 11 tackle breaks, two line breaks, one try assist and scored a double in this one. He clearly had a point to prove and did so. Cotric was comparatively quiet.

The Raiders were understandably blunt in attack. Halfback recruit, Jamal Fogarty, played his first game in green, after spending the first 11 games of the year on the sidelines. He played well, but it is going to take time for him to build a combination with other players in the spine. Xavier Savage started at fullback for the first time this year. He's only 20 years of age and he produces an error or two. Because he's still relatively slight, he can find himself in trouble in defence. But all round, he had a fine game, running more than 200 metres, including 70 post contact metres. He was safe under the high ball. He's just going to get better. Zac Woolford played in just his third NRL game and well. But combinations among the play makers is obviously a work in progress.

The lack of tries in the second half may have also had something to do with mindset. The Raiders went for a penalty goal after a break from Ryan Sutton in the second minute of the second half. It seemed like the Raiders were already battening down the hatches. But the first half had shown the Eels were too threatening for that approach.

There were positives for the Raiders. Some things to build on. The forwards could not have done much more. Joe Tapine ran for a staggering 234 metres. Josh Papalii clocked up 150 running metres. Between them they produced eight offloads, all highly effective. Three other forwards broke the 100 metre mark. In addition, the arrival of Fogarty has taken the pressure off Jack Wighton in delivering the kicking game. But the Raiders have plenty of work to do to produce some effective attack.

The Raiders now face the Roosters, at home. They will be without Josh Papalii and Jack Wighton, due to State of Origin duty. The Roosters will be missing James Tedesco, Daniel Tupou and Lindsay Collins - and if the unexpected happens, Joseph Suaalii. They are big losses for both teams. Time will tell which team is most affected.

Stats that mattered? The Eels had 52 per cent of the ball and 54 per cent of the territory in the first half. But the Raiders finished the game with a 52 per cent possession share and over 60 per cent of the territory. That highlights how much ball (55 per cent) and how much field position (74 per cent) that Canberra had in the second stanza. Canberra had 21 tackles in the Eels' red zone in the second 40, but couldn't get across the line. The Eels had one tackle in Canberra's 20 metre zone and scored twice. I'm not sure if it was a tactical emphasis on grind ball from the Raiders, but whatever the reason, the Raiders had the opportunities to win.

The Raiders completed at 87 per cent (Eels 75 per cent) - making fewer errors (8-14) and conceding fewer penalties (1-5). Canberra posted more runs (187-180), running metres (1878-1836), post contact metres (764-639), kick return metres (245-147), metres per set (47-45) and offloads (15-13). Some of those advantages were slight. But the Eels made seven line breaks, compared with the Raiders' two. Parramatta also produced more tackle breaks (39-30).

The Eels had the better effective tackle rate (87 per cent, Raiders 85 per cent), with Canberra missing more tackles (39-30). Raiders coach Ricky Stuart said after the game that he only counts the missed tackles that "cause chaos" and that's a valid viewpoint. But in the end, the Eels produced a bit too much chaos. Enough for five tries.

Memorable moments? Two of the Raiders' tries came from kicks, with Bailey Simonsson and Clint Gutherson failing to defuse a couple of bombs. Sebastian Kris was the man to benefit, both times. The drop from Gutherson was spectacular and so was the pick up from Kris. Canberra's other try came from a quick play the ball from Jordan Rapana right on the try line - with Elliott Whitehead sneaking over from dummy half. It caught the Eels unawares. They were all opportunistic; they won't make the list of Raiders' tries of the year.

One error was unfortunately memorable. With 15 minutes remaining, the Raiders got a six again call in the red zone. But either the call came too late for Corey Horsburgh, or he didn't hear it. He kicked the ball away, clearly still thinking it was the last tackle. The Eels promptly strolled up the other end and scored. A costly one, as it put the Eels eight points ahead. Ultimately, it was the winning try.

Best performers?

Joe Tapine. 20 runs for 234 metres, 108 post contact metres, one tackle break, three offloads, 31 tackles, 97 per cent tackle efficiency.

