Through green eyes 2022

All the news on the Canberra Raiders NRL team, all in one place

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zim
Laurie Daley
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Re: Through green eyes 2022

Post by zim »

Cleary has taken the early plea and will miss 5 weeks.
Billy Walker
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Re: Through green eyes 2022

Post by Billy Walker »

A little kind on Mr Savage I think GE. When he has the breakout game that will happen sooner or later you’ll have to award him a 14/10 given he is getting regular 6’s and 7’s for error riddled games where he has one or two try involvements.
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Re: Through green eyes 2022

Post by The Nickman »

*yawn* change the channel, Billy… GE’s ratings are spot on here
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Re: Through green eyes 2022

Post by BJ »

CHN maybe lucky to get a 4
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Re: Through green eyes 2022

Post by Billy Walker »

The Nickman wrote: July 31, 2022, 3:51 pm *yawn* change the channel, Billy… GE’s ratings are spot on here
Savage is our guy and I suspect he’ll be a good fullback but we are kidding ourselves if we aren’t seeing the holes in his current game. Keep him at fullback for the rest of the season and he’ll only get better but let’s not get ahead of ourselves about where he is right now.
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Re: Through green eyes 2022

Post by RedRaider »

I think the rating for the Titans game were good GE. Taps and Jack had blinders. Well supported by Fog, Papa, Young, Kris and Cotric. Both hookers did their jobs too imo. The Titans gave us a lot of possession which I don't think will happen against the Panthers. Kikau will be a big threat on their left. I hope Rapa is back to take on the likes of Kikau and To'o on our right side defensive line.
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Re: Through green eyes 2022

Post by Ilanraiders »

Jamal was pretty sound in d yesterday… they sent a lot of traffic at him… probably to tire him out of the game… I hope whitehead aims up defensively this weekend against kikau n co…
"Learn to appreciate what you have, before time makes you appreciate what you had"!! RAIDERSTILLIDIE!!
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greeneyed
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Re: Through green eyes 2022

Post by greeneyed »

Through green eyes: A perfect storm of inconsistency

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Canberra Raiders prop Joe Tapine was sent to the sin bin in last Saturday's game against the Gold Coast Titans for punching.

The incident flared after Tapine was held in a tackle, upright, by Gold Coast captain Tino Fa'asuamaleaui and former Raider Erin Clark. The third man in, hooker Aaron Booth, then drove at Tapine's legs from behind. His shoulder came in contact around the knee, with some force. Tapine had no idea it was coming.

It is not surprising that Tapine took exception.

He responded by grappling with Booth and throwing him to the ground. And when David Fifita ran in to confront Tapine, that's when the punch was thrown to Fifita's ribs.

I'm not arguing with the decision to sin bin Tapine. It wasn’t much of a punch. But you can't throw a punch in today's game and expect to stay on the field. Minimum a sin bin.

More broadly, the incident has highlighted the issue as to whether the NRL is taking "cannonball tackles" seriously enough.

The NRL's rules and interpretations document specifies how this sort of tackle should be dealt with. It is the "third man in" provision:

Third man in

When a player in possession is held in an upright position by two defenders, any other defender[s] must make initial contact to the player in possession above the knees/knee joint.

Regardless of the point of impact, a player can still be penalised for any ‘forceful, dangerous or unnecessary contact’ at the legs that involves an unacceptable risk of injury to the player in possession.

In relation to this type of tackle, the Referees will call ‘held’ and then ‘release’.


On that basis, Aaron Booth's tackle on Tapine should have resulted in a penalty, at the very least. No action at all was taken against Booth. In my view it was a forceful, dangerous, unnecessary tackle, that risked injury to the Raiders prop.

Andrew Johns pretty much had the same view on The Sunday Footy Show. He believes the "third man in" tackle should be banned.



By Monday, just about the only thing everyone was talking about was Patrick Carrigan's "hip drop tackle" on Jackson Hastings in the Broncos' clash with the Tigers on Saturday night. Again, a "third man in" tackle, one that broke Hastings' leg.

And by Monday, all the Match Review Committee charges had been issued.

Tapine was charged with grade one contrary conduct for his punch. That charge comes with a fine. Booth was not charged. Carrigan was referred straight to the judiciary. Storm forward Nelson Asofa Solomona received no charge at all after he elbowed Warriors hooker Wayde Egan and cracked his teeth.

It was a perfect storm of inconsistency. Inconsistency from the officials, from the Match Review Committee.

Graham Annesley came prepared to his weekly excuse fest on Monday afternoon to talk about the lack of a charge for Asofa Solomona. He brought along a video recorded by MRC manager Luke Patten, which aimed to explain that. It seems there was insufficient force in the contact - between an elbow and Egan's broken teeth.

Annesley admitted he hadn't even given Booth's tackle on Tapine a second look.

Enter the NRL judiciary on Tuesday night. They suspended Carrigan for just four weeks, a light suspension given the nature of that tackle.

What a mess.

The NRL made changes to the judiciary and MRC processes in the off season. They added former referees and coaches to both bodies. But they don't seem to be able to see the wood for the trees.

Then there's the officials who don't seem to be enforcing the rule that's already there to deal with third men coming into tackles in dangerous situations.

The NRL needs to look at why that's the case, quickly.

****

There was some good news this week. ARLC Chairman Peter V'landys has said that the transfer deadline of 1 August would be shifted back the original deadline of of 30 June in 2023. In the past week, just five weeks before the end of the regular season, we saw the Storm pick up David Nofoaluma from the Tigers, while Oliver Gildart shifted from the Tigers to the Roosters. The Roosters also recently signed Matt Lodge after he was released by the Warriors. The Eels tried to arrange the transfer of David Klemmer from the Knights and Marty Taupau from the Sea Eagles.

Given the majority of the season has already been played, these late transfers bring the very integrity of the competition into question. We have basically seen teams set to play finals trying to bolster their squads at the last minute, preying on the teams that had missed out. The Storm has had a big injury toll this year, but sometimes, that's just how it is.

Last year we saw the Panthers bring in Tevita Pangai Junior to make a guest appearance of six games, including three finals matches. Sonny Bill Williams was allowed to join the Roosters late in 2020, playing in one finals game. That's not a level playing field.

****

The Raiders have an opportunity on Saturday. They probably won’t face the Penrith Panthers at a better time, with both of their halves sidelined. Nathan Cleary has been suspended for an old fashioned spear tackle, while Jarome Luai has a knee injury.

However, as we have seen already this year, the Panthers are more than capable of winning without their key playmakers.

The atmosphere should be thick at Canberra Stadium. A crowd of 20,000 is expected. The two teams do not like each other much. The Raiders fans would like nothing more than to start and finish the game with the Viking Clap, after the Penrith crowd mocked the Raiders earlier in the year with their own version.

The Raiders can probably afford to lose one more match in their last five games - and still be sure of making the finals. A win on Saturday would be a big step towards making the top eight. They will need to lift on their performance against the Titans. But the Raiders do tend to lift against the top teams. I am tipping they can.

****

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 140
Josh Papalii 123
Hudson Young 114
Matt Timoko 109
Tom Starling 109
Jack Wighton 107
Adam Elliott 104
Corey Horsburgh 98
Nick Cotric 84
Elliott Whitehead 83
Corey Harawira-Naera 82
Jordan Rapana 80
Ryan Sutton 77
Sebastian Kris 74
Xavier Savage 70
Brad Schneider 59
Zac Woolford 56
Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad 51
Jamal Fogarty 48
Emre Guler 42
Semi Valemei 38
Matt Frawley 35
James Schiller 25
Albert Hopoate 14
Harry Rushton 14
Jarrod Croker 6
Adrian Trevilyan 4
Trey Mooney 3
Josh Hodgson 1

Average points per match

Joe Tapine 7.4
Hudson Young 6.7
Jack Wighton 6.7
Josh Papalii 6.5
Corey Horsburgh 6.1
Jamal Fogarty 6.0
Jarrod Croker 6.0
Brad Schneider 5.9
Corey Harawira-Naera 5.9
Adam Elliott 5.8
Matt Timoko 5.7
Tom Starling 5.7
Jordan Rapana 5.7
Sebastian Kris 5.7
Zac Woolford 5.6
Ryan Sutton 5.5
Xavier Savage 5.4
Nick Cotric 5.3
Elliott Whitehead 5.2
Matt Frawley 5.0
Semi Valemei 4.8
Albert Hopoate 4.7
Emre Guler 4.7
Harry Rushton 4.7
Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad 4.6
James Schiller 4.2
Adrian Trevilyan 4.0
Trey Mooney 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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2022 Round 21. Penrith Panthers 26 - Canberra Raiders 6. It was an extremely disappointing night for the Canberra Raiders in more ways than one. The Green Machine opened the game strongly, with Josh Papalii scoring under the posts inside the first 10 minutes. But poor defence in the middle of the field saw the Panthers strike back almost immediately. And the Raiders went on to produce a poor performance for the next 70 minutes.





