Through green eyes 2022

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greeneyed
Don Furner
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Through green eyes 2022

Post by greeneyed »

Through green eyes: What will 2022 bring the Canberra Raiders?

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In the first part of our Canberra Raiders season preview, we take an in depth look at the club's recruitment and retention for 2022.

The recruits

2021. Thud. It was a year when things went wrong at the Canberra Raiders. Terribly wrong. The Green Machine was expected by many to finish in the top four, and to again challenge for a long awaited premiership. At the very least, most expected the Raiders would be a top eight side and playing finals football. Instead, Canberra finished in 10th, and with a whimper in the final round of the season. What exactly went wrong? Well, a whole lot of things. But, with the benefit of hindsight, one was probably recruitment and retention.

Before the season kicked off last year, I summed the recruitment campaign up this way:

"Retention has been strong, while recruitment has been fairly modest. There was not that much room for new recruits really. The squad is absolutely stacked in the forwards, and Ricky Stuart will find it difficult to work out which forwards miss the top 17. However, the depth looks a little thin in the outside backs. Hopefully, up and coming players like Harley Smith-Shields and Matt Timoko step up and put some pressure on the more established players."

In one sense, the 2021 retention effort was too strong. There probably needed to be a bit more turnover, more injection of fresh new faces, with fresh new legs. In the era of Vlandysball, teams with the fittest, most mobile squads prospered. The stacked forward pack was not mobile or youthful enough. And I think that's been recognised in the Raiders' decisions on retention for 2022. The club has opted for some generational change, with Sia Soliola retiring and players like Dunamis Lui and Siliva Havili not being offered new deals.

The modest recruitment list didn't really compensate for the losses of John Bateman and Nick Cotric. A couple of the "name" recruits, Ryan James and Caleb Aekins, didn't work out. Both stayed for just one season. Mid-season losses added to the club's woes. First choice English halfback George Williams was released, as he was suffering homesickness. No one could have foreseen that and it left a huge hole in the ranks. In addition, the club's gamble on centre Curtis Scott didn't pay off, when he was stood down and eventually sacked.

That left some big challenges for the Raiders' 2022 recruitment drive. So how is the new crop of Green Machine recruits shaping up?

Jamal Fogarty

When the Raiders released George Williams, there were limited halfback options available on the player market. Canberra was linked with a long list of free agents, but most were unappealing. The Raiders patiently waited, hoping the salary cap might bite somewhere. Unexpectedly, developments at the Gold Coast Titans shook free their half and captain Jamal Fogarty.

In early August, the Titans extended Fogarty's contract to the end of 2023. But before the end of September, Gold Coast Chairman Dennis Watt was saying: "Toby Sexton will be the starting halfback next year... he’s ready to go." Sexton, aged 20, had played just four games of first grade after making his NRL debut in Round 19. With another Titans rookie, Jayden Campbell, emerging at fullback and AJ Brimson set for a move to the halves, it was starting to look like Fogarty was unwanted on the glitter strip. After seeking a release, Fogarty signed a three year deal with Canberra in early October.



Fogarty, 28, has played just 41 games of first grade. He made the Australian Schoolboys team in 2011 and played with the Titans' National Youth Competition side in 2012 and 2013. But he didn't get a chance at an NRL debut with the Titans until the middle of 2017 - when he made two appearances. He spent the whole of 2018 playing for the Burleigh Bears, before being able to lock down a first grade spot in 2019.

He's not a spectacular half. In 2021 he produced 13 try assists and 24 total try involvements, scoring four tries himself. That compared to the benchmark halves of Daly Cherry-Evans and Nathan Cleary, who had 55 try involvements or more. He's more of an organiser than a runner (42 running metres on average per game). But he still made eight line breaks, which was inside the top 10 halfbacks in the game. He was also inside the top five halves for metres per run (10).

In 2021, Fogarty ranked sixth amongst his halfback peers for total kicks and kick metres and ninth for forced line drop outs. He averaged 308 kick metres per game. That's not in Cleary (540) or Moses (417) territory, but it is in the Reynolds and Pearce ballpark. He ranked fifth in the NRL for attacking kicks and eighth for long kicks.

Fogarty's tackle efficiency (83 per cent) was not quite up with George Williams (87 per cent) in 2021, while his try causes (13) were on par with Jack Wighton. He's not top of the class in defence, but by no means worst in the class either.

So, while Fogarty might not be a spectacular half, he is a solid. A good organiser, a good kicker. And that might be just what the Raiders need, as a complement to an unpredictable, running five eighth in Jack Wighton and a dominant hooker in Josh Hodgson.

Nick Cotric

Nick Cotric was an absolute star of the Canberra Raiders' junior ranks. A member of the Raiders' NYC team in 2016, the Australian Schoolboy was named at centre in the NYC Team of the Year. He then made an unexpected debut on the wing in Round 1 of 2017 and went on to win the Dally M and RLPA Rookie of the Year. He played in a Grand Final and achieved Blues and Kangaroos selection while in green.



He was still just 21 years of age when he decided to head to the Bulldogs - on a three year deal starting in 2021. I wrote this at the time:

"It is a sad loss for the club, and the NRL salary cap arrangements simply should not be producing this sort of result. When local juniors are being poached this way, it is clear that the cap arrangements do not provide sufficient reward for development clubs. The Bulldogs reportedly have signed him for $600,000 a season and are planning to play him at centre. I personally think the Raiders have made the right call, not to match the Dogs' contract offer. I don't think Cotric plays his best football at centre... and $600,000 is overs for a winger. But if there's a club prepared to pay that, no one can begrudge a player taking the deal. I hope that this year might not be the last we see of him in green.

Affected by injury, Cotric played just 14 games for the wooden spoon Dogs in 2021. Canterbury promised him they'd play him at centre, but that lasted just a month. By Round 5, he'd been switched to the wing. He only scored three tries, after he'd been Canberra's top try scorer in 2020 (14). He was a tackle break king at the Raiders in 2020 (124), second only to James Tedesco in the NRL. In 2021, he was outside the top 20 players for tackle breaks on a per game basis. His average running metres per game were up (119 per game, compared with 105 in 2020) and his defence wasn't greatly different. But the switch was not a happy one.

The arrival of Phil Gould at Canterbury in the off season produced a shake up in the Bulldogs' playing squad and some big name signings. Salary cap pressure eventually saw Cotric shaken free, and the Raiders were only too happy to take him back into the fold. To create room in the cap, the Raiders had to release Bailey Simonsson to the Eels. Coach Ricky Stuart believes Cotric can quickly get back to his best.

"I'd like to think he can get back to where he was," Stuart recently told The Daily Telegraph. "He had an unlucky season with injury at the Dogs and I think he'd feel very fortunate to be able to be able to come back home to try and find the form of when he was an international and Origin winger."

I'm very confident that he can.

Adam Elliott

Adam Elliott has been signed by the Raiders on a bargain-basement one year deal for 2022. He was without a club, after a number of off field issues led to his departure from the Canterbury Bulldogs. The last straw for the Dogs was an incident which saw Elliott ejected from a Gold Coast restaurant in August last year. He was fined $10,000 by the NRL for bringing the game into disrepute. He and the Bulldogs mutually agreed, in September, that it was better that they go their separate ways. Elliott had alcohol counselling last year - and the Raiders' deal reportedly includes behavioural clauses. The fact that it is a one year deal, however, suggests that Elliott is prepared to back himself and prove his worth for a new contract in 2023. And that's good to see.

Elliott is certainly saying all the right things.

"I can't lie, it was the toughest year of my life by a mile and I feel like it's behind me now and it's a great feeling," Elliott said, reflecting on a turbulent 2021.

"For me it felt a bit relentless. I'm not crying victim but it was just months and months and months of the same headline getting brought up. The lessons I've learned, they're really important and they're tough lessons and I think I've solidified that I don't want to feel like that again."

"Coming down here and having a fresh start, it definitely is the best thing for me. I'm actually stoked that I'm a part of the Raiders squad now."



Born in Bega, Elliott played his junior football with the Tathra Sea Eagles. In part, Elliott wanted to come to Canberra to be close to home and his family on the NSW South Coast. It is one reason why coach Ricky Stuart was prepared to give him a shot.

"When a kid tells me he wants to make Canberra home, given he's originally from the region, it means a lot to me," Stuart said.

"Rugby league is layered with redemption stories. I just hope for Adam and his family, this is another one of those because I know he’s going to be joining a very strong club. A number of our leaders have supported Adam in joining us and that gave our club confidence in moving this direction."

Elliott attended renowned rugby league school, St Gregory's College at Campbelltown. He represented the Bulldogs in the National Youth Competition in 2013-14, before making his NRL debut in Round 1 of 2016 against the Sea Eagles. He played 101 games for the Dogs over six seasons.

Elliott missed most of the 2020 season due to a dislocated shoulder, but played 18 games in 2021, all but one in the second row. He can also play lock, and has started there almost as much as in the second row. Last year, he scored two tries and produced three line breaks, two line break assists and 19 offloads. He averaged 91 running metres and 35 tackles per game, while posting a 92 per cent tackle efficiency rate. Some commentators have put Elliott straight into the Raiders' second row or lock spot in their predicted line ups. I'm not entirely sure about that, but lock is most likely in my view.

Peter Hola

Peter Hola, has joined the Raiders from the Cowboys on two year deal, with a mutual option for a third. The 22 year old stands at 192cms - that's tall for a prop - and weighs in at 110kgs. He was born in Sydney and raised in Auckland, playing his junior football with Auckland club, Marist Saints. He moved to Townsville to join the Cowboys in 2017, playing in their National Youth Competition team. The junior Kiwi made his NRL debut in the Round 21 clash with the Broncos in 2019. He's only played 12 first grade games, with a dislocated wrist keeping him out for much of 2020. He only played three games last year under Todd Payten - and was released a year early by the Cowboys so he could head to Canberra.



"Peter's a big body shape but is also very mobile. He's predominantly a middle forward but can also play in the back row if needed," the late Peter Mulholland said at the time of Hola's signing. "He definitely fits the mould of the next generation of forwards coming through, he's a big guy with a big engine and great leg speed so he'll be a player who we can help to continue his development. As soon as he spoke with Ricky, he was keen to make the move down here. It was a quick negotiation as he liked where our club is heading."

I can't say I can remember seeing much of him on field. A highlights package of him playing with the Northern Pride is entirely made up of him storming over the line from close range. I'm looking forward to seeing how he goes.



RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION RATING: B I think it is fair to say the recruitment list is again modest. It is not up with the likes of the Bulldogs, Sharks or Broncos. But, as mentioned, Fogarty might be just the sort of player the Raiders need in the spine. Swapping Simonsson for Cotric is a clear plus. Signing Elliott and Hola are gambles worth taking. In terms of retention, the Raiders have created room for younger players to step up. With the likes of Trey Mooney, Xavier Savage and Matt Timoko on the books, it's a sensible strategy.

Gains: Nick Cotric (Canterbury Bulldogs, 2024), Adam Elliott (Canterbury Bulldogs, 2022), Jamal Fogarty (Gold Coast Titans, 2024), Brock Gardner (South Sydney Rabbitohs 2022), Peter Hola (North Queensland Cowboys, 2024), Brandon Morkos (2024), James Schiller (2023)

Losses: Caleb Aekins (not re-signed, Leigh Centurions), Adam Cook (released, Mackay Cutters), Siliva Havili (nor re-signed, South Sydney Rabbitohs), Ryan James (released, Brisbane Broncos), Dunamis Lui (not re-signed, Redcliffe Dolphins), Darby Medlyn (released, Tuggeranong Bushrangers), Kai O'Donnell (released, Mackay Cutters), Curtis Scott (contract terminated), Bailey Simonsson (released, Parrmatta Eels), Sia Soliola (retired), George Williams (released, Warrington Wolves)

Re-signed: Elijah Anderson (2022), Matt Frawley (2022), Emre Guler (2023), Sebastian Kris (2024), Trey Mooney (2024), Jordan Rapana (2023), Xavier Savage (2023), Brad Schneider (2023), Harley Smith-Shields (2023), Matthew Timoko (2024), Semi Valemei (2024), Elliott Whitehead (2024), Sam Williams (2022), Hudson Young (2024)

Off contract 2022: Elijah Anderson, Adam Elliott, Matt Frawley, Corey Harawira-Naera, Corey Horsburgh, Ata Mariota, Tom Starling, Ryan Sutton, Sam Williams

2022 top 30 squad: Nick Cotric, Jarrod Croker, Adam Elliott, Jamal Fogarty, Matt Frawley, Emre Guler, Corey Harawira-Naera, Josh Hodgson, Albert Hopoate, Peter Hola, Corey Horsburgh, Sebastian Kris, Trey Mooney, Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad, Josh Papalii, Jordan Rapana, Harry Rushton, Xavier Savage, Brad Schneider, Harley Smith-Shields, Tom Starling, Ryan Sutton, Joseph Tapine, Matthew Timoko, Semi Valemei, Elliott Whitehead, Jack Wighton, Sam Williams, Hudson Young

2022 development players: Elijah Anderson, Ata Mariota, Brandon Morkos, Clay Webb

2022 NRL training players: Michael Asomua, JJ Clarkson, Caleb Esera, Brock Gardner, Jordan Martin, James Schiller, Adrian Trevilyan

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User avatar
irvste
Sam Backo
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Joined: March 3, 2017, 5:58 pm
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Re: Through green eyes 2022

Post by irvste »

One thing is a definite.. Great write ups from ge..looking forward to a new season come what may

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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 »

Thanks for that irvste! I'm looking forward to it too!
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greeneyed
Don Furner
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Re: Through green eyes 2022

Post by greeneyed »

Through green eyes: What will 2022 bring the Canberra Raiders?

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In the second part of our Canberra Raiders season preview, we take an in depth look at the club's rookies to watch in 2022.

The rookies

The late Peter Mulholland left a huge legacy to rugby league. He passed away late last year, after a three year battle with cancer. He was the epitome of a "good bloke", who had time for everyone in game. He first made his name as the coach of the schoolboys rugby league team at St Gregory's College, Campbelltown. He coached six Schoolboys Cup championship teams over 15 years - and put players like Jason Taylor, Ivan Henjak and Michael Potter on a path to first grade. He was subsequently the head coach of the Western Reds (1995-1996) and Paris St Germain (1997). He finally found his place as one of the best recruitment gurus that the game of rugby league has seen in Australia. He joined the Raiders in that role in 2016. And the rich crop of rookies in Canberra is one of his legacies at the Green Machine.

Last year we told you all about Xavier Savage, Harley Smith-Shields and Matt Timoko. Smith-Shields and Timoko were the joint winners of the Rookie of the Year award on Meninga Medal night. Savage, who will still be eligible for the Rookie of the Year in 2022, made a huge impact in his two official appearances last year, before a shoulder injury intervened. No need to tell you about him this year. But as we head towards the start of the season, who are the young Canberra Raiders players to watch in 2022? The ones you might not know so much about?

Trey Mooney

My No. 1 rookie to watch this year is Trey Mooney. Mooney joined the Raiders in 2020, after coming through the junior ranks of the Parramatta Eels and the rugby league program of Westfields Sports High. He's represented New South Wales at Under 16 and Under 18 level and, in 2019, the Australian Schoolboys. He was the captain of the Eels' SG Ball team in 2019 - and he started out in that grade for the Raiders two years ago. The junior representative season was never completed because of the pandemic, but he subsequently joined the Raiders' "bubble" to train with the top squad. In August he started playing with the Raiders Under 20s in the local CRRL Cup - and scored a try at lock in the Grand Final. It was one of the 13 tries scored by the young Green Machine that day, in a 66-10 win over the Gungahlin Bulls.

Mooney missed the early part of the 2021 season, after having knee surgery. He didn't make his first appearance for the Raiders SG Ball team until Round 9. But he was a key player in the Raiders' Under 19s finals campaign. Playing at lock, he won the game ball as the man of the match in the SG Ball Grand Final - with Canberra defeating the Illawarra Steelers, 18-14, at Leichhardt Oval. In that game, he showed how incredibly hard working and mobile he is. He can play on the edge as well.



Mooney went on to make six appearances in NSW Cup - two at lock, one at prop and three off the bench - before the competition was cancelled due to COVID. He averaged 105 running metres, 43 post contact metres and 24 tackles per match. He also posted 10 tackle breaks, four offloads and a 97 per cent tackle efficiency rate.

When the NRL competition packed up and headed to Queensland last year due to the pandemic, Mooney was included in the top grade bubble on the Gold Coast. He is yet to make an NRL debut, but the Raiders know they have a very talented first grader in the making. In August, he was re-signed on a three year deal, keeping him at the club to the end of 2024. He has been promoted to the top 30 squad. Remarkably, at 19 years of age, he could still play SG Ball in 2022 - or Jersey Flegg. At season's end, Mooney was named the Junior Representative Player of the Year at the Meninga Medal presentation. He was also one of three Raiders - along with Michael Asomua and Brad Morkos - included in a Future Blues squad.

No doubt Mooney will get a lot of opportunity in NSW Cup this year and I won't be at all surprised if he gets an NRL debut. At 188cms and 106kgs, he certainly wouldn’t be out of place, physically. Who knows what might happen from there. The sky's the limit for this very determined young man. I can still hardly believe that the Eels somehow let him slip through their fingers.

Brad Schneider

The main young half to watch is Brad Schneider. Born in Adelaide, but brought up in Townsville, Schneider helped spearhead Kirwan High School's run to the National Schoolboys Cup title in 2019. He was recruited to the Raiders, along with Kirwan team mate, Adrian Trevilyan - and was named for the Raiders' first Jersey Flegg match of 2020. The game was never played, with COVID causing the cancellation of the season.

Schneider, now 21, ended up making his debut in green in Round 1 of the 2021 NSW Cup against the Magpies. 2021, however, would also prove to be disrupted by COVID. Schneider played 11 games in the cancelled season, eight as starting half. He scored four tries and produced seven try assists and three forced line drop outs. He also averaged 56 running metres, 76 kicking metres and 21 tackles per game.



Schneider made his NRL debut in the Raiders' Round 11 loss to the Melbourne Storm at Canberra Stadium. Coach Ricky Stuart gave him very limited game time, bringing him on in the final 10 minutes. Most thought he should have been injected much earlier - if only to give him more experience - given the Storm had gone to an unbeatable 30-10 lead with around 20 minutes remaining. Clearly, we can't make too much of what he did in that match, his only NRL appearance so far.

In August, Schneider re-signed with the Raiders to the end of 2023 on a new two year deal - while the team was temporarily based at the Gold Coast. He's since been elevated to the top 30. I thought Schneider showed promise in NSW Cup - and looked at his best when he was combining with dummy half, Adrian Trevilyan. Clearly, they have a great understanding on field. Now Schneider just needs more game time in NSW Cup. Hopefully, that competition will be completed this year and he'll get just that.

Adrian Trevilyan

The hooking ranks at the Raiders are looking a little thin at present. Tom Starling has just been re-signed on a two year deal, but Josh Hodgson is heading to the Parramatta Eels in 2023. However, in Adrian Trevilyan, the club has a very promising young dummy half on the books. He's been training with the top squad. The fact he's not in the top 30 probably doesn't matter a great deal. The rules were loosened last year, so that NSW Cup players could be selected in first grade from Round 10, along with players on development contracts. Those rules seem destined to be relaxed even further in 2022.

A recruit from Townsville, Trevilyan led Kirwan State High to the National Schoolboys Championship in 2019 and, in the process, won the Peter Sterling Medal as the player of the tournament. Andrew Voss - who has been commentating on the Schoolboys Cup since the early 1990s - named Trevilyan as the best hooker he's seen in that competition. That's some recommendation. He was also a part of the North Queensland Cowboys system - playing with the Townsville Blackhawks - and Queensland under 18s representative. The Cowboys really took their eye off the ball.

Trevilyan didn't play a lot of football for Canberra in 2020, due to a combination of the pandemic and injury. He did, however, make a late season comeback from injury and turned out for the Raiders Under 20s team in the 2020 CRRL Cup Grand Final - which the young Raiders won, big time. Last year, he made 12 appearances in NSW Cup, but only started at hooker twice. He produced five try assists, five line break assists, two offloads, and posted a tackle efficiency rate of 94 per cent. The second half of the NSW Cup was unfortunately cancelled due to the COVID outbreak in Sydney. The bottom line is that Trevilyan needs to play a lot more footy than he has over the past couple of years. But the talent is certainly there.

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Harry Rushton

Young English forward Harry Rushton joined the Green Machine in 2021 on a three year deal - and was immediately added to the Raiders' top 30 squad. He was born in Blackpool and played amateur rugby league with the Shevington Sharks, at Wigan. He stands at 190 cms and weighs in at 98 kgs. That's pretty imposing for a 20 year old. He made his Super League debut - in the second row - for the Wigan Warriors against St Helens in 2020. That was his only appearance in the top league in England.