Josh Papalii. One try, 15 runs for 150 metres, 51 post contact metres, one line break, eight tackle breaks, five offloads, 33 tackles, 87 per cent tackle efficiency.

Jordan Rapana. 21 runs for 211 metres, 89 post contact metres, six tackles breaks. Did his darndest to lift the Raiders' attack in the second half.

Top tacklers: Hudson Young 37, Elliott Whitehead 37, Corey Horsburgh 34, Josh Papalii 33
Most metres gained: Joe Tapine 234, Xavier Savage 212, Jordan Rapana 211, Josh Papalii 150

My player ratings:

Xavier Savage 6
Nick Cotric 6
Matt Timoko 6
Sebastian Kris 7
Jordan Rapana 7
Jack Wighton 7
Jamal Fogarty 6
Josh Papalii 8
Zac Woolford 6
Joe Tapine 8
Hudson Young 6
Elliott Whitehead 6
Adam Elliott 6

Tom Starling 5
Ryan Sutton 6
Corey Horsburgh 6
James Schiller 1*

* Played very limited minutes.

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zim
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Re: Through green eyes 2022

Post by zim »

I thought in our attacking set plays we got the spacing wrong before the ball was even played. We just had a huge amount of space to a first receiver that was too deep meaning their defense could just slide and run us out of space.
This is probably in response to their up and in defense but it's an over reaction. We needed to have inside defenders making important decisions before the ball heads wide to give the outside men some space, or force them to overread and now the space is further in.

Something you can clean up in video review and really not surprising to see something like this in a halfbacks first game.
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Re: Through green eyes 2022

Post by Billy Walker »

2x8’s, 3x7’s and the rest of the starting side are 6’s….

We must have flogged them?
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Re: Through green eyes 2022

Post by Hong Kong Raider »

zim wrote: May 30, 2022, 1:40 pm I thought in our attacking set plays we got the spacing wrong before the ball was even played. We just had a huge amount of space to a first receiver that was too deep meaning their defense could just slide and run us out of space.
This is probably in response to their up and in defense but it's an over reaction. We needed to have inside defenders making important decisions before the ball heads wide to give the outside men some space, or force them to overread and now the space is further in.

Something you can clean up in video review and really not surprising to see something like this in a halfbacks first game.
I thought our attack was predictable. Would have liked Savage to run off forwards more in the second half when they were tired. Also, I liked that inside ball to Rapana from I think Jack late in the game. Keeps them guessing. Should have had Savage on the outside and Kris / Rapana on the inside targeting Moses
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Re: Through green eyes 2022

Post by Hong Kong Raider »

Billy Walker wrote: May 30, 2022, 2:09 pm 2x8’s, 3x7’s and the rest of the starting side are 6’s….

We must have flogged them?
That was a high quality game which was acknowledged by all, against high quality opposition. I would not have given Papa a 8 as it was an easy miss on Dylan Brown, but the ratings seem to be right.
Last edited by Hong Kong Raider on May 30, 2022, 2:46 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Through green eyes 2022

Post by zim »

Hong Kong Raider wrote: May 30, 2022, 2:38 pm
zim wrote: May 30, 2022, 1:40 pm I thought in our attacking set plays we got the spacing wrong before the ball was even played. We just had a huge amount of space to a first receiver that was too deep meaning their defense could just slide and run us out of space.
This is probably in response to their up and in defense but it's an over reaction. We needed to have inside defenders making important decisions before the ball heads wide to give the outside men some space, or force them to overread and now the space is further in.

Something you can clean up in video review and really not surprising to see something like this in a halfbacks first game.
I thought our attack was predictable. Would have liked Savage to run off forwards more in the second half when they were tired. Also, I liked that inside ball to Rapana from I think Jack late in the game. Keeps them guessing. Should have had Savage on the outside and Kris / Rapana on the inside targeting Moses
It's strange that when Rapana is at fullback they can really quickly organize a change up play involving him but it is missing from other games when we have other fullbacks. I wonder if it's Rapana just being a pest and demanding ball or if Wighton's more confident using him in that role.
I expect Savage to become much more of a focus as he gets more experience.
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Re: Through green eyes 2022

Post by -PJ- »

Tapine is a beast, how great is he going ?