The game was played in difficult conditions. It was wet, cold and greasy and there were a lot of turnovers of possession. Canberra fullback Xavier Savage was a late withdrawal, on match eve. The Raiders lost Joe Tapine to a rib injury during the match, while Ryan Sutton spent less than a minute on the field before a high tackle from Penrith prop James Fisher-Harris put him out of the game. The Sutton incident saw Fisher-Harris sent to the sin bin for 10 minutes. The Raiders then lost Nick Cotric to the bin after a high tackle on Penrith's Dylan Edwards in the first minute of the second half. So there was some adversity and chaos in the game. But the conditions were the same for both teams. And both teams faced some adversity. The Panthers were without both of their first string halves, Nathan Cleary and Jarome Luai, and star second rower, Viliame Kikau.

The Raiders produced some good, spirited defence in the match. But some of the missed tackles were embarrassing. The Raiders' attack was poor. The team looked disorganised and rarely posed any threat, even when Penrith was reduced to 12 men. The Panthers' defence was rock solid for most of the night. They stretch the limits in the ruck and they got some 50/50 calls. Let's face it, they benefited from some incorrect calls. But there is no doubt, they are good at what they do.

And in the end, the match showed the Raiders are a long way off the top teams. They could not challenge a Panthers team that was without their two key playmakers. They had let a chance to pick up a vital two competition points pass them by. Now, the Raiders probably have to win all four of their remaining matches if they're to make the top eight. Next week, they face the Dragons, a team the Raiders lost to earlier in the season. They are also yet to meet the Sea Eagles - a team that the Raiders have struggled to handle for a long time. But even if the Raiders can make it to the top eight, it is hard to see them making an impact.

It is impossible not to touch on the Jaeman Salmon incident involving Tom Starling and the post match comments from Raiders coach Ricky Stuart. Salmon has now been charged for kicking out at Starling, coming into contact with Starling's groin and head. But it is a low level charge of contrary conduct, which is penalised by just a fine. I think the match review committee should have been tougher, given the nature of the conduct. On the comments from Ricky Stuart, we don't have a full understanding of all the issues involved. It is reported they are deeply personal and involve his family. But in issuing an apology this morning, the coach has appropriately recognised that he crossed a line in making the comments he did in a press conference. Time will tell what action the NRL now takes.

I have to admit, I was dejected last night, and I am still dejected today. More positively, it was great to see young forward Ata Mariota making his NRL debut last night. He wouldn't have been expecting it when he got to the ground yesterday. It was planned that Semi Valemei would be the 18th man, but he was injured in NSW Cup. So Mariota ended up with that role - and was then called onto the bench after Ryan Sutton was ruled out of the game, after foul play. He did well, particularly after playing 33 minutes in NSW Cup.

Stats that mattered? The Panthers finished with 51 per cent of possession, but the Raiders had 60 per cent of the territory. The Raiders had 41 tackles in the Panthers' red zone, the Panthers half that in the Raiders' 20 metres. That underlines the ineffectiveness of Canberra's attack.

There's not a huge difference in most of the attacking statistics. The Panthers were ahead in total runs (168-160), running metres (1541-1377), post contact metres (554-513) and tackle breaks (33-29). Canberra made more metres per set (38-36). Both teams made four line breaks and nine offloads. There wasn't much difference in the defensive numbers either. The Raiders had an effective tackle rate of 89 per cent, the Panthers 88. The Raiders missed more tackles (33-29), while the Panthers posted more ineffective tackles (15-11). But in the end, the Panthers scored four tries, the Raiders just one. The margin of 20 points properly reflected the difference between the teams.

Memorable moments? The Josh Papalii try was the only highlight in attack for the Raiders, a simple try under the posts, off a good pass from Zac Woolford. There were some good tackles from the likes of Corey Harawira-Naera and Emre Guler. But the memorable moments for the Raiders were few and far between.

Best performers?

Josh Papalii. One try, 12 runs for 126 running metres, 49 post contact metres, four tackle breaks, 29 tackles, 97 per cent tackle efficiency.

Hudson Young. 12 runs for 75 running metres, 29 post contact metres, three tackle breaks, three offloads, 42 tackles, 98 per cent tackle efficiency.

Adam Elliott. 14 runs for 109 running metres, 39 post contact metres, two tackle breaks, one offload, 42 tackles, 91 per cent tackle efficiency.

Top tacklers: Hudson Young 42, Adam Elliott 42, Tom Starling 31, Josh Papalii 29, Corey Harawira-Naera 29
Most metres gained: Albert Hopoate 178, Nick Cotric 132, Josh Papalii 126, Jordan Rapana 125, Jack Wighton 123

My player ratings:

Jordan Rapana 5
Nick Cotric 4
Matt Timoko 6
Sebastian Kris 5
Albert Hopoate 6
Jack Wighton 6
Jamal Fogarty 5
Josh Papalii 7
Zac Woolford 6
Joe Tapine 6
Hudson Young 7
Elliott Whitehead 5
Adam Elliott 6

Tom Starling 5
Ryan Sutton NR *
Emre Guler 6
Corey Harawira-Naera 5
Ata Mariota 5

* Played less than one minute.

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 »

I thought Timoko and Kris were a bit invisible but maybe they did more in defence I didn’t see. I haven’t viewed the stats but I’d expect they’d both have low numbers.
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Re: Through green eyes 2022

Post by T_R »

A rigidly straight bat there from GE on the Salmon remarks.
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Son, we live in a world that has forums, and those forums have to be guarded by Mods. Who's gonna do it? You? You, Nickman? I have a greater responsibility than you can possibly fathom. You weep for Lucy, and you curse GE. You have that luxury. You have the luxury of not knowing what I know -- that GE’s moderation, while tragic, probably saved lives; and my existence, while grotesque and incomprehensible to you, keeps threads on track and under the appropriately sized, highlighted green headings.
You want moderation because deep down in places you don't talk about at parties, you want me on that forum -- you need me on that forum. We use words like "stay on topic," "use the appropriate forum," "please delete." We use these words as the backbone of a life spent defending something. You use them as a punch line. I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the blanket of the very moderation that I provide and then questions the manner in which I provide it. I would rather that you just said "thank you" and went on your way. Otherwise, I suggest you get a green handle and edit a post. Either way, I don't give a DAMN what you think about moderation.
Billy Walker
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Re: Through green eyes 2022

Post by Billy Walker »

T_R wrote: August 7, 2022, 5:07 pm A rigidly straight bat there from GE on the Salmon remarks.
Very factual - not giving anything away about where he stands on it.
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greeneyed
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Re: Through green eyes 2022

Post by greeneyed »

It’s clear. I said the coach has appropriately recognised he crossed a line in making the comments.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
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T_R
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Re: Through green eyes 2022

Post by T_R »

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Son, we live in a world that has forums, and those forums have to be guarded by Mods. Who's gonna do it? You? You, Nickman? I have a greater responsibility than you can possibly fathom. You weep for Lucy, and you curse GE. You have that luxury. You have the luxury of not knowing what I know -- that GE’s moderation, while tragic, probably saved lives; and my existence, while grotesque and incomprehensible to you, keeps threads on track and under the appropriately sized, highlighted green headings.
You want moderation because deep down in places you don't talk about at parties, you want me on that forum -- you need me on that forum. We use words like "stay on topic," "use the appropriate forum," "please delete." We use these words as the backbone of a life spent defending something. You use them as a punch line. I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the blanket of the very moderation that I provide and then questions the manner in which I provide it. I would rather that you just said "thank you" and went on your way. Otherwise, I suggest you get a green handle and edit a post. Either way, I don't give a DAMN what you think about moderation.
Coastalraider
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Re: Through green eyes 2022

Post by Coastalraider »

Billy Walker wrote: August 7, 2022, 2:44 pm I thought Timoko and Kris were a bit invisible but maybe they did more in defence I didn’t see. I haven’t viewed the stats but I’d expect they’d both have low numbers.
I agree.

I don’t think it’s any coincidence that we lose the only fullback in recent years we’ve had who can be effective in backline plays, and our outside men have no ball compared with recent weeks. How many times recently has it been savage feeding them ball?
RedRaider
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Re: Through green eyes 2022

Post by RedRaider »

I'd like to see Fog develop a cut out pass. The ball needs to get to Timoko faster to give him opportunity. The chances of EW breaking or even denting the line are now very low. Give it to Timoko and then EW can support him on his left should Timoko make a break or bump off a defender and need a support runner.