He's yet to make his NRL debut, but the club rates him highly. In 2021, he made 10 appearances in the Raiders' NSW Cup team - with six in the second row, three at lock and one at prop. That suggests the Raiders were trying him out in different positions, to identify his best spot. He was selected to be part of the squad that relocated to the Gold Coast, when the competition was shifted to Queensland. However, he suffered a knee injury in the final training session in Canberra before the team departed. It wasn't serious, but it was enough to see him left behind. We'll hopefully see a lot more of him on the field in 2022.

Ata Mariota

Ata Mariota is on the Raiders' development list - and most NRL fans will remember him as the "biggest ever ball boy". That was back in 2020, when he was a reserve, filling in in the role, during the pandemic. Born in Samoa, Mariota was recruited to the Raiders with his younger brother, Nui, from Mounties. Ata started in SG Ball in 2019 - and was named the Under 18s "Players' Player". He went on to be a part of the Jersey Flegg team that made it to the 2019 grand final. He played finals off the bench, but not in the premiership decider. He was then picked up, unexpectedly, on a development contract in 2020 and joined the top grade "bubble". He's yet to get an NRL debut, but he is still only 21. He played six games of NSW Cup last year, starting in three. He averaged 85 running metres and 14 tackles per game, and posted nine tackle breaks. Like a lot of the younger players, he needs some more football in lower grades this year. But he's got promise and could get his chance in 2022. It is also good to see Nui back in the Raiders' SG Ball ranks this year. He's looking fit and already making a big impact. Nui has huge potential, but he's a year or two away.



Clay Webb

Clay Webb was the captain of the Raiders' 2021 premiership winning SG Ball team - and played five games in NSW Cup to boot. He's solid, hard working and shows plenty of promise. The Gundagai-Adelong Tigers junior was added to the club's development player list at the end of 2020 - but he's been coming through Canberra's junior ranks for some time. He joined the Raiders' Harold Matthews team in 2017, after signing a four year deal. At the time, he attracted plenty of interest from the Broncos, Titans and Eels. He signed that first deal in the same week that he represented the NSW Combined High Schools team that won the Under 15s national championships - and was named in an Australian Under 15s merit squad.

Webb was the Raiders' Harold Matthews Players' Player of the Year and represented NSW in Under 16s Origin in 2018. He was called into a "Future Blues" camp at the end of 2019 by NSW coach Brad Fittler. A knee injury (meniscus) early in the 2020 SG Ball Cup put paid to his year. But he sure made up for that in 2021.



Caleb Esera

Caleb Esera is big. He's probably always been the biggest kid on the field. But he doesn't stand out just because of that. He's got talent, particularly good attacking skills. He sure can score a try. He'll probably end up being the biggest bloke on the field in the NRL too.

Esera hails from Brisbane. He attended famous rugby league school Wavell State High, and played junior representative football with the Souths Logan Magpies. He was part of Queensland Emerging Origin squads at both Under 16s and 18s level - along with the likes of Reece Walsh, Sam Walker and Jayden Clarkson. He was soon recruited by the Raiders along with his younger brother Prinston.

Fresh out of high school, Esera made his debut in green at Kippax - against the Eels in Round 1 of the 2020 SG Ball Cup. He impressed from day one in the Under 18s. Sadly, the pandemic hit before the competition could be completed. But Esera went on to debut in the Raiders' Under 20s team in the CRRL Cup later in the year. And on Grand Final day, he scored a hat trick in a huge victory for the young Raiders over the Gungahlin Bulls. There was no doubt he was man of the match.



In 2021, Esera was one of the lynch pins of the SG Ball premiership team. In his first year with the club, he mostly played in the second row, even centre at times. However, he primarily featured at prop in the 2021 Under 19s campaign, including in the Grand Final. He wasn't man of the match in the decider, but he would have been close. He also played three games of NSW Cup last year off the bench. In the second half of last year, he was farmed out to the Yass Magpies in the Canberra Raiders Cup. Playing against men, he was still physically dominant. But he was no doubt working on some things, in particular, his lateral movement.

Esera is probably still growing, so prop may well be his destiny. But he'll hopefully never lose his barnstorming attacking ability. He's training with the top squad for 2022 - and hopefully, the Raiders will lock him in and give him plenty of opportunity. With dedication, he's a player who could do anything in the game. Keep an eye out for Caleb's brother Prinston too. A centre, he's just made his Canberra debut in SG Ball.

Jayden Clarkson

Known as "JJ", Redlands junior Jayden Clarkson played for renowned rugby league school, Wavell High in Brisbane - and for the Wynnum Manly Seagulls in Queensland's Mal Meninga Cup. He was one of the stars for the Queensland team that won the Australian Secondary Schools Championship in Canberra in 2019. He was subsequently picked for the Under 18s Australian Schoolboys. He started with the Raiders in SG Ball in 2020, scoring a try on his debut in green. His parents Sharon and Cyril came to Canberra with him, and ran the Raiders' big house, a home away from home for eight of the junior players. Before the competition could be completed, it was cancelled, due to the pandemic. But that same year, Clarkson went on to play with the Raiders' Under 20s team that won the CRRL Cup.



Clarkson played in the opening three rounds of the 2021 SG Ball competition, but unfortunately missed the rest of the season after suffering a serious leg injury. He could only be a spectator on Grand Final day at Leichhardt, when the Green Machine won their fourth SG Ball title. Clarkson made it back onto the field later in the year, turning out for the Yass Magpies. He's been training with the top squad this year and, for mine, is one of the club's best young prop prospects.

Elijah Anderson

Elijah Anderson, 22, made his NRL debut in Canberra's Round 21 loss to the Dragons last year. He only got three minutes, but he was still stoked to get on the field. He comes from a small town near Rockhampton and represented Queensland at Under 20s level. He was in the Cowboys system and played with the Capras and Cutters. But when the Cowboys deal ended, he was left hanging. That's when the Raiders' recruitment guru, the late Peter Mulholland, came calling - and offered him a training contract for 2021.

"I don't want to put too much of a rap on him so early, But Elijah is a long striding, lanky speedster who looks like Greg Inglis when he was a kid. We are excited about this kid and he has a lot of potential," Mulholland said at the time.

Anderson made eight appearances for the Raiders' NSW Cup outfit in 2021, before the competition was closed down because of the pandemic. He scored a try and made two line breaks, eight tackle breaks and an average of 60 running metres per game. Anderson was not part of the Raiders' top 30 squad, but coach Ricky Stuart took him to the Gold Coast when COVID forced the competition relocate to Queensland. And that's when he got his chance for an NRL debut.



Anderson was given a new one year development contract for 2022 back in August. He'll provide good competition for first grade spots in the Raiders' outside backs. I believe he’s had off season shoulder surgery, so that may impact the start of his season.

Brad Morkos

Brandon Morkos - his friends call him Brad - signed with the Raiders late last year, and is one of four players on the development list. The 18 year old turned out for the Illawarra Steelers in last year's SG Ball Grand Final - and was subsequently named in the Australian Schoolboys merit team. He played for Corrimal, Wests, Thirroul and Collies while he was in Wollongong. Somehow, the Dragons didn't lock him down. He's got size and pace - and I'm looking forward to seeing how he goes in the trials.



Michael Asomua

Michael Asomua is the young wing prospect I'm most excited about. He played his junior football with Yenda, a small town near Griffith. The Under 15s NSW Combined High Schools representative started with the Raiders in Harold Matthews in 2019. He graduated to SG Ball in 2020, but then the the pandemic intervened. While the 2020 season was never completed, Asomua made some hay in 2021. He was part of the victorious SG Ball Grand Final team last year - and went on to be named in the Australian Schoolboys merit team and the Future Blues squad. He also made his NSW Cup debut for the Raiders, in the Round 13 clash with the Jets. He could only make two appearances before the season was cancelled due to COVID. But he got his first NSW Cup try against the Sea Eagles and posted nine tackle breaks, a line break and 119 average running metres. He also impressed when turning out for the Queanbeyan Blues. He's a strong, powerful runner. Think Brian To'o and you get the idea.



James Schiller

Asomua is training with the top squad, as is new wing recruit James Schiller. He comes from Young and played with the Cherrypickers, so he's close enough to a local. He happens to be the nephew of Raiders' great Brett Mullins and like his uncle, he can also play centre and fullback. The Raiders were interested in bringing him on board, but after finishing school, he headed to the Dragons. He played five games of NSW Cup last year with the Wollongong based outfit, and scored three tries, produced two try assists and made 21 tackle breaks and four line breaks. I don't recall seeing him play, so it'll be interesting to see how he goes in tomorrow night's trial against the Roosters at Leichhardt. He's been selected as a starting winger. Trey Mooney and Brad Schneider have also been named as starters. Brad Morkos, Ata Mariota, Harry Rushton, Clay Webb and Adrian Trevilyan are on the bench, but doubtless will also get plenty of game time. So here’s your chance to see a number of the rookies in action.



Next week I will take a look at the strength of the squad all round, before giving my predictions for 2022.

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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

"Xavier Savage, he's certainly got talent. But I mean, tonight I think is his most minutes he's played in a first grade game. I think it's his second starting game. Definitely a talented football player, but it's really important we keep his head down and he just keeps working hard. It's only his second off season of rugby league, of NRL I should say. If he just keeps building his body and knowledge of the game, he's going to have a very healthy career.

I probably got a little bit more in minutes [than I wanted from the trial]. I lost two players before the game. I lost four during the game. I didn't have a hooker for 60 minutes. What we got out of it was our collision, a little bit of communication in our defence, I suppose. I don't like trials to be honest. I think we train hard enough. When you do it properly you can be ready to go, game one. But the boys, they're sick of training. They want to go out and have a hit out and I don't blame them.

This season is going to be a season of who has the most luck, who is going to have a healthier year. Injury? I've lost one to an ACL already. We've got another high grade medial tonight, a couple of head knocks, an ankle and the two COVID boys. If you can get a little bit of luck it's going to be very much helpful through the season."

Canberra Raiders coach Ricky Stuart


2022 Trial 1. Canberra Raiders 32 - Sydney Roosters 18. It was a trial, and the two teams put out second string line ups. But for the Raiders, it was pleasing nevertheless. The Raiders scored four tries in the first half and led 24-6 at half time. The Roosters scored a couple of tries in the final 20 minutes, one them highly dubious. But there was never much doubt that the match was in the Raiders' control. The Roosters fielded a big squad, one that was very short on experience. Nineteen of them had never played first grade. But the Raiders had to overcome plenty of adversity to get the win.