The best prop in the comp right now !!!
3rd Battalion Royal Australian Regiment..Old Faithful
#emptythetank :shock:
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greeneyed
Don Furner
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Re: Through green eyes 2022

Post by greeneyed »

Through green eyes: Mid season report card

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8 MINS READ

"Faced some significant initial setbacks, but has worked hard to overcome them. Some experiments, however, failed. The effort is almost always there, and performances in tests have been improving. But still not in the top half of the class overall."

The Canberra Raiders are now halfway through the 2022 season.

The 2021 season showed that the Raiders were badly in need of some fresh ideas. The premiership window that opened in 2019 had quickly slammed shut. The tactics had been left behind by Vlandysball. The attack really needed some bolstering - and the club responded with the return of attacking coaching guru, Mick Crawley.

The conditioning of the players was also left behind by Vlandysball. Jeremy Hickmans was recruited as the Raiders' new head of performance - and the focus shifted to preparing the players for a much faster game.

Some fresh players were needed too. Vlandysball favoured the teams with younger squads in 2021 - and it was clear that some generational change was overdue at the Raiders. The Raiders have some impressive young players on the way up. The retirement of Sia Soliola, the early release of Ryan James, and the departure of Dunamis Lui and Siliva Havili created some space for generational change up front. Jamal Fogarty was brought in to fill the hole left at half by the departure of George Williams.

So how have things gone?

Many plans developed in the summer quickly came unstuck due to injury. Jamal Fogarty suffered a serious knee injury in the trial match against the Sea Eagles. He was not able to make his premiership debut in green until last week. Hooker Josh Hodgson played for just 10 minutes in the first game of the season, before suffering another ACL injury. That ruled him out for the season. His time with the club has prematurely finished. Centre Harley Smith-Shields was also ruled out for the season before it even started, due to a ruptured ACL. He had been shaping as the first centre picked. While Ricky Stuart said he'd planned for disruptions, due to COVID, those sorts of injuries, to key players, are difficult to overcome. They have affected everything that follows.

Attack: At the start of the season, the Raiders were clearly working towards a new style of attack. The plan was to use Elliott Whitehead as a modern ball playing lock. The team aimed to play with some width, instead of sticking to the middle third of the field. The forwards were back to passing to each other, back to making offloads.

However it quickly became clear that the Whitehead experiment was not working. The plan to pass more, to shift the ball, to offload more, didn't work well either. The skill levels required were simply not there. The Raiders soon found they had the worst completion rate in the competition. Offloads were often ineffective, with the team even losing ground in possession. As a result, we've seen a reversion to a more conservative style of attack, more like the style we've seen from the Raiders in recent years.

Completion rates have been creeping up, and now stand at around 75 per cent. That is still in the bottom four teams. The Raiders now rank 16th for general play passing, fourth for one pass hit ups and second for dummy half runs. However, some changes have stuck. The Raiders were No. 1 for offloads for some time, and are still in the top two. The team has become better at judging when to offload, and Joe Tapine and Josh Papalii have become masters of the art. The Raiders are also using more decoy runners than they were last year - and now rank middle of the pack in that department.

However, there is no escaping the fact that the Raiders are in the bottom four teams for tries scored (13th). That is despite ranking sixth for tackles in the opposition red zone. They are 11th for running metres, 11th for tackle breaks and 13th for line breaks. It is perhaps understandable, given the injury problems. A young half still learning the trade. A team that was so short of hookers, we saw a 25 year old former junior, Zac Woolford, recruited mid season from NSW Cup side, Newtown - and given a chance at an NRL debut. The signs of promise in the likes of Brad Schneider and Woolford is one positive, at least.