As to the Salmon comments: I wonder what the Board who went early in the announcement of the Coaching position now make of Sticky. Sure they will support him publicly. Privately, I don't think there would be any Board member who was not taken aback by the comments made by Sticky in the post match Press Conference. I reckon there would be some unimpressed sponsors as well. As for the players, well Sticky can never take a player to task for ill discipline again. Words have consequences.
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Re: Through green eyes 2022

Post by Billy Walker »

RedRaider wrote: August 7, 2022, 11:10 pm I'd like to see Fog develop a cut out pass. The ball needs to get to Timoko faster to give him opportunity. The chances of EW breaking or even denting the line are now very low. Give it to Timoko and then EW can support him on his left should Timoko make a break or bump off a defender and need a support runner.

As to the Salmon comments: I wonder what the Board who went early in the announcement of the Coaching position now make of Sticky. Sure they will support him publicly. Privately, I don't think there would be any Board member who was not taken aback by the comments made by Sticky in the post match Press Conference. I reckon there would be some unimpressed sponsors as well. As for the players, well Sticky can never take a player to task for ill discipline again. Words have consequences.
Well said Red!
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Lui_Bon
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Re: Through green eyes 2022

Post by Lui_Bon »

Billy Walker wrote: August 7, 2022, 11:34 pm
RedRaider wrote: August 7, 2022, 11:10 pm I'd like to see Fog develop a cut out pass. The ball needs to get to Timoko faster to give him opportunity. The chances of EW breaking or even denting the line are now very low. Give it to Timoko and then EW can support him on his left should Timoko make a break or bump off a defender and need a support runner.

As to the Salmon comments: I wonder what the Board who went early in the announcement of the Coaching position now make of Sticky. Sure they will support him publicly. Privately, I don't think there would be any Board member who was not taken aback by the comments made by Sticky in the post match Press Conference. I reckon there would be some unimpressed sponsors as well. As for the players, well Sticky can never take a player to task for ill discipline again. Words have consequences.
Well said Red!
Agreed.

Right now it's hard to care about the progress of the team because the coach has done so much to throw it under the wheels of his own personal bus. If people like Richardson and Hawke can't see the damage that has been done to the Raiders brand, then god help the country given the positions they have previously held. However, and much more importantly, where are they leaving the club? If the Raiders' board don't come out with a statement soon, it's getting pretty embarrassing and I'm not sure I want to keep giving them money to be a so-called "member" of this total ****show.

We are about to see just what the morals of the Queanbeyan Blues Board actually are. I don't think it will be pleasant.
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greeneyed
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Re: Through green eyes 2022

Post by greeneyed »

Through green eyes: Top three clashes with the Dragons

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This Sunday, the Canberra Raiders host the Dragons in a must win clash at Canberra Stadium. There have been some classic matches played against the men in the Red V at Bruce, stretching back to the Raiders' very first premiership game at the venue.

The Raiders had won their first premiership in 1989, in a match which still holds the title of the greatest Grand Final of all time. The newly crowned premiers had a new home ground in 1990 - a redeveloped Bruce Stadium - and they played St George in the opening game of the season on a Friday night in front of a then record crowd of 22,527. It was a real celebration, a carnival, with the crowd repeatedly performing the Mexican wave. The Raiders went on to win, 26-10.



Since 1990, the Raiders have played a total of 24 games against the Dragons at Bruce, 17 since St George merged with Illawarra. Canberra has lost just five of the two dozen matches. Some of the best victories came during the days of the "hoodoo" - the period between 2003 and 2013, when the Raiders lost just one of 16 games.

For mine, these are the top three matches between the Raiders and Dragons at what we now know as Canberra Stadium.

Number 3: The Dragons hoodoo grows



Up until Round 18 of 2010, Canberra had won just five matches. The Raiders were 13th on the competition ladder and had lost four straight matches. But in Round 18, Canberra came from behind at Brookvale Oval, to win narrowly over the Manly Sea Eagles, 24-22. It was the start of a late surge, led by Terry Campese. In Round 24, the St George Illawarra Dragons visited Canberra, winless in the national capital for a decade. But they had been running in first place on the competition ladder since Round 5. The Raiders, still outside the top eight, had to win to maintain their finals hopes.

The Dragons put on a show of their typical impenetrable defence in the first half, and they led 4-0 at half time. But the Raiders blew the match apart in the second half. It started with a Daniel Vidot try eight minutes after the break. Terry Campese quickly took control, scoring under the posts. "He's invented a new grubber kick... it's like a grubber, chip kick!" commentator Gary Belcher marvelled. Adam Mogg followed up.

Then Canberra scored two classic tries. Josh Dugan defused a dangerous Jamie Soward chip kick, bumped out of a Neville Costigan tackle, and just emerged out the other side of a group of Dragons defenders. He ran 80 metres to score under the posts. Shortly after, Jarrod Croker made a break wide out, 80 metres from the line. He flew and Joe Picker was backing up on the inside. He pushed Jamie Soward to one side with ease and scored in the corner. Terry Campese swarmed in, taking Picker to the fence to the arms of the fans. It was five tries in 12 minutes. The commentary was ecstatic: "The Green Machine is rolling again! The glory days are back here in Canberra!"

''Everyone wants to play finals football,'' Terry Campese said after the match.

''If we can bring the attitude that we brought in the second half you never know what we can do. If we make the semis, if we make the top eight we're going to give it a real crack. We've got a very good squad and on our day we can beat anyone. We're starting to get the confidence and that's big in this game.''

''It was frustrating [early]. It felt like we were parked on their line nearly that whole first half, and they were getting us by one leg when we were about to score tries. We knew if we kept at it in the second half, eventually they would break - and that's what they did.''

It was an inspirational 32-16 win over the eventual premiers. Dragons coach Wayne Bennett admitted Canberra was ''certainly as good as anyone we've played''.

The Raiders had posted 11 wins in their past 12 matches against the Dragons - and the "hoodoo" continued to grow. It is no wonder many Raiders fans still ask themselves about the 2010 season: "What if?"

2010 Round 24 - Canberra Raiders 32 (Glen Buttriss, Terry Campese, Josh Dugan, Adam Mogg, Joe Picker, Daniel Vidot tries, Jarrod Croker 4 goals) defeated St George Illawarra Dragons 16 (Neville Costigan, Mark Gasnier, Brett Morris tries, Jamie Soward 2 goals)

Canberra Raiders: 1. Josh Dugan 2. Joel Monaghan 3. Jarrod Croker 4. Adam Mogg 5. Daniel Vidot 6. Terry Campese 7. Josh McCrone 8. Tom Learoyd Lahrs 9. Alan Tongue 10. David Shillington 11. Joe Picker 12. Bronson Harrison 13. Trevor Thurling

14. Glen Buttriss 16. Dane Tilse 17. Scott Logan 18. Shaun Fensom

Coach David Furner

Crowd: 20,445


Number 2: Do you believe in hoodoos? Do you believe in miracles?

The St George Illawarra Dragons visited Canberra Stadium, winless in the national capital since 2000, in Round 20 of 2011. The Dragons led 18-6 at half time, and Jamie Soward surely thought he had won his team the match when he landed a 40 metre field goal with just a minute left - giving the Dragons a 19-18 lead. But the Raiders famous "hoodoo" was still to play its part.

Canberra regained the ball from the kick off and Josh Dugan scored an incredible last ditch try, chasing a Josh McCrone kick. The moment will live on through the classic call: "Do you believe in hoodoos? Do you believe in miracles?!" It gave Canberra the 24-19 victory.

"Duges called for the ball. All credit goes to him," Josh McCrone said after the match. "We'd seen Ben Creagh rush up outside, we thought there was an opportunity, we had the numbers on them, he shouted for it, I kicked it, he flew through and put it down. As soon as he got there I knew it was down."



"To be 18-6 down at halftime, and then get back in the arm-wrestle and keep them to one point in the second half... They are one of the best attacking teams, and one of the best defensive teams, so to score three tries in the second half to their none, it was a great feeling," Josh Dugan said later.

"As soon as Jamie kicked his field goal, I knew it was going over. I ran to the ball boy on the sideline and grabbed the ball so we could kick off. I saw a bit of space behind, Josh's first couple of kicks in the first half went a bit long, but he was pin-pointing them in the second half and that's when they counted."

2011 Round 20 - Canberra Raiders 24 (Josh Dugan 2, Blake Ferguson, Josh McCrone tries, Jarrod Croker 4 goals) defeated St George Illawarra Dragons 19 (Matt Cooper, Ben Creagh, Mark Gasnier, Brett Morris tries, Jamie Soward 1 goal, 1 field goal) at Canberra Stadium

Canberra Raiders: 1. Josh Dugan 2. Blake Ferguson 19. Jarrod Croker 4. Joel Thompson 5. Daniel Vidot 6. Josh McCrone 7. Sam Williams 8. Brett White 9. Alan Tongue 10. Dane Tilse 18. Josh Papalii 12. Bronson Harrison 13. Shaun Fensom

3. Danny Galea 14. Glen Buttriss 16. Trevor Thurling 17. Sam Mataora

Coach David Furner

Crowd: 10,425


Number 1. Fiery clash with the Dragons



When the Dragons came to the nation’s capital in 2009, they expected it to be a routine day at the office. They were cruising towards the minor premiership and had been easily the best defensive unit all season. But Canberra had lost only once to St George Illawarra since 2001. And the Dragons were met by a hostile crowd of over 19,000. There were plenty of hostilities on the field as well, with Terry Campese in the thick of it.