Canberra was seriously disrupted before the match. Halfback Sam Williams tested positive to COVID just minutes before the team got on the bus to Leichhardt Oval. His room mate, Matt Frawley, was ruled out too, as he was a close contact. That meant that Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad had to start in the unfamiliar role of half, while Adrian Trevilyan was elevated to starting hooker. The Raiders then lost four players to injury during the game. Trevilyan - who played strongly, scoring the second try of the game - copped a head knock, meaning the Raiders had no fit dummy half. Adam Elliott had to jump into the role after 20 minutes. Canberra adjusted to all the unexpected challenges thrown at them, remarkably well. The attack, under the tutelage of attacking guru Mick Crawley, looked more threatening. The defence on the goal line was pretty solid.



The star of the show was Xavier Savage. He shone at fullback in the first half. He's got plenty of speed and he's prepared to try things. He opened the scoring, kicking ahead in the fourth minute - and getting the rebound. He regathered and scored under the posts. He made plenty of big inroads after that. He left absolutely nothing in the tank, playing a lot more minutes than expected. Savage obviously tired in the second half, and made some crucial errors late in the game. He also took some wrong options. But that's not surprising. It is early in the season and it is still summer. Savage is immensely talented, but his defence can be found wanting, as he is still filling out. Whether he can displace Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad from the No. 1 this year remains to be seen. I’ll be surprised if CNK isn’t at fullback come Round 1.

Prior to the game, the big question was whether Jarrod Croker's knee would stand up in match conditions. It did. Croker had a stem cell procedure in the off season, with the aim of fixing his chronic knee injury. It seems to have made a big difference. Croker looked better in this match than he did all last year. It had been expected that Croker would only play in the first half, but he was called on in the second half too. Stuart had no option. The team was simply running out of players, and Croker even had to jump into the halves. He did well and was rewarded with a second half try.

Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad didn't look too fazed by the challenge of playing in the halves. He seemed to enjoy being in the thick of things, and made a great break in the first half, producing a try for Corey Harawira-Naera. His halves partner Brad Schneider also impressed, setting up his own first half try. In his first game in green, winger James Schiller made some nice, long runs. New forward recruit Peter Hola scored a try, but later suffered medial ligament damage. Hopefully, he won't spend too long on the sideline.

Next week, the Raiders take on the Manly Sea Eagles in their second trial of 2022 at Gosford. The Sea Eagles also had a big win over the West Tigers tonight. Ricky Stuart is promising to run his top line combination in the first half. We will get a much better sense of how the team is shaping up then.

Stats that mattered? The Raiders had a 49 per cent possession share and posted a relatively poor 69 per cent completion rate (Roosters 70 per cent). But Canberra dominated the attacking statistics. They made more runs (147-125), running metres (1425-981), kick return metres (196-43), post contact metres (424-316), metres per run (37-33), offloads (10-6), line breaks (7-2) and tackle breaks (27-21). That shows the impact of Crawley. There was more variety in attack, and the Raiders shifted the ball wide more than they did last year. The forwards were prepared to throw a pass, an offload. The Roosters' discipline was poor (nine penalties conceded, Raiders four), while the Raiders posted the better effective tackle rate (87.8 per cent, compared with 85 per cent for the Roosters).

Memorable moments?

Brad Schneider's try was the best of the match. He sent the ball wide to Semi Valemei at centre. Semi's offload to winger James Schiller was superb, sending him away down the touchline... and Schneider was backing up inside for the four points. The Roosters struggled to mount pressure in the red zone due to their errors, but Canberra's goal line defence was good. The highlight was Albert Hopoate's try saver, holding the Roosters up over the line.

Best performers?

Xavier Savage. One try, 11 runs for 176 metres, 86 kick return metres, 43 post contact metres, two line breaks, five tackle breaks, two offloads. Three errors were the blot on the copybook.

Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad. 11 runs for 141 metres, one line break, one try assist, two tackle breaks, two errors.

Jarrod Croker. One try, seven runs for 72 metres, one line break, two tackle breaks.

Top tacklers: Adam Elliott 36, Corey Horsburgh 30, Emre Guler 28, Harry Rushton 27
Most metres gained: Xavier Savage 176, Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad 141, Albert Hopoate 116, Brad Schneider 108

Ryan Sutton (108) and Emre Guler (101) were the only forwards who broke 100 running metres gained. They were the best up front, clearly.

Player ratings will return in Round 1!

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RedRaider
Laurie Daley
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Re: Through green eyes 2022

Post by RedRaider »

Sticky said: "I don't like trials to be honest. I think we train hard enough. When you do it properly you can be ready to go, game one. But the boys, they're sick of training. They want to go out and have a hit out and I don't blame them."

I think the fallacy of training can equal match fitness was shown on Friday. The players would have been hard at training all off season but they were gassed playing four quarter football. Yes we lost players before and during the match, but those circumstances I think will help those in the squad come Rd 1. No one wants injury in trial matches, but we have lost HSS for the season in training so injury can happen in either sphere. I reckon playing footy is better than training, in terms of match fitness and demonstrating the skills needed for Rugby league against opposition who will do you no favours.
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Re: Through green eyes 2022

Post by Finchy »

RedRaider wrote: February 20, 2022, 11:05 am Sticky said: "I don't like trials to be honest. I think we train hard enough. When you do it properly you can be ready to go, game one. But the boys, they're sick of training. They want to go out and have a hit out and I don't blame them."

I think the fallacy of training can equal match fitness was shown on Friday. The players would have been hard at training all off season but they were gassed playing four quarter football. Yes we lost players before and during the match, but those circumstances I think will help those in the squad come Rd 1. No one wants injury in trial matches, but we have lost HSS for the season in training so injury can happen in either sphere. I reckon playing footy is better than training, in terms of match fitness and demonstrating the skills needed for Rugby league against opposition who will do you no favours.
I agree. There's no way training is equal in terms of actually playing. The intensity and level and force of contact cannot be replicated in a training sense. If it was, you'd be losing a lot more players to serious injuries and concussions in training. Yes I know it still happens (HSS), but it would be more frequent if the intensity and contact was the same. Which is why the term "building up match-fitness' is a thing. Fit and match-fit are not the same thing.
Ata Mariota’s #1 fan. Bless his cotton socks.
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Botman
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Re: Through green eyes 2022

Post by Botman »

Tbh im not sure a trial game does a whole lot to sort out "match fitness" either
We see it every year, the opening rounds are usually **** shows because no one is really match fit and it shows, 1 trial, 2 trials or 100 trials... and i see it across pre season contests in every sport I watch.

You cant replicate the intensity of an NRL match in a game that doesn't count anymore than you can on the training paddock... you can go and watch all these trials and not one of them is sniffing NRL pace or intensity, you can point out half a dozen blokes on either side of the football who are simply going through the paces and trying to keep their jersey clean.

So in that respect i completely agree with Stuart. I don't think you get much tangible benefit from a trial compared to additional risk factors. Im sure there is SOME benefit and certainly it provides an opportunity for players to press their claims, to build confidence etc that can benefit the team... but in terms of the fitness side of things... i dont believe it does a whole lot more to prepare you to be "match fit" for round 1 than what you do on a training paddock.. you've really just got to nail your pre season programme and be physically ready for it, and ride out the first 1-2 games where you're getting back up to speed.
RedRaider
Laurie Daley
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Re: Through green eyes 2022

Post by RedRaider »

I think the Storm set the standard in preparation for the Competition. They have played 2 trial matches each year for the past 10 years (probably longer but that's as far as I went back) and in 2014, 2015 and 2018 played 3 trial games. Bellamy would have his reasons and imo, it would be for the benefit of the team to start the Competition in the best possible way. I think the evidence in regard to the Storm, is that it works as they invariably start fast. I am happy the NRL are now mandating 2 preseason games for each Club. Hopefully the 2021 faders tag will be left in the past.
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Botman
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Re: Through green eyes 2022

Post by Botman »

That’s some real lazy dot connecting there red :lol:

The storm do it. The storm win. It must work!
I assume you didn’t watch their trial this weekend in which most of the top squad didn’t play and those that did were out of the game after 20 minutes or so!
That’s fairly indicative of what they’ve done over these years, it’s not as if they run their best 17 out for a hard 80 minutes in pre season

Most of them would have been lucky to get 60 minutes of football across the 2 or 3 trial games.
RedRaider
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Re: Through green eyes 2022

Post by RedRaider »

So we have a choice Bot. We can follow the actions of a Club which has had long term success despite losing some of the best footballers to ever play the game, or we can do what we have been doing and get hit/miss outcomes to start the season proper. I am for following the path of a consistently successful club. The aim of preseason is to start the competition matches with some solid match preparation and to work on player performance. Storm generally start the Competition matches well. I'm hoping for a similar outcome for the Raiders in 2022.
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Re: Through green eyes 2022

Post by Lui_Bon »

It's probably important to remember that the 2 points you get in the first couple of rounds are worth the same as you get for winning in the last rounds of the regular season. Unless you are St George, winning early also helps your momentum later in the year...
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Re: Through green eyes 2022

Post by greeneyed »

Through green eyes: What will 2022 bring the Canberra Raiders?

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In the third part of our Canberra Raiders season preview, we take an in depth look at how the squad is shaping up for 2022

The squad

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 were left behind by Vlandysball. The attack really needed some bolstering - and the club has responded with the return of attacking coaching guru, Mick Crawley. The conditioning of the players was also left behind by Vlandysball. Jeremy Hickmans has been recruited as the Raiders' new head of performance - and the focus has 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 likes of Xavier Savage and Matt Timoko in the backs, and the likes of Trey Mooney in the forwards. The retirement of Sia Soliola, the early release of Ryan James, and the departure of Dunamis Lui and Siliva Havili has created some space for generational change up front.

The Raiders' other big challenge was to fill the hole left by the mid season departure of English halfback George Williams last year. In a player market with very few halfback options available, the Raiders did well to fill that gap with Titans play maker Jamal Fogarty. The recruitment list, however, is relatively modest. Nick Cotric, returning from the Bulldogs after just one year, is the other big name. Forwards Adam Elliott and Peter Hola fill out the list.

The job of rebuilding a football team is an ongoing process, but we're probably seeing the start of a significant transformation. This season will be the last for Josh Hodgson at the club, after he was not offered an extension. He's headed to the Eels in 2023. The process of rebuilding, of generational change, will take some time. Hopefully, the team can quickly become competitive again.

But in the shorter term, how is the squad shaping up for 2022? We’ve now got quite a few hints about how the team will line up, based on the two trial teams.