One of the other problems of 2021, the "second half fade", has again been troubling the Green Machine. in the first half this season, the Raiders have scored 148 points in the first half and 62 in the second. They have been held scoreless in the second half five times, and failed to score a try in the second half in seven games. Is the issue fitness? I thought it probably was a factor last year. However, rule changes have slowed the pace of the game in 2022, so that seems a less likely explanation this year. The problem more likely reflects mindsets - and, at times, some lack of experience and leadership on the field. Coach Ricky Stuart says his leadership group has been working on the issue with a sports psychologist. Recently against the Sharks and the Rabbitohs, points were flowing again in the second half. But not last week against the Eels. This is no doubt still a work in progress. Confidence engendered by winning would help, a lot.

Defence: How about the defence? It has been better than the attack. The Raiders rank seventh for fewest tries conceded (3.5 per game). But they're too far away from the benchmark teams. The Panthers concede 11 points per game, the Cowboys 13 and the Storm 16. The Raiders concede 21 points per game. When you're only scoring 18 points per game, that's a problem.

The completion rate has contributed. Handing too much possession to the opposition simply puts too much pressure on the defence. The kicking game hasn't helped matters. In some games we've seen a vicious circle, with the Raiders stuck in their own half, due to a combination of poor completion rates, poor running metres and kicking metres that don't compensate. Taking possession share into account, the effectiveness of the defence has probably been better than we should expect. The Raiders rank fifth for fewest running metres conceded and equal fifth for fewest line breaks conceded. Their points differential is negative, but it is the smallest negative in the bottom eight teams.

Forwards: The performance of the forwards has been a relative strength. Props Joe Tapine and Josh Papalii have been the strongest players in the squad, without a shadow of a doubt, while Hudson Young continues to develop well. In some games, the pack has struggled to get momentum. The forwards have tended to lose some punch when the starting props have been interchanged. Coach Stuart has adjusted to that by not pulling both Tapine and Papalii off after 20 minutes - stretching the time that at least one of them is on the field. It's a tactic that's worked. In the second half of the year, I'd like to see young forwards like Harry Rushton and Trey Mooney get more time in firsts. With Ryan Sutton and Adam Elliott moving on in 2023, it's essential. It was great to see Rushton get his debut earlier this year, while Mooney gets his debut on Sunday.

Backs: The lack of depth in the backs has been a problem. Jarrod Croker spent a lot of time in NSW Cup, following a stem cell procedure for his chronic knee problem. And once he did make it back to firsts, he promptly dislocated his shoulder. It now looks like he's out for the season. Rookie centre Matt Timoko has done pretty well, but the experiment of playing Semi Valemei at right centre lasted way too long. Nick Cotric started the season slowly, but he's now getting back to his best. For mine, veteran Jordan Rapana has been the pick of the outside backs.

Spine: As mentioned, there have been serious disruptions in the spine. Brad Schneider has done a sterling job in stepping in for Jamal Fogarty. His defence has been good, but he's still learning his craft at NRL level. Fogarty has returned from injury just in time, really. As is often the case with a young half, Schneider needs a break in NSW Cup.

Tom Starling has struggled when starting at hooker. In my view, he is at his best as an impact player off the bench. Coach Stuart found a temporary solution, starting back rower Adam Elliott in the No. 9 jersey. But Zac Woolford, who got his NRL debut in Round 10, is a real dummy half. A much better partner for Starling. We shall see how that develops.

Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad has not had the happiest season so far. He's been uncharacteristically uncertain under the high ball, in particular. He's just been ruled out for six weeks with a hamstring problem, with Xavier Savage now given a chance in the No. 1 jersey. It is the sort of development opportunity he needs. No doubt the best player in the spine has been Jack Wighton. He's not in the best form of his career, but he's not been far off it. He has rightly been rewarded with a Blues jersey for Origin I.

Overall: Things looked pretty grim for the Green Machine while they were on their five game losing streak. The losses to the Cowboys and Warriors were dire. But the Raiders are better placed at the mid point of the season than most expected just a month ago. A record of 5 and 7 and 10th on the ladder still gives the Raiders a shot at the finals.

At the start of the year, I predicted a finish that was on the edge of the eight. If the Raiders do make the finals, I expect it'll be in the bottom half of the eight. Can they challenge the top four or five teams? I don't think so. The Raiders are rebuilding. They are in transition. But given all the adversity they have experienced this year, a top eight finish would be a good start to that process. If they can be a real challenger in the finals, it will have been a very good second half of the season. Let's hope it is.