Initially the Dragons’ defence proved to be impenetrable. A try either side of half time had the joint venture club up 12-0 and it was expected that the Dragons would simply suffocate the Raiders out of the game. Inconsistent all season, the Raiders then turned on undoubtedly their best thirty minutes of the season. An amazing try from a scrum by Jarrod Croker got the Raiders on the board, and only one set later boom winger Daniel Vidot had crossed in the corner. Immaculate kicking by five eighth Terry Campese levelled the scores, and when Dane Tilse collected a grubber only minutes later, the Raiders were somehow in the lead.

Providing the blueprint to rattle the Dragons, ill-discipline gave the Raiders the chance to seal the victory with penalty goals. It was an exceptional victory, one that the Dragons never recovered from in 2009.

2009 Round 23 – Canberra Raiders 24 (Jarrod Croker, Daniel Vidot, Dane Tilse tries, Terry Campese 6 goals) defeated St George Illawarra Dragons 12 (Darius Boyd, Brett Morris tries, Jamie Soward 2 goals) at Canberra Stadium

Canberra Raiders: 1. Josh Dugan 2. Daniel Vidot 3. Jarrod Croker 11. Joel Thompson 5. Phil Graham 6. Terry Campese 7. Josh McCrone 8. Dane Tilse 9. Alan Tongue 10. Scott Logan 14. Tom Learoyd Lahrs 12. Bronson Harrison 13. Josh Miller

15. Travis Waddell 16. Troy Thompson 17. Joe Picker 18. Trevor Thurling

Coach David Furner

Crowd: 19,350


****

It's been a controversial week for the Raiders, to say the least. Coach Ricky Stuart was suspended by the NRL for seven days, from 4:00pm on Tuesday and fined $25,000, for his press conference comments about Penrith player Jaeman Salmon. There was some deep, personal history there, from a long time ago. But the NRL really had no choice, and the sanction they applied is pretty reasonable, in all the circumstances.

It has meant that the Raiders will be be without their head coach for Sunday's match-up with the Dragons, with the assistant coaches, Andrew McFadden, Brett White and Paul Crawley to run the side.



It is added pressure, given the Raiders will be without their best player of 2022, prop Joe Tapine - and given the Green Machine probably need to win the next four games in a row to make the finals.

Andrew McFadden didn't seem to be feeling it today.

"It's business as usual in terms of the way we operate," McFadden said.

"We've got a pretty big hand in things in terms of assistant coaches with training anyway, Ricky's very good at giving us that responsibility. We're just working through that and we'll divvy up all the other stuff. Every game is do or die now, we've got to keep winning. It's very important we get back on track after a disappointing loss last week."

The Raiders are favourites to win, despite this week's set backs. Despite losing to the Dragons, 12-10, at Wollongong earlier this year. But when you look at the numbers it is clear why the Raiders are favourites. They are in front of the Dragons in most departments - particularly the defensive statistics. Here's hoping they can do it on Sunday.

****

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 146
Josh Papalii 130
Hudson Young 121
Matt Timoko 115
Tom Starling 114
Jack Wighton 113
Adam Elliott 110
Corey Horsburgh 98
Elliott Whitehead 88
Nick Cotric 88
Corey Harawira-Naera 87
Jordan Rapana 85
Sebastian Kris 79
Ryan Sutton 77
Xavier Savage 70
Zac Woolford 62
Brad Schneider 59
Jamal Fogarty 53
Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad 51
Emre Guler 48
Semi Valemei 38
Matt Frawley 35
James Schiller 25
Albert Hopoate 20
Harry Rushton 14
Jarrod Croker 6
Ata Mariota 5
Adrian Trevilyan 4
Trey Mooney 3
Josh Hodgson 1

Average points per match

Joe Tapine 7.3
Hudson Young 6.7
Jack Wighton 6.6
Josh Papalii 6.5
Corey Horsburgh 6.1
Jarrod Croker 6.0
Brad Schneider 5.9
Jamal Fogarty 5.9
Corey Harawira-Naera 5.8
Adam Elliott 5.8
Matt Timoko 5.8
Tom Starling 5.7
Jordan Rapana 5.7
Sebastian Kris 5.6
Zac Woolford 5.6
Ryan Sutton 5.5
Xavier Savage 5.4
Elliott Whitehead 5.2
Nick Cotric 5.2
Albert Hopoate 5.0
Ata Mariota 5.0
Matt Frawley 5.0
Emre Guler 4.8
Semi Valemei 4.8
Harry Rushton 4.7
Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad 4.6
James Schiller 4.2
Adrian Trevilyan 4.0
Trey Mooney 3.0
Josh Hodgson 1.0

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Re: Through green eyes 2022

Post by greeneyed »

Through green eyes: As I saw it

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"We make it hard for ourselves at times. We tend to get to a lead and then let other teams come back and that's something that we need to fix looking forward but we're just happy to get the win tonight. After the week we've had, I thought the performance was really good. The win was the most important thing tonight and we got that."

Canberra Raiders captain Elliott Whitehead


2022 Round 22. Canberra Raiders 24 - St George Illawarra Dragons 22. It was a very Raiders way to win. They led 18-12 at half time, and took a 12 point lead two minutes into the second half. But that was the end of the scoring for the Green Machine. In the final stages, the Dragons scored two tries to draw within two points. And only some desperate, last gasp defence secured the Canberra win.



It was also a very Raiders start to the game. Just two minutes in, a neat kick from hooker Zac Woolford into the in goal saw Hudson Young give the Raiders a 6-0 lead. But almost immediately, the Raiders invited the Dragons into the match. An error, a set restart conceded, some poor defence on the goal line - and Talatau Amone was over for the first of his three tries. Bad memories of the start of the previous week's clash with the Panthers resurfaced. Amone was in again in the 20th minute, off the back of successive penalties.

Some attacking brilliance from Xavier Savage in the 28th minute helped get the home team back on track. He injected himself out wide, his speed really testing the Dragons' defence, his pass to winger Jordan Rapana perfect. Rapana almost just had to fall over the line. Just before half time, a charge down of a Ben Hunt kick by Ryan Sutton, produced the easiest of tries for the bench prop.

It was an 18-12 lead at the break for the home team. But the Green Machine probably should have led by more. Canberra had 53 per cent of the ball and 70 per cent of the territory. They had 22 tackles in the Dragon' red zone (Dragons 10) and had out run the Dragons by almost 300 metres. The final set before the half time summed up Canberra's problems when attacking in the red zone. Crash balls offered little threat, the play makers seemed at a loss as to what to do. It is not a new problem, and it is a problem that continued into the second half.



The second 40 started fortuitously for Canberra. The Dragons kick off went out on the full, with Hudson Young just managing to plant his foot beyond the dead ball line before catching the ball. And almost immediately, Savage was in action again, kicking the ball to the corner of the in goal for an Albert Hopoate try. From there, it was a frustrating half of football for those who bleed green.

Ben Hunt's kicking game was terrific. He produced a 40/20 kick early in the first half. But it was his rare 20/40 kick that set up Amone's third try of the afternoon - with 13 minutes remaining. The Dragons came home with the proverbial wet sail. Dragons winger Tautau Moga scored with five minutes left - and it looked like it would be one of "those" games. But Zac Lomax missed the conversion attempt - and that would prove to be the ultimate difference between the teams.

The game ended in some faux controversy. A Ben Hunt pass sent Matt Feagai on a 60 metre run downfield, with less than 15 seconds left. He was eventually rounded up, by a combination of Sebastian Kris, Jordan Rapana and Corey Harawira-Naera, 20 metres from the try line. And time expired just as the tackle was complete. The suggestion that the Raiders should have been penalised for a second effort from Harawira-Naera was off the mark. The clock had already stopped before then. Any comparisons with how the game between the two clubs had finished in Wollongong were also off the mark. In that game, Ben Hunt had committed three infringements before full time, which the NRL later admitted should have been penalised. I guess we will soon hear from NRL head of football Graham Annesley on the finish to yesterday's game. I'll be surprised if he's issuing one of his non-apologies to the Dragons.