The spine

There is no doubt about the Canberra Raiders' top halves combination in 2022. Jack Wighton and new recruit Jamal Fogarty have a lock on the No. 6 and 7 jerseys. However, both have a point to prove. A late bloomer, Fogarty has played just 41 games of NRL. With the emergence of Toby Sexton, he was essentially not in the Titans' future plans. He's not in the top echelon of halfbacks, more middle of the pack. But he might be just what the Raiders need - an organiser, a kicker, a talker. Wighton was the 2020 Dally M Medalist, but his form was well down in 2021. The pair will have a huge amount of responsibility on their shoulders in turning around the Green Machine's fortunes in the upcoming season.

Josh Hodgson will be the starting hooker. The Raiders have identified Tom Starling as their future No. 9, but he's a small player and has generally looked at his best when coming on at the 20 minute mark - after the opening exchanges. He can cause a lot of damage, with his zippy running, up against tired forwards. He also provides quick, clean service. In recent years, the Raiders' spine has often failed to gel, because Hodgson is so dominant as a playmaker. Shifting Hodgson into the backrow when Starling comes on gives the Raiders an extra ball playing option in the forwards - and makes the most effective use of both players.



Should Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad or Xavier Savage fill the No. 1 jersey? That's been the biggest debating point amongst commentators and fans in the lead up to the season. Savage's strong performance at fullback in the first trial match added fuel to that fire. Aged just 19, he's an electric runner, with plenty of speed. The jury is still out on Savage's defence and ball playing. With Nicoll-Klokstad ruled out due to COVID, Savage gets another chance in the No. 1 in the trial against the Sea Eagles tomorrow night.

Ball playing is not Charnze Nicoll-Klokstads's relative strength, and I think that's why Raiders' fans have been looking for alternatives at No. 1. While he doesn't have Savage's pace, he's still a very strong running fullback, who produces plenty of metres. His contribution to the defence is often unappreciated. We saw how important he is to the team in that department in 2021, when he was missing due to injury. He's my choice for the fullback role in 2022 - and I suspect he'll be the coach's choice for No. 1 as well.

Is that a spine that is up with the best in the game? Probably not. But, it is definitely a spine that can steer the side to a top eight finish, at least.

SPINE RATING: B

The forwards

Josh Papalii and Joe Tapine have the potential to be one of the best starting prop partnerships in the game. Papalii, along with Glenn Lazarus, is one of the greatest props in the 40 years of the Canberra Raiders. But his form in 2021 was down. Joe Tapine showed what he can do at prop, when he recently co-captained the All Stars Maori team. He was just sensational. But he has struggled with consistency in the past. It the Raiders are to make the finals, they will need both Papalii and Tapine to be playing to their potential. Ryan Sutton was one of the Raiders' best last year, so he's a certainty for the prop rotatation. It'll be up to the younger forwards - like Emre Guler, Corey Horsburgh, Peter Hola and Trey Mooney - to step up and join him. The selection of Mooney in No. 16 and Horsburgh in No. 17 for tomorrow's trial might give a hint about the coach's thoughts. It suggests to me that they might have the edge for Round 1 selection.



There has been plenty of mail that second rower Elliott Whitehead will be playing in the middle in 2022. Ball playing locks have been de rigueur in the code of Vlandysball - and Whitehead certainly has very good ball skills. Good enough to step into the halves in an emergency. There are also questions about whether Whitehead is still an 80 minute player - and a shift to the middle might allow him to take a spell during matches.

Unexpectedly, the official team list for Friday night's trial match in Gosford has Elliott Whitehead named in the second row, with Corey Harawira-Naera at lock. Hudson Young has been named in the other second row spot. However, coach Ricky Stuart has told The Canberra Times that Whitehead will actually start at lock. Corey Harawira-Naera is doubtful due to illness, but if he plays, he will start in the second row. Adam Elliott will come into the starting team if Harawira-Naera is ruled out. That suggests that if Elliott is in the top 17, he will be on the bench.

Overall, the forwards didn't aim up last year, and they will need to lift in 2022. If they play to their potential, they could be a top four pack. But until I see the lift, it's a "B" rating for the forwards as well.

FORWARDS RATING: B

The backs

The most likely centre pairing in Round 1 will be Jarrod Croker and Matt Timoko. The playing future of Croker - the greatest try scorer and point scorer in the history of the club - has been under a cloud, due to a chronic knee injury. He had a stem cell procedure over the off season - to help cartilage regenerate in his knee. He played in the Raiders' first trial last weekend - and he played better than he did all last season. He looked good. He got more game time than expected, due to the loss of other players to injury, and the knee reportedly pulled up well.



Unfortunately, Harley Smith-Shields suffered an ACL injury at training in early February, and has been ruled out for the entire 2022 season. In my view, Timoko and Smith-Shields are the future long term centre pairing. Coach Ricky Stuart revealed that HSS was a certain selection in the outside backs this year, so the injury has come at the worst possible time for the young centre.

Winger Semi Valemei has been named to play at right centre in both of the Raiders' trial games. So he is being given every opportunity to show whether he can handle the position. I've found that a little surprising, as he's down the list on my depth chart - and because Timoko is a right centre. Timoko has been named on the left this week. I'd have Seb Kris in front of Valemei.

The 2021 Meninga Medalist, Jordan Rapana and the prodigal son, Nick Cotric are the clear front runners for the wing positions. Rapana is suspended until Round 3, as a result of an incident in the All Stars game. That probably opens up a Round 1 position for Xavier Savage - if he's not selected at fullback. How to fit Savage into the team is going to be one of the biggest challenges coach Ricky Stuart faces. I think it'd be best for Savage to be brought into first grade on the wing, but it's hard to see how he fits into the back line, with all players healthy. But, if we know one thing about rugby league, it is to expect the unexpected. Opportunities arise for one reason or another.

The backs were probably the weakest link in 2021. The potential of some of the young players is huge. But the strength of the line up is weakened by the loss of Smith-Shields. It is also difficult to see how all the pieces will fit, at present. I'd like to think the backs will prove to merit a "B" rating, but there are too many unknowns at the moment.

BACKS RATING: C

Overall those ratings suggest the Raiders are a team that's on the edge of the top eight. However, it is a squad that has the potential to grow and improve as the younger players step up. Time will tell.

In the final part of the 2022 season preview, I'll looking at the new coaching structure and the draw, predict a Round 1 line up and give an overall verdict on the Green Machine's prospects for the season.

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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 good hit out and that's what you're after in a trial match. We're practicing a few different things in both sides of our game and we got out of there without any injuries and that's the most pleasing thing for me. It was 16-6 at half time and I thought we were playing as good football, if not better. We were practicing different things, and it was a trial. It was two tries against the run of play and those things happen.

Jack Wighton was strong, especially off the ball. A lot of people don't see that. Little pieces of effort defensively. Only mature footballers, experienced footballers, can handle those pieces of play, where it goes against the run of play, through an intercept or a drop. But he kept his focus and bounced back and that's the sign of an experienced, talented player. So that's the most pleasing aspect for me. I think Jamal Fogarty is a great halfback. [The thing that impressed me most is] that he is playing with us. They'll form a great combination.

I'm leaning towards [Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad for fullback in Round 1] because of his experience. I'm as excited as everyone else about Xavier Savage. But I have got to look after Xavier too. That is my job and responsibility and I'll do that. I will ease him into the NRL, whether that's game one, who knows? He is certainly a talent but also a guy that I’m going to take great care of, because his longevity is important."

Canberra Raiders coach Ricky Stuart

"It was very muggy, it felt a bit like Queensland weather. The ball was very slippery. In the first half we gave them too many penalties and dropped a couple of balls ourselves. They were coming out of their half fairly easily. We spoke at half time about possession and holding the ball. It showed in the first 20 minutes in the second half what we can do when we hold the ball. So we've just got to concentrate on that, especially early in the rounds when everyone's nervous and excited about footy. But if we hold our nerve and hold the ball I think we're in good stead.

[I'm aiming to bring] just a bit of direction and a kicking game. We've been working hard on that with Sticky. Just trying to steer the boys around when needed. They're a pretty experienced forward pack, senior players. So jumping on the back of them when they're a bit tired and fatigued. So hopefully me, Jackie, Sav and Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad, who was not playing tonight, can do something special this year. Some of the stuff Jack is doing at training is freakish. He's a big body too, so if he wants to run over a bloke he can do that. But he's also got massive skill in him as well. So we've just got to try and keep working together."

Canberra Raiders half Jamal Fogarty

"A good comeback. That's what trials are for. We started a little bit sketchy. Blew the lungs out, got all the nerves out. It was good to see the boys back. As well, as we've been training, getting a little bit of width and some passing in our game. They're only trials, but on to Round 1 now. Jamal Fogarty was good. He takes a lot of pressure off with the kicking. We've just got to focus on working together, using both sides of the field. As I said, he'll take a lot of pressure off me with his organising. I can't wait for Round 1 with him.

The forwards are going to be the key. When our forwards are working well and they're working together, with lots of talk, we're going to be a hard team to beat. But you can't tell yet, it's only a trial. Wait until Round 1 and we'll start there."

Canberra Raiders five eighth Jack Wighton


2022 Trial 2. Canberra Raiders 18 - Manly Sea Eagles 16. It was a trial, and at times it was a bit of a trial to watch. There was plenty of dropped ball, obstruction plays and officious officiating. The Raiders were relatively poor in the first half. It was wet, but their completion rate in the first forty left a lot to be desired.

Jack Wighton gifted two tries to the Sea Eagles' speedy right edge. First, he threw a lofted pass that was intercepted by Manly winger Jason Saab and it was a case of see you later. A 95 metre try inside the first 15 minutes. Then, in the 31st minute, Wighton dropped the ball, producing another long range try, this time to Manly centre Tolutau Koula. When Tom Trbojevic crossed a few minutes later, the Sea Eagles had a deserved 16-0 lead.



But it was a good comeback from the Raiders. Wighton certainly made up for the errors. He scored just before half time, making a typical Jack Wighton run from close to the line. Then early in the second half, he set up Nick Cotric in the corner, with a perfect grubber. The Raiders had spread too early in the first half - when they hadn't earned the right in the middle. A Semi Valemei pass to Sebastian Kris, who had absolutely no room, encapsulated what was happening. Kris was easily tackled over the sideline.

But the Raiders started to play more direct footy, and they started to hold onto the ball. By the time Joe Tapine strolled up the middle in the 55th minute, the Raiders had completed eight of their previous nine sets. Canberra also got some good results from short passing among the forwards and lots of offloads.