MID SEASON REPORT CARD

Attack: D
Defence: B-
Forwards: B-
Backs: C
Spine: C
Overall: C

****

Every week I rate the Raiders players on a scale of 0-10... and here is the latest points tally. Tell us what you think of the ratings!

Total points

Joe Tapine 85
Josh Papalii 81
Tom Starling 72
Corey Horsburgh 71
Jack Wighton 68
Matt Timoko 68
Hudson Young 63
Corey Harawira-Naera 61
Brad Schneider 59
Jordan Rapana 58
Elliott Whitehead 56
Adam Elliott 55
Nick Cotric 52
Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad 50
Ryan Sutton 41
Semi Valemei 38
Sebastian Kris 34
Emre Guler 25
Matt Frawley 25
Xavier Savage 24
Zac Woolford 18
Harry Rushton 14
James Schiller 11
Jarrod Croker 6
Adrian Trevilyan 4
Josh Hodgson 1

Average points per match

Joe Tapine 7.1
Jack Wighton 6.8
Josh Papalii 6.8
Hudson Young 6.3
Corey Harawira-Naera 6.1
Jarrod Croker 6.0
Tom Starling 6.0
Zac Woolford 6.0
Corey Horsburgh 5.9
Brad Schneider 5.9
Ryan Sutton 5.9
Jordan Rapana 5.8
Matt Timoko 5.7
Sebastian Kris 5.7
Elliott Whitehead 5.6
Nick Cotric 5.2
Adam Elliott 5.0
Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad 5.0
Matt Frawley 5.0
Semi Valemei 4.8
Harry Rushton 4.7
Emre Guler 4.2
Adrian Trevilyan 4.0
Xavier Savage 4.0
James Schiller 3.7
Josh Hodgson 1.0

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greeneyed
Don Furner
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Re: Through green eyes 2022

Post by greeneyed »

Through green eyes: As I saw it

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"It was a tough win. We prepared. It was going to be a grinding, gritty game because we knew what the weather was going to be. And we prepared for it and played accordingly. We made tackles tonight, some one on ones, if we had have made last week we would have won that one too. I think we can play better than what we did tonight, there's certainly some stuff we can improve on and easily improve on. I won't go into it now, but there's some areas of our game we have to fix up. So we just keep striving to be better."

Canberra Raiders coach Ricky Stuart


2022 Round 13. Canberra Raiders 22 - Sydney Roosters 16. It was a clash devoid of both teams' Origin representatives. Other players were sidelined due to injury. But it was gripping clash nonetheless. Winter arrived in Canberra, well and truly, with the ground lashed by icy wind and rain. Fortunately, the weather eased in time for kick off in the main event. They were still very tough conditions.

Both teams still played some football, but the Roosters looked the more dangerous in attack. They ran hard, direct and fast as they attempted a comeback in the second half - with halfback Luke Keary setting up some slick plays. Roosters stand in fullback Joseph Manu was outstanding, running nearly 300 metres with the ball. But Canberra's inspiring defence ultimately prevailed. When the Raiders stopped the last Roosters' attacking raid of the match, and the hooter sounded, there were virtually no celebrations. They were simply too exhausted. They had protected the six point margin.



The conditions dictated it, but after early experiments with a more expansive style of attack, "the grind" is back at Raiders HQ. The approach this week, and last, seemed to be to protect the lead in the second half. It came unstuck last week and it worked this week. Against the top teams, at full strength, I'm not so sure about the strategy. Time will tell.

Ricky Stuart didn't say much after the match, but he did say there were some areas of the Raiders' game "to fix". We can only hazard a guess at what they might be. The attack is the thing that needs most work, for mine. It's understandably clunky at present. Jamal Fogarty was playing in only his second game in green. Jack Wighton was missing. Hooker Zac Woolford was playing in just his fourth NRL match. He's getting more minutes and having more impact every week. But the hooking combination with Tom Starling is still a work in progress. Xavier Savage, substituting for Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad, and nine games into his NRL career, has started at fullback in only four matches. There are some promising signs. After failing to score a try in the second half in seven games this year, we saw two yesterday. One, to Matt Timoko, came just when it was needed, to help stem the Roosters' momentum. There are some green shoots, plenty of potential for them to grow.