So, the Raiders' finals hopes are still alive. But they are fading. The Roosters' win over the Cowboys means the Raiders are still two competition points adrift of the eighth placed Roosters. Four competition points behind the Rabbitohs, Broncos and Eels. Canberra still has to win all its remaining games and hope others slip up.

Stats that mattered? At the end of the game, the two teams had an even share of the ball - while the Raiders had 58 per cent of the territory. Canberra had 39 tackles in the Dragons red zone (Dragons 22). The Raiders produced more running metres (1593-1382), post contact metres (547-436), kick return metres (18-97), metres per set (38-33) and tackle breaks (39-31). That's enough opportunity for the Raiders to have produced a bigger margin than two points. The red zone attack needs fixing, but it is probably too late in the season for that.

The defence was another problem for Canberra. They conceded five line breaks (Dragons conceded four) and 10 offloads (Dragons conceded seven). The Dragons missed more tackles (39-31) and posted more ineffective tackles (17-12). The Raiders had the better effective tackle rate (89-85 per cent). But Canberra conceded as many tries as they scored. Unusually, the Raiders' left edge defence and the goal line defence was a weakness. Something to work on before the clash with the Knights.

Memorable moments? There were some good tries for the Raiders, but the best was the Rapana try set up by Savage. Some nice kicks from Woolford and Savage as well, for four pointers. But despite the win, the game won't go down as one of the best performances from the Green Machine.

Best performers?

Xavier Savage. 14 runs for 159 metres, 43 post contact metres, two try assists, two line break assists, one offload. Not the perfect game, with two missed tackles. He's still working on his positioning. But he was good under the high ball in wet conditions. And his attack adds another dimension to the team.

Josh Papalii. 16 runs for 150 metres, 60 post contact metres, five tackle breaks, three offloads, 25 tackles, 89 per cent tackle efficiency. The rock in the pack, he led in the absence of Joe Tapine.

Ryan Sutton. One try, 13 runs for 111 metres, 37 post contact metres, three tackle breaks, 25 tackles, 89 per cent tackle efficiency. It was his best game in green for quite a while.

Top tacklers: Emre Guler 34, Hudson Young 28, Josh Papalii, 25, Ryan Sutton 25, Zac Woolford 25, Jamal Fogarty 25
Most metres gained: Albert Hopoate 164, Xavier Savage 159, Josh Papalii 150

My player ratings:

Xavier Savage 7
Albert Hopoate 6
Matt Timoko 6
Sebastian Kris 5
Jordan Rapana 7
Jack Wighton 5
Jamal Fogarty 5
Josh Papalii 7
Zac Woolford 5
Emre Guler 5
Hudson Young 7
Elliott Whitehead 5
Adam Elliott 6

Tom Starling 5
Ryan Sutton 7
Corey Horsburgh 6
Corey Harawira-Naera 6

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Re: Through green eyes 2022

Post by Billy Walker »

I agree! Well played GE.
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greeneyed
Don Furner
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Re: Through green eyes 2022

Post by greeneyed »

Through green eyes: The greatest

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This Sunday, the Canberra Raiders head to the Hunter for another must win clash, this time against the Newcastle Knights. It is the first time the Raiders have played in Newcastle since 2017 - with the pandemic partly responsible for that.

Newcastle hasn't been a happy hunting ground for Canberra. The Raiders have won only eight of the 23 games played at Hunter Stadium since the Knights entered the competition in 1988.

The greatest win of them all happened back in Round 18 of 1994. The Green Machine was on a three game winning streak. They had put big scores up against the Tigers, Sharks and Rabbitohs. Against the Sharks, the Raiders broke through the 50 points barrier, with mercurial fullback Brett Mullins scoring three tries at Bruce Stadium. Mullins had just recently made his debut for Australia, in a Test against France. Then, at the Sydney Football Stadium, the Raiders posted 48 points against the Rabbitohs. Mullins scored four. Somehow, he topped that performance at the Hunter.

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Brett Mullins holds up four fingers to signify the four tries he scored against the South Sydney Rabbitohs.

The match against the Knights was billed as an early semi-finals clash. Knights coach David Waite was reportedly under pressure to hold his job. Newcastle still had hopes of pushing their way into the top five, and pushing the Broncos out. They had five rounds, including two home games, in which to do it. The Raiders, in fourth place, were aiming for a top three finish. A huge crowd of almost 23,000 turned out in Newcastle to support the home team in Friday Night Football.

The Knights fielded a big pack, including names like Paul Harragon, Mark Sargent, Tony Butterfield and Marc Glanville. A young halves pairing of Andrew and Matthew Johns was steering the team around, while Robbie O'Davis featured at fullback. Matthew Johns has often said later that the Raiders team he faced that year is the best he's ever faced.

By the end of the night, the Raiders had piled on 52 points, and the Knights, just 16. To that point, it was the Knights' worst ever defeat. Brett Mullins had again scored four. The Knights started well, and in the fourth minute, had pinned Ricky Stuart to the Raiders' own goal line. Mullins then exploded, accepting the ball from Noa Nadruku, finding the gap in the middle of the field and running 98 metres to score the first try of the game. Twelve minutes later, Mullins again took the ball from Nadruku on the Raiders' own line. This time he ran wide. Another length of the field try, beating Robbie O'Davis along the way. The Raiders were suddenly in front, 18-0 - and took a 30-6 lead to the break.

Thirteen minutes into the second half, Mullins was at it again - running a measly 40 metres to score, after taking a nice offload from David Furner. He rounded the game out with another try, five minutes from the end. Jason Croker, playing five eighth that night, ran towards the sideline, drawing the defence wide, before throwing a cut out pass back inside to Mullins. There was a huge gap for Mullins to run into, 15 metres from the line.

'That was easily our best away win of the season," Raiders coach Tim Sheens said after the game.

"The most pleasing aspect of our last three games is Souths, Cronulla and Newcastle all had to win. The intensity is there, you can sense it among our players. Our control and defence has picked up and a lot of that has to do with having the same team on the paddock for the last month."

"Having strike players like Mullins who can come up with a couple of 100 metre tries also helps out," Sheens added, surely with his tongue a little in his cheek.

"He is playing really well. There is a lot of good lead up work which he is feeding off, the same as any
good full-back would do. But he is always sniffing and looking to get involved."

Brett Mullins had scored 11 tries in three games, in the space of 14 days - and four tries in successive games. He joined Jason Croker at the top of the competition's try scoring list. Mullins and Croker went on to both score 22 tries that year, setting a new club record. However, Brisbane's Steve Renouf took the title as the competition's top try scorer of 1994, scoring 23. Mullins was named the Dally M Fullback of the Year. Today, only Jordan Rapana has scored more tries in a season at the Raiders (23), while Mullins still ranks third as the club's greatest try scorer (105).

1994 Round 18 - Canberra Raiders 52 (B. Mullins 4, R. Wiki 2, N. Nadruku, R. Stuart, S. Walters tries; D. Furner 8 goals) defeated Newcastle 16 (A. Johns 2, J. Ainscough tries; A. Johns 2 goals) at Newcastle

Canberra: 1. Brett Mullins 2. Albert Fulivai 3. Mal Meninga 4. Ruben Wiki 5. Noa Nadruku 6. Jason Croker 7. Ricky Stuart 8. Quentin Pongia 9. Steve Walters 10. John Lomax 11. Brett Hetherington 12. David Furner 13. Brad Clyde

14. David Westley 15. Jason Death 16. David Boyle

Coach Tim Sheens

Crowd: 22, 945


****

It hasn't been the best of week's for the Newcastle Knights. Captain Kalyn Ponga and Kurt Mann have been embroiled in controversy. Centre Bradman Best and winger Enari Tuala have been dropped to NSW Cup for disciplinary reasons - after they missed a team bus in Brisbane last week. New director of football, Peter Parr, has already been under the pump over poor culture at the club.

It hasn't been the best of seasons for the Newcastle Knights either. They have won just six games in 2022, losing 15. They sit in 14th place on the ladder.

It is in situations like this, when teams have their backs to the wall, that they come out firing. When they are at their most dangerous. Newcastle has nothing to lose and everything to prove. They will also want to make the NRL debut of 19 year old, Krystian Mapapalangi, special.

So the Raiders must beware. Raiders prop Josh Papalii knows that.

"I've been in that situation before with the club where we're not playing for finals spots but you can come out and ruin a few teams," he said this week.

"Newcastle have that this week. They've got nothing to lose. They're probably going to debut a few younger players and come out and just play footy. We've got to be wary that they’re going to throw the ball around a bit more. We've just got to be ready for that."



The Raiders have tended to struggle to handle Newcastle in recent years. They have won just two of the past five games between the clubs. But with coach Ricky Stuart returning from his one week suspension, Canberra has been more settled this week. And I expect their heads will be in the game on Sunday. They know they must win their final three games if they are to have any shot at playing finals football. I'm tipping the Green Machine by six.