In the end, it was three tries apiece, with the goal kicking of new recruit Jamal Fogarty proving to be the difference. The two teams ran their strongest teams for the first 60 minutes, and substituted their "B" lineups just as the heavens really opened. The Raiders' youngsters did well with their handling in the torrential rain - and defended well. Understandably, neither side could score in the final quarter, but the Raiders looked more likely.



I thought Jamal Fogarty had a good debut in green, while Jack Wighton came back strongly after the early errors. Tom Starling took over from Josh Hodgson in the second half and had a very good game. Hodgson put in some nice kicks. It was a reasonably good hit out for most of the forwards. Joe Tapine, Josh Papalii and Corey Horsburgh impressed. Elliott Whitehead played in the No. 12 jersey, but played in the middle. I'm not sure how successful the switch was, really. We'll see once the season starts.

Matt Timoko should have nailed down a centre spot for Round 1 after tonight. However, I don't think we'll be seeing Semi Valemei as his centre partner. He made some good runs and produced a great one on one tackle at one stage. But for the most part, he had an unhappy game in both attack and defence.

Coach Ricky Stuart revealed prior to the match that he is likely to select Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad in the No. 1 jersey in Round 1. CNK didn't play in the match, as he tested positive to COVID in the lead up. Regular readers won't be surprised that I think that's the right call. Savage is an incredibly exciting runner. But tonight, he didn't get the opportunities that he had against the Roosters. The Sea Eagles targeted him and often pushed him back on kick returns. Stuart said he'll be easing Savage into the NRL - and will be focused on ensuring his longevity in the game. I think that might start with Savage's Round 1 selection on the wing.

Stats that mattered?

The Raiders posted a poor completion rate (63 per cent, Sea Eagles 68 per cent), but still finished with a 52 per cent possession share. Most of the attacking statistics clearly favoured the Sea Eagles in the first half, but they swung in the second. Overall, the Sea Eagles produced more running metres (1254-1195), metres per set (33-31) and tackle breaks (19-13). That's reflected in the Sea Eagle's 52 per cent share of the territory. The Raiders dominated in the offloads (11-1) and posted one more line break (2-1). The Raiders defence was pretty strong. They had to make more tackles (290-264) and missed more (19-13). But the Sea Eagles posted 14 ineffective tackles, the Raiders three. That translated into a 93 per cent effective tackle rate for Canberra (91 per cent for Manly).

Memorable moments?

I have to admit that the first tries of the match - to the Sea Eagles' speedsters - were something special. Pure speed on display. None of Canberra's tries were in contention for the try of the match, but the best was probably the second - the result of a very good Wighton kick for Cotric. In defence, there was a very good try saver, early on Trbojevic. Matt Timoko was in there in the middle of it.

Best performers?

Jack Wighton. One try, seven runs for 60 metres, one try assist, one line break, four tackle breaks, three kicks for 98 metres, one forced line drop out.

Joseph Tapine. One try, nine runs for 71 metres, 20 post contact metres, one line break, three tackle breaks, three offloads, 21 tackles.

Tom Starling. Six runs for 34 metres, five dummy half runs, one line break assist, one try assist, 25 tackles, one kick for 54 metres.

Top tacklers: Elliott Whitehead 26, Ryan Sutton 25, Tom Starling 25, Adam Elliott 23, Joseph Tapine 21
Most metres gained: Matthew Timoko 97, Josh Papalii 88, Corey Horsburgh 75, Joseph Tapine 71

Player ratings will return in Round 1!

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RedRaider
Laurie Daley
Posts: 11267
Joined: March 3, 2007, 7:02 pm

Re: Through green eyes 2022

Post by RedRaider »

Good write up GE. The expansive attacking style looks to be with us this year.

I was impressed with the defensive work of EW. Playing at lock he was everywhere in defence. Good ball movement too. Horsburgh's performance was good enough for me to have him on the bench for Rd 1. The penalties and dumb plays were gone and the leaner, fitter, skillful Horsburgh stood up. I thought Nick Cotric was instrumental in stopping the Turbo try in the first half. He got under the ball and stopped any possibility of grounding it. Manly were about intimidating Savage but he kept a cool head. Not so much opportunity against the near full strength Manly but I would have him on the right wing against the Sharks. I'm looking forward to seeing how Fogarty works with the right side attacking unit which I hope will be CHN, Timoko and Savage for Rd 1.
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greeneyed
Don Furner
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Through green eyes 2022

Post by greeneyed »

Through green eyes: What will 2022 bring the Canberra Raiders?

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In the final part of our Canberra Raiders season preview, we predict the Round 1 line up, take a look at the new coaching structure and and give an overall verdict on the Green Machine's prospects for the season.

The verdict

The best laid plans of mice and men. In case you're not familiar with Scotland's great poet Robbie Burns, or the works of one of America's greatest authors, John Steinbeck, the next words to that line are "oft go awry".

Yesterday, just as the Raiders' fans started to feel vaguely comfortable about the upcoming 2022 season, the worst possible news arrived. New halfback recruit, Jamal Fogarty, had suffered damage to the meniscus in his knee in the warm up for the trial match against the Manly Sea Eagles. He played for 60 minutes in that match, seemingly without a problem. He performed well. He'd been brought to the club to take pressure off five eighth Jack Wighton. To take over the kicking, the talking, the organisation in the halves and to allow Wighton to do what he does best. It looked like the plan would come off.

But by the time Monday's training session was over, it was clear there was a problem. Scans revealed Fogarty would need surgery and he's having that surgery todaay. It means he'll be out for around four months - and won't be available until Round 15 at the earliest.

Canberra Raiders coach Ricky Stuart has been quick to reveal Plan B. He has been preparing for a problem, mixing up the halves pairings through the off season. He's been expecting that COVID would disrupt his team. But four months on the sidelines for a key play maker. That's a huge blow. His most experienced backups in the halves, Sam Williams and Matt Frawley, are fine fill ins for a few games. But neither can really fill in for four months. That lesson was learned in 2021.

So rookie Queenslander, Brad Schneider, 21, will get his shot at the No. 7 jersey in Round 1.

"I'm more than confident that he'll do a great job. His debut was on the bench, he got a couple of minutes, but to me this will be his real debut," coach Stuart told The Canberra Times.

"We promise these young guys when we recruit that we'll develop them and give them an opportunity to make a debut at the NRL level - and that's what I'm doing."

Stuart has taken the best option. It might be a riskier strategy, but Schneider played well in the trials. We can't be sure what he'll deliver in first grade, but if Stuart doesn't play Schneider, we'll never know. And it is a strategy that could pay off handsomely.

So what does the Raiders' team look like in Round 1?

Apart from Fogarty, the Raiders will be without winger Jordan Rapana, after he was suspended for two games for a shoulder charge in the preseason All Stars match. Harley Smith-Shields - who was shaping as a certain selection for the back line - is out for the season after suffering an ACL injury in training. In addition, new forward recruit Peter Hola is unavailable after sustaining medial ligament damage in the trial against the Roosters.

Coach Stuart has indicated that Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad, rather than Xavier Savage, will very likely start at fullback. As I've said before, that's the right call. Savage is an incredibly exciting runner. But CNK delivers plenty of metres himself, particularly from kick returns, and he understands what is needed from a fullback in defence. Stuart plans to ease Savage into the NRL. Round 1, on the wing in place of Rapana, is the place to start.

I expect Jarrod Croker will be given the opportunity to show his knee surgery has worked, with Matt Timoko named at his centre partner. Semi Valemei was given every chance at proving he could handle the right centre position in the trials. And while he did some good things - and has some size and power - he he had some unhappy games in both attack and defence. Timoko simply picked up where he left off in 2021.

The trial against the Sea Eagles suggests that Josh Papalii and Joe Tapine will be the starting props, while Elliott Whitehead will make the shift to lock. Whitehead wore the No. 12 jersey in the Sea Eagles trial, but that isn't where he played. He was a ball playing middle. Who knows? That might happen again in Round 1. Maybe "Smelly" is superstitious. But assuming he takes over the No. 13, that leaves Hudson Young, Corey Harawira-Naera and Adam Elliott fighting it out for two second row spots. I think Young has secured one spot. I'll tip that Adam Elliott will start on the bench, but with no great confidence. It very much looks like Josh Hodgson will start at hooker, with Tom Starling to come off the bench. That would replicate the successful partnership forged late last year.

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Predicted Round 1 line up: 1. Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad 2. Nick Cotric 3. Jarrod Croker 4. Matthew Timoko 5. Xavier Savage 6. Jack Wighton 7. Brad Schneider 8. Josh Papalii 9. Josh Hodgson 10. Joseph Tapine 11. Hudson Young 12. Corey Harawira-Naera 13. Elliott Whitehead 14. Tom Starling 15. Adam Elliott 16. Ryan Sutton 17. Corey Horsburgh

The coaching

When club legend, Ricky Stuart returned to the Green Machine as head coach in 2014, a major rebuild of the club was needed. We thought it would take time, years. The Raiders finished 15th on the ladder in the first year that Stuart was in charge.

But in 2016, there a heady, surge of success. Canberra finished second on the ladder and qualified for a Preliminary Final, the first in nearly two decades. Along the way, the Raiders won 10 matches in a row, the most in club history during a single season. Canberra was number one in the league for points scored, scoring nearly 100 points more than the second placed team. No Canberra team had ever scored more points in a season, breaking the record of the 1994 outfit.

The success happened faster than expected but it proved transitory. The club missed the finals in both 2017 and 2018. While the attack of 2016 had been breathtaking, the hard learned lesson was that the defence wasn't good enough. Stuart forged a new approach, aimed at making the Raiders the best defensive outfit in the competition. The team spent the whole of the 2019 preseason tackling. It paid off, with the Raiders making their first Grand Final in a quarter of a century. The Raiders were probably the better team everywhere but on the final scoreboard. They were "oh so close" to a fourth premiership.

With the Raiders again qualifying for a Preliminary Final in 2021, Ricky Stuart's reign as coach has produced the club's most successful period since the "glory days". But in those eight years, the club has only made the finals three times. Now, Canberra is rebuilding again. It is Stuart's third chance at lifting the team back into the top eight. Not many coaches get that opportunity. He certainly deserves it in my view, given his recent successes. But after last year's 10th placing, he's recognised some things had to change.



The tactics that worked so well in 2019 were left behind by Vlandysball. In 2019, Stuart often remarked that his team knew how to attack. That wasn't the case in 2021. They ranked 12th in the competition in terms of tries scored last year. The return of attacking guru, Mick Crawley, as an assistant coach has been the response. We've seen some very different attacking strategies employed in the trials. The team is back to playing with some width, instead of sticking to the middle third of the field. The forwards are back to passing to each other, back to making offloads.