Stats that mattered? The Roosters had 54 per cent of the ball and 62 per cent of the territory. They had 43 tackles in the Raiders' red zone, while the Raiders had half that in the Roosters' 20 metres. They made more runs (208-175), running metres (1860-1612), tackle breaks (40-25), line breaks (4-3) and metres per set (48-38). The Raiders had to make 381 tackles, the Roosters 330. The Raiders missed 40 tackles (Roosters 25). It is remarkable that the Raiders held the Roosters to just three tries.

Memorable moments? The Raiders scored four tries, with Adam Elliott crossing inside the first 10 minutes. He ran right through the middle of the Roosters' defensive line, a sign there are some things astray at the Sydney outfit.

The try scored by Xavier Savage in the 30th minute, highlighted his X factor. Ryan Sutton threw a desperate offload, and it was a good effort to get the ball away at all in the circumstances. The ball fell at the feet of Savage, but the pick up from the fullback was extraordinary. And once he had the ball in his hands, it was almost simple. Open spaces in front of him.

The best was next. Charge downs seem to rarely pay off, but early in the second half, a Corey Horsburgh charge down certainly did. He regathered and charged ahead. Sebastian Kris then loomed up on his outside, and Horsburgh drew and passed. A fantastic four pointer.

I've mentioned the last try already. It was a good shift to the right, with Savage chiming in for the try assist. But Matt Timoko still had plenty of work to do, getting around his man with pure pace. It came at a crucial time.

There were also some great moments in defence, particularly in the second half. A Xavier Savage try saver, another from Kris and Elliott Whitehead on the goal line. And then that last tackle of the game, forcing the Roosters to step into touch, which summed up the defensive performance.

Best performers?

Joe Tapine. 20 runs for 209 metres, 97 post contact metres, five tackle breaks, three offloads, 33 tackles, 92 per cent tackle efficiency. What a performance from Tapine, particularly in the absence of Josh Papalii. He stood tall and led the pack. Often the Roosters defenders just couldn't get him to ground. He's having a season.

Xavier Savage. One try, 21 runs for 203 metres, 105 kick return metres, one line break, one line break assist, one try assist, three tackle breaks, one offload, three kicks defused, six tackles, 75 per cent tackle efficiency. Savage is grabbing the opportunity at fullback with both hands, while Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad is sidelined. The X man is growing in the role every week.

Hudson Young. 14 runs for 130 metres, 47 post contact metres, six tackle breaks, one offload, 42 tackles, 88 per cent tackle efficiency. Young just seems to be getting better every week.

Others in the pack, like Corey Horsburgh and Adam Elliott, were strong. One special mention for the debut of Trey Mooney. He's got a long first grade career ahead of him and, potentially, much more in the game.

Top tacklers: Hudson Young 42, Elliott Whitehead 42, Ryan Sutton 38, Adam Elliott 37
Most metres gained: Joe Tapine 209, Xavier Savage 203, Adam Elliott 154, Corey Horsburgh 132

My player ratings:

Xavier Savage 7
Nick Cotric 5
Matt Timoko 6
Sebastian Kris 6
Jordan Rapana 5
Matt Frawley 6
Jamal Fogarty 6
Corey Horsburgh 7
Zac Woolford 6
Joe Tapine 8
Hudson Young 7
Elliott Whitehead 6
Adam Elliott 7

Tom Starling 5
Ryan Sutton 6
Trey Mooney 3 *
James Schiller dnp

* Played limited minutes.

Do you agree with the ratings? Let us know!

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Billy Walker
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Re: Through green eyes 2022

Post by Billy Walker »

No arguments from me GE. If I was to be picky I’d maybe question if Starling was a point too high but I think a 4 would be harsh. I think you have nailed it this week.
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