****

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 146
Josh Papalii 137
Hudson Young 128
Matt Timoko 121
Tom Starling 119
Jack Wighton 118
Adam Elliott 116
Corey Horsburgh 104
Corey Harawira-Naera 93
Elliott Whitehead 93
Jordan Rapana 92
Nick Cotric 88
Ryan Sutton 84
Sebastian Kris 84
Xavier Savage 77
Zac Woolford 67
Brad Schneider 59
Jamal Fogarty 58
Emre Guler 53
Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad 51
Semi Valemei 38
Matt Frawley 35
Albert Hopoate 26
James Schiller 25
Harry Rushton 14
Jarrod Croker 6
Ata Mariota 5
Adrian Trevilyan 4
Trey Mooney 3
Josh Hodgson 1

Average points per match

Joe Tapine 7.3
Hudson Young 6.7
Jack Wighton 6.6
Josh Papalii 6.5
Corey Horsburgh 6.1
Jarrod Croker 6.0
Brad Schneider 5.9
Corey Harawira-Naera 5.8
Adam Elliott 5.8
Jamal Fogarty 5.8
Matt Timoko 5.8
Jordan Rapana 5.8
Tom Starling 5.7
Ryan Sutton 5.6
Sebastian Kris 5.6
Zac Woolford 5.6
Xavier Savage 5.5
Albert Hopoate 5.2
Nick Cotric 5.2
Elliott Whitehead 5.2
Ata Mariota 5.0
Matt Frawley 5.0
Emre Guler 4.8
Semi Valemei 4.8
Harry Rushton 4.7
Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad 4.6
James Schiller 4.2
Adrian Trevilyan 4.0
Trey Mooney 3.0
Josh Hodgson 1.0

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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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"The boys knew what needed to be done. I was really happy with the second half comeback, it was just two halves of football. You hear that as cliche a lot of the time from coaches, but it definitely was. I just thought the way they reacted after the half time break was a sign of a mature team and a team that cares about a result. Winning those games keeps us alive for another week and we'll review and talk about that first half... but we all know what it was. We've just got to be better."

Canberra Raiders coach Ricky Stuart


2022 Round 23. Canberra Raiders 28 - Newcastle Knights 22. It was again a very Raiders way to win. With just six wins to their name in 2022, the Knights had been mired in controversy all week. Captain Kalyn Ponga and utility Kurt Mann were reportedly drug tested after being filmed at a hotel. Backs Bradman Best and Enari Tuala were dropped for disciplinary reasons. They lost forward Daniel Saifiti on match eve, Tyson Frizell in the warm up. But they were the team that looked like they needed to win to stay in contention for the top eight - rather than the Raiders.

The Knights started with intensity and did plenty with the ball. Former Raider, Anthony Milford was given plenty of latitude. Newcastle took a 22-8 lead to the break, scoring five tries, more points in one half than they have averaged in 80 minutes this year. At half time, the Raiders flicked the switch, and returned in the second half with their heads in the game. And they scored 20 unanswered points to come away with the comeback victory.



After the game, coach Ricky Stuart denied that the Raiders had been complacent about the contest. But it certainly looked that way in the first half. Tries flowed for the home team after the Raiders conceded five errors and four penalties. The Knights completed 20 of 21 sets, delivering them 55 per of the possession and 57 per cent of the territory. The Raiders completed only 10 of 14 sets.

The second half provided a stark contrast. Ricky Stuart reportedly told his team in the sheds that they had "40 minutes to save their season". And that that's what they did. By the 55 minute mark, they had drawn level with the Knights. The Raiders had more than 60 per cent of the ball and 70 per cent of the territory in the second 40. They lifted their completion rate to 90 per cent and ran almost twice as many running metres than the Knights. They produced three times the tackle breaks of the Knights. They had 26 tackles in the Knights' red zone, the Knights just nine at the other end. The Knights missed 18 tackles, the Raiders six.

As the Raiders are want to do, they made it a bit of a grind after the initial flurry of the second half. It highlighted some of the usual problems. Like, the blunt attack in the red zone. Tom Starling was a late switch into the starting hooker spot, and played there for most of the game. Zac Woolford had some defensive problems against the Dragons. Perhaps Woolford also had a niggling injury. But Starling's service at dummy half is too indecisive for a starting hooker. He's at his best from the bench, scooting from dummy half against tired forwards. And the halves don't quite control things. In the end, it needed the Raiders' two sparkling backs, Josh Papalii and Joe Tapine, to deliver the play the sealed the game. I jest of course. The bit about the sparkling backs. They're sparkling props.

As many expected, former Raiders Anthony Milford and Edrick Lee had very good games for the Knights. Lee scored two tries in the first half - and very nearly produced a hat trick in the final minute. If he'd scored, the Knights could have forced extra time. Thankfully he didn't, grounding the ball up against the corner post. And that's in touch.



So again this week, the Raiders' finals hopes are still glimmering. Their chances took a bit of a hit with the Eels and Roosters producing wins and big scores. The Raiders threw away their shot at improving their points differential. But losses for the Rabbitohs and Broncos helped. Now, those two teams look the most vulnerable. The Rabbitohs could conceivably lose to the Cowboys and Roosters in their final two games. The Broncos face the Eels and Dragons. All the Raiders can do now is to win their final two games and hope for some slip ups.

Stats that mattered? The Raiders finished with a 53 per cent share of possession and 58 per cent of the territory. They made more runs (202-156), running metres (1836-1436), post contact metres (771-539), kick return metres (242-153) and metres per set (51-38). But the Knights made seven line breaks (Raiders three). They also made slightly more offloads (10-7), while tackle breaks were even (34-34). The Raiders produced three forced line drop outs, while the Knights got one 40/20. Sort of. The ball actually landed on the line, and Milford's kick should have been ruled out on the full.

The Knights had the better effective tackle rate (88 per cent, 84 per cent for the Raiders), mostly due to the Raiders' poor ineffective tackle count (23, Knights 10). Both teams missed 34 tackles. The ultimate defensive statistic - tries conceded - ended up at five apiece. That's 30 potential points that the Raiders gave up, which is far too many if they are to make the finals and then have any impact in them.

Memorable moments? The Raiders' tries in the first half were worked well, though Newcastle's defences may have contributed. The Hudson Young try in the second half was brilliant. He was at dummy half on the last tackle - and he kicked ahead into the in goal and chased. The Knights could not defuse and Young planted it just inside the dead ball line. He's having a season. He is just a great attacking weapon. The best moment of the match was the winning try. It was started by Joe Tapine. Josh Papalii then made a huge run up the middle of the field, with Tapine backing up and offloading for Wighton. They did things props should not be able to do.

Best performers?

Joseph Tapine. 17 runs for 175 metres, 79 post contact metres, one try assist, one line break assist, one tackle break, one offload, 27 tackles, 84 per cent tackle efficiency. Four ineffective tackles only blot on the copy book. Not sure why he was there - apart from being the Raiders' most awesome player of 2022 - but he was impressive in the post match media conference.

Hudson Young. One try, 16 runs for 174 metres, 69 post contact metres, one tackle break, 25 tackles, 81 per cent tackle efficiency. Three missed tackles, three ineffective, no errors, no penalties conceded.

Sebastian Kris. Two tries, eight runs for 84 metres, 32 post contact metres, one line break, three tackle breaks.

Top tacklers: Tom Starling (43), Elliott Whitehead (31), Joseph Tapine (27), Hudson Young (25)
Most metres gained: Joseph Tapine 175, Hudson Young 174, Xavier Savage 179

Both Emre Guler (158) and Josh Papalii (140) also broke 100 metres gained in the forwards, while Jordan Rapana (169), Nick Cotric (156), Jack Wighton (129) and Matt Timoko (102) did so in the backs.

My player ratings:

Xavier Savage 6
Nick Cotric 7
Matt Timoko 6
Sebastian Kris 7
Jordan Rapana 7
Jack Wighton 6
Jamal Fogarty 6
Josh Papalii 6
Tom Starling 5
Joseph Tapine 8
Hudson Young 8
Elliott Whitehead 5
Adam Elliott 6

Zac Woolford 1 *
Emre Guler 7
Corey Horsburgh 5
Corey Harawira-Naera 4

* Limited minutes

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Billy Walker
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Re: Through green eyes 2022

Post by Billy Walker »

Maybe a little high on Cotric I think. Also Timoko isn’t making errors but his involvement is way down. Maybe that’s the halves fault, maybe it’s the 13, whatever it is it’s resulting in lower output than what we should be getting from Matt T and we need to get him a lot more ball. I think his score is a bit generous as well.
The Nickman
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Re: Through green eyes 2022

Post by The Nickman »

Billy Walker wrote: August 22, 2022, 1:54 pm Maybe a little high on Cotric I think.
Well you'll IMFS there, won't you.
Billy Walker
Laurie Daley
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Re: Through green eyes 2022

Post by Billy Walker »

The Nickman wrote: August 23, 2022, 1:56 pm
Billy Walker wrote: August 22, 2022, 1:54 pm Maybe a little high on Cotric I think.
Well you'll IMFS there, won't you.
Shut up Nicko :lol:
The Nickman
Mal Meninga
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Location: Rockhampton, Central Queensland

Re: Through green eyes 2022

Post by The Nickman »

Like, literally all you've done the last five years is use GE's segment to complain that his ratings for Croker are too high, and now you've just moved on to Cotric.