The conditioning of the players was also left behind by Vlandysball last year. Second half fades were a major problem. The team looked "gassed" in the final stages of matches, especially in the first half of the season. Jeremy Hickmans has been recruited as the Raiders' new head of performance. For many years, he worked alongside Wayne Bennett, helping the Broncos (2005) and Dragons (2010) to premierships. More recently, he's worked with Swimming Australia, helping Ariarne Titmus to Olympic success in Tokyo. The focus this preseason has been on conditioning the players for a faster game. They've been running shorter distances and focussing on acceleration and speed. In the trials, the players looked lighter and more agile.

So far, so good, in this department.

The draw

Upon the release of the 2022 NRL draw, NRL.com told us that the Raiders have the fourth toughest draw. That was based on rating opposition teams by their finish on the 2021 competition ladder, and the number of times the Raiders play more highly rated opposition. Of course, experience shows predictions on the toughness of the NRL draw don't often prove to be correct.

The Raiders start the season with three "winnable" matches against the Sharks, Cowboys and Titans. The toughest patch probably comes mid season, beginning with a clash with the Rabbitohs in Round 11. That's followed by home games against the Eels and Roosters. The final month looks reasonably favourable, with matches against the Dragons, Knights, Sea Eagles and Tigers. The Sea Eagles are the toughest opponent, but it is played at Canberra Stadium. The Raiders' travel burden, as always, is much higher than the Sydney teams - and that's been added to by the decision of Manly and the Rabbitohs to take the Raiders away to regional centres. Only two games will be played in Sydney.

Teams they play twice
Storm, Panthers, Sea Eagles, Knights, Titans, Sharks, Dragons, Warriors, Cowboys

Teams they play once
Rabbitohs, Roosters, Eels, Wests Tigers, Broncos, Bulldogs

Day by day
Thursday 1, Friday 2, Saturday 10, Sunday 11

Games played against
Top eight: 13
Top four: 7
Bottom eight: 11
Bottom four: 5

Turnarounds
5 days – 1, 6 days – 5, 7 days – 11, 8 days - 2, 9 days - 1, 10+ days - 3

Free to air television - 8
Rd 6 V Cowboys (H), Rd 7 V Panthers (A), Rd 12 V Eels (H), Rd 13 V Roosters (H), Rd 16 V Dragons (A), Rd 18 V Storm (A), Rd 23 V Knights (A), Rd 25 V Tigers (A)

Venues
Canberra Stadium 11
Lang Park 2
North Queensland Stadium 1
Glen Willow Stadium, Mudgee 1
Wagga Park 1
Panthers Stadium 1
Dolphin Oval 1
Apex Oval, Dubbo 1
Wollongong Stadium 1
Melbourne Rectangular Stadium 1
Robina Stadium 1
Hunter Stadium 1
Leichhardt Oval 1

Travel burden - Away games played in
Sydney - 2
Greater Sydney, including Hunter and Illawarra - 4
Regional New South Wales, excluding Hunter and Illawarra - 3
Queensland - 5
Victoria - 1

* One home game transferred to Wagga, two Sydney away games transferred to regional New South Wales by Sea Eagles and Rabbitohs, one Sydney away game against Sharks transferred to Brisbane by NRL.

Rd 1: Raiders v Sharks at Canberra Stadium, Friday, March 11, 6:00pm
Rd 2: Cowboys v Raiders at North Queensland Stadium, Saturday, March 19, 7:35pm
Rd 3: Raiders v Titans at Canberra Stadium, Saturday, March 26, 7;35pm
Rd 4: Sea Eagles v Raiders at Mudgee, Saturday, April 2, 5:30pm
Rd 5: Raiders v Storm at Wagga Wagga, Saturday, April 9, 3:00pm
Rd 6: Raiders v Cowboys at Canberra Stadium, Thursday, April 14, 7:50pm
Rd 7: Panthers v Raiders at Panthers Stadium, Sunday, April 24, 4:05pm
Rd 8: Warriors v Raiders at Dolphin Oval, Saturday, April 30, 3:00pm
Rd 9: Raiders v Bulldogs at Canberra Stadium, Friday, May 6, 6:00pm
Rd 10: Sharks v Raiders at Lang Park, Sunday, May 15, 1:50pm (Magic Round)
Rd 11: Rabbitohs v Raiders at Dubbo, Sunday, May 22, 2:00pm
Rd 12: Raiders v Eels at Canberra Stadium, Sunday, May 29, 4:05pm
Rd 13: Raiders v Roosters at Canberra Stadium, Sunday, June 5, 4:05pm
Rd 14: Broncos v Raiders at Lang Park, Saturday, June 11, 7:35pm
Rd 15: Raiders v Knights at Canberra Stadium, Sunday, June 19, 2:00pm
Rd 16: Dragons v Raiders at Wollongong Stadium, Sunday, June 26, 4:05pm
Rd 17: BYE
Rd 18: Storm v Raiders at Melbourne Rectangular Stadium, Sunday, July 10, 4:05pm
Rd 19: Raiders v Warriors at Canberra Stadium, Saturday, July 16, 3:00pm
Rd 20: Titans v Raiders at Robina Stadium, Saturday, July 23, 3:00pm
Rd 21: Raiders v Panthers at Canberra Stadium, Saturday, July 30, 5:30pm
Rd 22: Raiders v Dragons at Canberra Stadium, Sunday, August 7, 2:00pm
Rd 23: Knights v Raiders at Hunter Stadium, Sunday, August 14, 4:05pm
Rd 24: Raiders v Sea Eagles at Canberra Stadium, Saturday, August 20, 3:00pm
Rd 25: Tigers v Raiders at Leichhardt Oval, Sunday, August 27, 4:00pm

The verdict

Predicted finish: Edge of the eight

My ratings of the squad last week averaged out at a "B". That translates into a top eight, but not a top four, finish. The depth is generally good, but the it is probably the weakest in the halves. That is why the injury to Jamal Fogarty has been such a blow. The loss of Fogarty and Harley Smith-Shields to long term injuries are significant, and significant enough for me to shift my predicted finish to "edge of the eight". The Raiders presently rank ninth in the futures market - and I don't think that's too wide of the mark. I'd love to see a break-out season for Brad Schneider - and I'd love to be proven pessimistic on the predicted finish. Whatever happens, as always, it will be a great ride.

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greeneyed
Don Furner
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Re: Through green eyes 2022

Post by greeneyed »

Through green eyes: Talking about the next generation

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The Canberra Raiders fans have been talking about generational change for some time. On Tuesday, coach Ricky Stuart delivered in spades. The time had come for Generation Z.

The key lesson the Raiders learned from 2021 was that that squad needed more agility, more speed and, yes, more youth. The teams that had a good dose of youth in their side were the ones that seemed to well in the code of Vlandysball.

Early last season, some analysis by the "NRL economist" (whose real name is Ramy Haidar) showed that the average age of NRL squads had dropped to 24.4 years, compared with the average age of 26.2 over the previous three decades. The Penrith Panthers, the 2021 Premiers, had an average age of 23.8.

By no means was youth the only key to success. The four oldest teams - the Rabbitohs (25.3), Storm (25.3), Roosters (25.2) and Eels (25.2) - all finished in the top six. The Storm were minor premiers and the Rabbitohs, who finished third, made the Grand Final. But the next cohort of teams - the Raiders (25.1), Sharks (24.9) and Dragons (24.8) - all missed the finals. The Raiders, with the fifth oldest team, finished 10th.

Simply having a young team wasn't necessarily ideal either. The two youngest teams, the Tigers (23.4) and Knights (23.6), were also rans. You need experience too.

However, it was clear to the Raiders that some space had to be made for younger players in 2022. Sia Soliola retired, Ryan James was released, Dunamis Lui and Siliva Havili were not retained. Hooker Josh Hodgson has not been offered a new deal after his contract expires at the end of this year.

The average age of Canberra's top 30 is now 24.8. The team named by coach Ricky Stuart to face the Cronulla Sharks in Round 1 still has some veterans. Captain Elliott Whitehead and Josh Hodgson are both 32. Josh Papalii and Jack Wighton are both 29. But nine of the squad are now from "Generation Z". Debutant James Schiller is just 21. The man he has replaced, co-captain, Jarrod Croker, is 10 years his senior. When Stuart looked for a replacement for halfback Jamal Fogarty, he went with 21 year old Brad Schneider. Matt Frawley, 27, and Sam Williams, 30, will be the halves pairing in NSW Cup in Round 1. With veteran winger, Jordan Rapana, 32, suspended for the opening two rounds, the coach has gone with Semi Valemei. I’d have probably gone with the even younger Xavier Savage. But in any case, on Friday night, Stuart's back line will have an average age of 23.6.



I think the coach has made the right call. To go with youth. You can only really see what they've got if you play them in firsts. The difficult part is yet to come. Sticking with the youngsters, after some losses, after some imperfect performances. As we saw with Sam Walker at the Roosters last year, rookies sometimes need a spell in the lower grade. But having picked some young players, they need to be given a fair shot in the top grade.

The Raiders' squad is presently in the process of transformation, of generational change. It is by no means over. I'm excited to see what happens next. It all starts this Friday night. Check out my Round 1 match preview. I'm tipping the Raiders by two.

****

The Canberra Raiders are celebrating their 40th anniversary in 2022. They were admitted to the "Sydney competition" in 1981, and the initial years were tough. The club "won" the wooden spoon in its first season, 1982. But that's the only wooden spoon in the trophy cabinet. The Raiders became successful, quickly. By 1994, Canberra had won three premierships. There have been some difficult times since. But it is a 40 year history which should make Canberrans feel proud.

During the off season, The Greenhouse has been helping the celebrations along. First, the readers selected the Canberra Raiders 40 Year Dream Team, though an exhaustive process of positional polls. We went through the record books with a fine tooth comb, looking at the careers of many of the players who have donned the green. Along the way, there were many passionate debates among the fans.

For those who missed it, this was the team selected... and the best top 30 squad of all time. The results were controversial in some quarters, particularly among the fans of other clubs on social media. I suspect many were far less well informed about the history of our club than the voters. Some didn't seem to recognise that only 17 players can made it into the Dream Team. These lists might not be those I would have selected myself. But they are close. I think the voters have come up with a very fine team and a very fine squad.