****, change the **** channel, pal!
Billy Walker
Laurie Daley
Posts: 12399
Joined: April 29, 2017, 7:22 pm
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Re: Through green eyes 2022

Post by Billy Walker »

The Nickman wrote: August 23, 2022, 2:23 pm Like, literally all you've done the last five years is use GE's segment to complain that his ratings for Croker are too high, and now you've just moved on to Cotric.

****, change the **** channel, pal!
Please see my above reply
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greeneyed
Don Furner
Posts: 145097
Joined: January 7, 2005, 4:21 pm

Re: Through green eyes 2022

Post by greeneyed »

Through green eyes: To have and have not

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Last weekend we saw a round of massive blow outs. The Roosters beat the Tigers, 72-6. The Storm beat the Broncos, 60-12. The Cowboys beat the Warriors, 48-4. The Eels and Sharks put 40 or more points on the board in big defeats of the Bulldogs and Sea Eagles.

The winners scored 362 points, the losers 104. The average margin was 32 points. In the era of the NRL, thIat's the biggest average margin in one round. More points have never been scored in one NRL round.

NRL head of football, Graham Annesley told us on Monday that there's nothing to worry about. Margins are lower than last year and games are more competitive for longer. I won't go through all the numbers, you can see them below.

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This year's changes to the "six again" rule have been a move in the right direction - and that probably explains the reduction in margins in 2022, compared with 2021.

It is fair to argue some teams have "run out of gas". But I think last weekend's margins are a cause for concern - when you consider them alongside other indicators.

The competition ladder, for example. There is a huge gap between the top and bottom teams. So much so that the Raiders could possibly win 14 games this year - a win rate of nearly 60 per cent - and still miss out on the finals. In the era of the NRL no team has ever won 14 games and missed the finals. It just highlights how uneven the competition is in 2022.

Then consider the list of grand finalists and grand final winners in the past 15 years. Eight of the past 15 grand finals have been won by just three teams - the Storm, Roosters and Sea Eagles. Those three clubs have made 16 appearances in the past 15 grand finals.

The salary cap has two stated objectives. First, it aims to spread the playing talent and help ensure an even competition. Second, it ensures clubs are not put into a position where they are forced to spend more money than they can afford, in terms of player payments, just to be competitive.

The NRL often claims that the salary cap has been successful in evening the competition. For example, earlier this year it was pointed out that 15 different clubs have made the top eight since 2014 and nine sides have played in the grand final – the Bulldogs, Rabbitohs, Cowboys, Broncos, Sharks, Storm, Raiders, Panthers and Roosters.

But that ignores the obvious fact that a small number of clubs have been very dominant over a long period.

Few have, many have not.

The salary cap is very much needed in my view. The NRL cannot afford to have a club fall over, as that puts the flow of broadcast revenue at risk. The pandemic showed how serious that can be. In the not too distant past, the NRL has had to intervene to stop a number of clubs going to the wall.

But the NRL needs to seriously examine whether the current cap arrangements are effective in delivering an even competition.

This week, some commentators have jumped to the conclusion that a draft is needed - allowing the struggling teams to pick up the best junior talent. It is legal - the AFL has shown it can be done. But I'm not sure it is the right thing for our game.

Rugby league in Australia has a very different model for junior development, with the NRL clubs carrying a large part of the responsibility. The Raiders, for example, run four lower grades. A draft would mean a very different development model is needed. There would be no incentive for NRL clubs to develop juniors if their best talent could be drafted to other teams.

It would be a huge risk to throw out the current development system - and leave it in the hands of the NRL and the State leagues. The production line of talent currently being generated is a big comparative advantage for the code. If anything, the NRL ought to be looking at whether the salary cap provides enough incentives to the clubs for development.

However, there are flaws in the current salary cap that should be fixed. First, third party agreements (TPAs) are a significant loophole in the cap - which mostly benefits the rich clubs in the big cities. For a couple of years, the NRL was partially transparent about TPAs, and which clubs benefit. But that's all stopped. I've written about this at length in the past. Suffice to say here that what is needed is for all player payments to be counted to the cap, no exceptions. (That's legal too, by the way.)

In addition, the current arrangements provide that clubs must spend at least 95 per cent of their salary cap. You just have to think for a second about what that means. It is a recipe for ensuring that struggling clubs find it very difficult to create the cap space to sign the top playing talent. It works directly against spreading the best players around.

I can only see the division between the haves and have nots increasing next year - when the Redcliffe Dolphins are admitted. The extra team will spread the current talent more thinly. But having been left to their own devices in forming their inaugural teams they'll probably be added to the ranks of the strugglers.

The NRL often resorts to "deflect and spin" mode. They did that on Monday. But in my view, they ought to think a bit more deeply about the state of the league. Ask themselves whether they have a healthy, even competition, whether their rules create a level playing field. Do it in the off season. But please, just do it.

****

It is another must win clash for the Raiders on Saturday. They must beat one of their bogey teams, the Manly Sea Eagles, to keep any hope of making the finals alive. The Sea Eagles are on a five game losing streak, but that is not much comfort for Raiders fans.

There have been too many heart breaking losses to Manly. Daly Cherry-Evans has often been the architect, with the Raiders winning just four of 18 games in which the Manly half has featured. The last time it happened was a one point win back in 2018. In the six games played between the clubs since, the Raiders have won just once.

However, Manly now have nothing to play for this season but pride - and the Raiders have everything on the line. The Raiders should have learned something from the poor first half against the Knights last weekend. They will need to play with intensity from the opening whistle. If they do that, they should win. I'm tipping the Green Machine by six.

****

Saturday's match is the Raiders' final home game of the season - and it will be the final time that we see Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad in green at Canberra Stadium. He'll be playing in the NSW Cup clash from 11:00am, so make sure you get to the ground early to farewell him. After the NRL match, the Raiders will also be saying goodbye to injured players Josh Hodgson and Ryan Sutton - as well as Sam Williams, who left the club mid season. Club stalwarts all, thanks to them all.

****

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 154
Josh Papalii 143
Hudson Young 136
Matt Timoko 127
Jack Wighton 124
Tom Starling 124
Adam Elliott 122
Corey Horsburgh 109
Jordan Rapana 99
Elliott Whitehead 98
Corey Harawira-Naera 97
Nick Cotric 95
Sebastian Kris 91
Ryan Sutton 84
Xavier Savage 83
Zac Woolford 68
Jamal Fogarty 64
Emre Guler 60
Brad Schneider 59
Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad 51
Semi Valemei 38
Matt Frawley 35
Albert Hopoate 26
James Schiller 25
Harry Rushton 14
Jarrod Croker 6
Ata Mariota 5
Adrian Trevilyan 4
Trey Mooney 3
Josh Hodgson 1

Average points per match

Joe Tapine 7.3
Hudson Young 6.8
Jack Wighton 6.5
Josh Papalii 6.5
Corey Horsburgh 6.1
Jarrod Croker 6.0
Brad Schneider 5.9
Jordan Rapana 5.8
Jamal Fogarty 5.8
Adam Elliott 5.8
Matt Timoko 5.8
Corey Harawira-Naera 5.7
Sebastian Kris 5.7
Tom Starling 5.6
Ryan Sutton 5.6
Xavier Savage 5.5
Nick Cotric 5.3
Zac Woolford 5.2
Albert Hopoate 5.2
Elliott Whitehead 5.2
Ata Mariota 5.0
Emre Guler 5.0
Matt Frawley 5.0
Semi Valemei 4.8
Harry Rushton 4.7
Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad 4.6
James Schiller 4.2
Adrian Trevilyan 4.0
Trey Mooney 3.0
Josh Hodgson 1.0

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The Nickman
Mal Meninga
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Re: Through green eyes 2022

Post by The Nickman »

I'd wager those numbers aren't statistically significant, to be perfectly honest.

Who cares about the difference between an average 18 point margin and an average 16 point one?
Billy Walker
Laurie Daley
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Re: Through green eyes 2022

Post by Billy Walker »

I think the ratings accurately reflect GE’s views about the performance of respective Raider players.
The Nickman
Mal Meninga
Posts: 51011
Joined: June 25, 2012, 9:53 am
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Location: Rockhampton, Central Queensland

Re: Through green eyes 2022

Post by The Nickman »

Billy Walker wrote: August 26, 2022, 11:08 am I think the ratings accurately reflect GE’s views about the performance of respective Raider players.
Except Cotric and Croker, of course.
Billy Walker
Laurie Daley
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Re: Through green eyes 2022

Post by Billy Walker »

The Nickman wrote: August 26, 2022, 11:16 am
Billy Walker wrote: August 26, 2022, 11:08 am I think the ratings accurately reflect GE’s views about the performance of respective Raider players.
Except Cotric and Croker, of course.
No - I think the ratings accurately reflect GEs views about the performance of Cotric and Croker.
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greeneyed
Don Furner
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Joined: January 7, 2005, 4:21 pm

Re: Through green eyes 2022

Post by greeneyed »

Through green eyes: As I saw it

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"It was probably our best performance for the longest period. Every individual contributed to that performance and it was a high standard of footy from the boys. Everybody contributed and to win at this back end of the season, fighting for a spot in the eight, it's exactly what we need, everybody weighing in. Everybody contributing in their department of their game. I've just got to compliment the boys, they were really, really good today.

If [Hudson Young] keeps playing like this it's going to be hard to hold him out [of the Kangaroos World Cup squad]. I know Mal's a fan of Hudson's, but he's been consistent all season. I am biased with all of them, but absolutely he should be picked in that squad. I've been so happy for him because he's just a footy nut. He loves it, every day. I'd love nothing more than to see his name get read out at the end of the season. I love coaching him and I know the boys love playing with him, but he works extremely hard at his game. That's not just fluky. He works extremely hard at all areas of his game. He takes it very personally."

Canberra Raiders coach Ricky Stuart


2022 Round 24. Canberra Raiders 48 - Manly Sea Eagles 6. It was possibly the best win of the year so far for the Raiders. It felt like the best win in a very long time. It was the biggest winning margin that the club has ever recorded against Manly, one of the Raiders' bogey teams. The team played well for the full 80 minutes, probably the first time that's happened all year. And the win propelled the Raiders into the top eight for the first time since Round 3 this year.



The Sea Eagles looked like they didn't want to be out there. They look like a broken club, one that is racked by internal division. They were significantly affected by injuries to key players. The bounce of the ball at times was horrible for Manly and perfect for Canberra. Three of the Raiders' nine tries were scored from kicks and deflections. But the Canberra attack had shape, depth and fluency. The halves played well, and shifted the ball to the edges. The left edge was particularly lethal. It wasn't just a case of the Raiders forwards dominating in the middle, something they've been good at for most of the season. But finally, the attack clicked in the backs, and the team took advantage of the platform laid in the middle. It was the sort of performance we've been pining for.



Canberra's finals hopes are now well and truly alive. Big, back to back losses for the Broncos have opened up the pathway. There is now only one, with the Roosters and Rabbitohs winning this weekend. They have secured top eight spots. But all the Raiders have to do is to win against the last placed Tigers at Leichhardt Oval next Sunday - and they will take eighth spot. Even if the Broncos beat the Dragons next Saturday, the Raiders have a 43 point advantage over Brisbane in terms of points difference. The Raiders probably can't afford to lose to the Tigers either. They won't be able to count their chickens this week. But next Sunday, the Raiders, playing in the final match of the final round of the regular season will know their assignment. They will have their destiny in their own hands.

Considering the Raiders' own injury toll this year - with hooker Josh Hodgson playing just 10 minutes of the season and halfback Jamal Fogarty missing the first 11 rounds - it will be a fair old achievement if the Raiders can make the eight.

Stats that mattered? The Raiders were dominant on the scoreboard and in just about every department of the game. The Green Machine had 56 per cent of possession and over 60 per cent of the territory. The Raiders had 24 tackles in the Manly red zone, the Sea Eagles 18 at the other end. That's not so different, but that's because the Raiders were too busy scoring long range tries. The Raiders made over 750 more running metres than the Sea Eagles (2270-1518). They also made more post contact metres (401-272), kick return metres (278-185), metres per set (53-41), line breaks (8-3), tackle breaks (44-32) and offloads (15-6).

The Sea Eagles made slightly more kicking metres (708-677) - failing to compensate for their deficit in running metres. The Raiders were in the position to make three times the number of bombs (9-3) and grubbers (9-3).

Manly had to make a whole lot more tackles (357-297). They also missed more (44-32) and posted more ineffective tackles (25-9). That translated into an 84 per cent tackle efficiency rate, compared with 88 per cent for the Raiders. But nine tries to one is the best indicator of the defensive performance of the two teams.

Memorable moments? There were some spectacular four pointers for the Green Machine. Jack Wighton was influential. He put Jordan Rapana over in the corner in the sixth minute, with a wonderful cut out pass to his winger. Wighton was soon in the action again when Hudson Young picked up a loose ball on the Raiders' own goal line. Wighton backed up Young's initial break, and sped away on a 30 metre run of his own. He probably would have been caught, but Xavier Savage was there to finish on his outside. Wighton was heavily involved in at least a few more attacking raids down the left edge which produced tries.

Jamal Fogarty's kicking was also influential. He put up a bomb to the try line in the 19th minute, which was batted back by Sebastian Kris. Hudson Young just had to pick up the ball and plant it. In the 29th minute another Fogarty bomb ended with the halfback scoring himself. Wighton batted the ball back, with Jordan Rapana then putting in a grubber. Kieran Foran got the worst bounce imaginable, and the ball magically rebounded for Fogarty - and he was over the line. Fogarty was at it again with 13 minutes remaining. His bomb could not be defused by Manly fullback Tolutau Koula - and the ball ended into the hands of Albert Hopoate. Four more points. Fogarty could have had another try assist in the first half, but Tom Starling couldn't quite take the pass. It was the most certain of tries, bombed.

Hudson Young's two tries were fairly simple by the standard he set last week, but he sure is having a season. The second rower now has 11 tries, two behind the leading try scorer at the club this year, Sebastian Kris.

The best try of the game? It's difficult to pick just one. One contender was the Savage try. They went the length of the field. Another is the try scored by Tom Starling in the 26th minute. There was great work from Horsburgh, Wighton, Young, Rapana and Kris to set it up. But for me the best was the last, scored by Corey Harawira-Naera. Multiple players handled the ball, with great short passing producing a great team try.



There were other memorable moments on the day. Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad scored two tries in NSW Cup in his last game in green at Canberra Stadium. He was overcome with emotion at the end of the game. The farewell after the NRL game for Josh Hodgson, Ryan Sutton and Nicoll-Klokstad produced more emotion. If you didn't have a tear in the eye watching the sideline haka for CNK, you must be made of steel.



Best performers?

Hudson Young. Two tries, 13 runs for 122 metres, two line breaks, five tackle breaks, 17 tackles, all in the space of 54 minutes, before being given a rest.

Jack Wighton. 21 runs for 160 metres, two try assists, two line break assists, one tackle breaks, two offloads, 14 kicks for 381 metres.

Jamal Fogarty. One try, five runs for 74 metres, one line break, two try assists, 23 tackles, 12 kicks for 282 metres

It was very hard to leave out players like Jordan Rapana and Sebastian Kris... and the prop rotation of Joe Tapine, Josh Papalii, Corey Horsburgh and Emre Guler.

Top tacklers: Corey Horsburgh (26), Joseph Tapine (25), Adam Elliott (25)
Most metres gained: Xavier Savage (235), Jordan Rapana (210), Albert Hopoate (191), Joseph Tapine (188)

Joseph Tapine (188), Emre Guler (151), Adam Elliott (145), Hudson Young (122), Corey Horsburgh (121) all broke 100 metres gained in the forwards. Every player in the back five broke the 100 metres gained mark, with Matt Timoko running for 143 metres and Sebastian Kris for 138 metres.

My player ratings:

Xavier Savage 6
Jordan Rapana 7
Matt Timoko 6
Sebastian Kris 7
Albert Hopoate 7
Jack Wighton 8
Jamal Fogarty 8
Josh Papalii 7
Zac Woolford 5
Joseph Tapine 7
Hudson Young 8
Elliott Whitehead 6
Adam Elliott 6

Tom Starling 6
Emre Guler 7
Corey Horsburgh 7
Corey Harawira-Naera 6

Do you agree with the ratings? Let us know!

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mick63
David Grant
Posts: 764
Joined: June 28, 2009, 5:04 pm
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Re: Through green eyes 2022

Post by mick63 »

Good write up GE.
Sad to see CNK leave but understandable considering his circumstances.That neck injury combined with the 6 again rules set him back.
The kiwi players have by and large fitted in well in the ACT.

As for the ratings I just can’t come at a 6 for both Elliot and EW.
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