I've also been counting down the 40 greatest moments in the 40 seasons of the club. There is one moment left, and you can no doubt guess what it is. Having come to the conclusion, however, I'm now thinking of all the moments that I wish I could have squeezed in - having followed the club since the first game. Next, I'll be looking to update the series I produced five years ago, "35 years - 35 great games". Yes, it'll be "40 years - 40 great games", with five new games added.

If you haven't yet been along to the exhibition, "Canberra Raiders: 40 years in the limelight" as yet, it is well worth a visit. It is small, and I left wanting more. Where were the premiership trophies? But it is full of fascinating items. It is a must see for any Raiders fan.



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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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"I certainly don't enjoy those endings but I enjoyed the scoreboard at the end of it. There was a lot of grit and a lot of want from the boys. It was a good game of footy when you look at it. The first half was weight of possession and field possession and that was ours. We did the right thing in regards to scoring the points. And then the weight of possession and field position turned to the Sharks and they racked up some points. So it was a tough game.

It satisfies me from a personal point of view for the boys [the debutants]. You never forget your debut. Those two boys will never forget that game, especially the involvement that they both had. James Schiller with that tackle at the end of the game. He won't forget that. And Brad Schneider kicking four from four, being pushed into a very experienced team at halfback. That's a big job, that's a massive job. I thought his composure was very good. [At the end, I was thinking] field goal. I play inch for inch. I love a punt but I would have taken the one, but that's why they're out there and I'm not. This team, this squad of players, this club. We always back ourselves.

"I still think Jack Wighton's best football is in front of him. Everyone wants to be the analyst on Jack's last season, but when you look at who you've got, we had five fullbacks last year. We had disruption at seven, and then we had Hodgo in and out, we had Tommy in and out. It doesn't matter who you are as a six or a seven, it's too hard, especially when you've got so many ones. We had no stability or cohesion. It's hard for a six or a seven. That's why I said other players around our halves, other players around our spine, they've all got a job to do. Stability and cohesion is very important."

Canberra Raiders coach Ricky Stuart


2022 Round 1. Canberra Raiders 24 - Cronulla Sharks 19. It was an exhilarating win, an incredible last five minutes. The Raiders were trailing 19-18. A penalty against the Sharks' kick chaser, Jesse Ramien, for tackling Nick Cotric without the ball gave Canberra a chance. They took it in the red zone. There was no thought of going for the field goal for the Raiders. Jack Wighton sent it left. Hudson Young offloaded to Matt Timoko, and Young was in support back on the inside. He still had a lot of work to do, but the bustling second rower was determined to drive through to the line. It was the sort of moment you dream of seeing, the sort of moment that you see in movies. It was electrifying.



The match was still not won. The Raiders led by five, but the Sharks had one last opportunity. They sent it left to their winger Matt Ikuvalu. With 20 seconds left on the clock, many thought he was over in the corner. But James Schiller, on his debut, was there. He made the first contact, and wrapped him up ball and all. Halfback Brad Schneider, in his starting debut was there too, his hands getting under the ball. Nicoll-Klokstad was there, Corey Horsburgh, Hudson Young. "Ikuvalu! Ikuvalu! It's a sea of green!" commentator Dan Ginnane screamed. They had somehow held him up. Just two games into the season, it was a the try saver of the year.



As wonderful as the finish was, the match underlined that the 2022 Canberra Raiders are still a work in progress. They had a massive share of possession and territory in the first half and scored 18 points. However, a 12 point lead at half time didn't quite reflect Canberra's dominance. Then fear of a second half fade - of the sort we'd seen over and over in 2021 - raised its ugly head. The Sharks scored two tries in the space of 15 minutes, and it was suddenly 18 a piece. Repeated errors and poor defence gave Cronulla their opportunities.

The Raiders have a new style of attack, with plenty of passing and width. That will come with errors. But sometimes the team was going side to side, before the platform had been laid. A couple of times, the Raiders were trapped at their own end, with the forwards standing flat footed, passing and hoping to gain ground. There are times in a game when the forwards need to put their heads down, and tuck the ball under the arm, and push up the middle. They are yet to work out the balance. The interchange forwards will also need to lift. It was noticeable when Josh Papalii and Joe Tapine were off the field. The pair made big metres and produced threatening offloads. The starting second rowers were also strong. There was less oomph from the benchies.

A Matt Moylan field goal, with seven minutes remaining saw the Sharks lead for the first time in the game. Somehow, the Raiders dug themselves out of it. It made for an exciting, tense game. But the Raiders had put themselves in that spot. Of course, the thing to remember is... it is only Round 1. There's plenty of time to build, and I think this team will. The signs are very promising. The team will head to Townsville next week with some confidence.



Five eighth Jack Wighton, was outstanding in his 200th game. He scored the first try, setting it in motion and backing up for the four points. At other times in the game, he produced some inspiring moments, when needed. A brilliant kick chase, a thumping tackle. Brad Schneider, in his first starting game, produced a few errors. But overall, I thought he had a good, solid start to a first grade career. He's not played much football in the past couple of years, like all the young players coming through in the middle of a pandemic. He'll develop. He's got some physicality about him and a level head. He handled the dual responsibility of the No.7 and goal kicking well.

The Raiders lost Josh Hodgson early to a knee injury. It appears he has avoided a third ACL injury, but it looks like he'll be out for a fair while. Tom Starling played almost 75 minutes at dummy half and played well. He set up the Raiders' second try with a deft kick to the in goal for Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad. The Raiders will need him.

Stats that mattered? It was a game of two halves, as the old saying goes. The Raiders had a 65 per cent possession share and 70 per cent of the territory in the first half. That's why I said that the Green Machine probably should have led by more than 12 at the break. In the second half, the Sharks had around 60 per cent of the ball and over 65 per cent of the territory.

In the first half, the Raiders posted an 85 per cent completion rate. It was less than 60 per cent in the second. In the first half, the Raiders had 28 tackles in the Sharks' red zone, the Sharks had none. In the second half, the Sharks had 26 tackles in Canberra's red zone, the Raiders five. Those are stark numbers.

In the end, the Raiders had a 54 per cent share of possession, and a 70 per cent completion rate. The Raiders made more runs (206-161), running metres (1425-1292), kick return metres (102-90), post contact metres (421-374), tackle breaks (44-29) and offloads (23-12). The Sharks made one more line break (4-3) and more metres per set (38-35). There was not much difference in the kicking, but the Raiders' kick defusal was better (57 per cent, Sharks 30 per cent). The Raiders forced one line drop out, the Sharks none. The Sharks produced many more missed tackles (44-29) and posted more ineffective tackles (35-22). That translated into an 85 per cent effective tackle rate for the Raiders, compared with 81 per cent for the Sharks.

Memorable moments? I've used up all my powder already. Nothing matches the Hudson Young try and the try saver from debutants Schiller and Schneider.

Best performers?

Jack Wighton. One try, 16 runs for 148 metres, one line break assist, four tackle breaks, one offload, 19 tackles, 73 per cent tackle efficiency, eight kicks for 221 kicking metres, one forced line drop out. The three missed tackles and four ineffective tackles were the only blots.

Hudson Young. One try, 17 runs for 124 metres, 42 post contact metres, one line break, four tackle breaks, one offload, 26 tackles, 84 per cent tackle efficiency.

Josh Papalii. 16 runs for 137 metres, 51 post contact metres, seven tackle breaks, three offloads, 21 tackles, 95 per cent tackle efficiency. No errors. He hardly ever makes one.

Top tacklers: Tom Starling 38, Brad Schneider 31, Corey Horsburgh 27, Hudson Young 26
Most metres gained: Jack Wighton 148, Joe Tapine 146, Josh Papalii 137, Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad 137

Joe Tapine and Corey Harawira-Naera were unlucky not to feature in my top three players. Matt Timoko was the best of the outside backs, producing eight tackle breaks. Semi Valemei, who was named on the wing but played at centre, scored a try, but also topped the error count (three).

My player ratings:

Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad 7
Nick Cotric 6
James Schiller 6
Matt Timoko 7
Semi Valemei 6
Jack Wighton 8
Brad Schneider 6
Josh Papalii 7
Josh Hodgson 1*
Joe Tapine 7
Hudson Young 8
Corey Harawira-Naera 7
Elliott Whitehead 6

Tom Starling 7
Emre Guler 5
Adam Elliott 5
Corey Horsburgh 6

* Played six minutes

Do you agree with the ratings? Let us know!

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BadnMean
Steve Walters
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Re: Through green eyes 2022

Post by BadnMean »

Tapine and Papalii 8s for mine. I thought they were each at very close to their best.

Not sure how Semi gets the same rating as Cotric who was just as effective in attack but without all the errors.
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Re: Through green eyes 2022

Post by greeneyed »

BadnMean wrote: March 12, 2022, 11:00 am Tapine and Papalii 8s for mine. I thought they were each at very close to their best.

Not sure how Semi gets the same rating as Cotric who was just as effective in attack but without all the errors.
Fair comments. I toyed with an 8 for Papalii and Tapine not far off him. I certainly put down a 5 for Valemei, but I was swayed by the try.
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Re: Through green eyes 2022

Post by RedRaider »

greeneyed wrote: March 12, 2022, 12:02 pm
BadnMean wrote: March 12, 2022, 11:00 am Tapine and Papalii 8s for mine. I thought they were each at very close to their best.

Not sure how Semi gets the same rating as Cotric who was just as effective in attack but without all the errors.
Fair comments. I toyed with an 8 for Papalii and Tapine not far off him. I certainly put down a 5 for Valemei, but I was swayed by the try.
Papa an 8 for me. He was dominant in his time on the park. I would have given the rookies Schneider and Schiller a 7 for that defensive effort at the end. Sheer commitment from both young men who refused to give up on the play.
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Re: Through green eyes 2022

Post by greeneyed »

RedRaider wrote:
greeneyed wrote: March 12, 2022, 12:02 pm
BadnMean wrote: March 12, 2022, 11:00 am Tapine and Papalii 8s for mine. I thought they were each at very close to their best.

Not sure how Semi gets the same rating as Cotric who was just as effective in attack but without all the errors.
Fair comments. I toyed with an 8 for Papalii and Tapine not far off him. I certainly put down a 5 for Valemei, but I was swayed by the try.
Papa an 8 for me. He was dominant in his time on the park. I would have given the rookies Schneider and Schiller a 7 for that defensive effort at the end. Sheer commitment from both young men who refused to give up on the play.
I can see those being fair results too.


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Re: Through green eyes 2022

Post by BJ »

Maybe a little high across the board. But can’t argue too much.
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Re: Through green eyes 2022

Post by greeneyed »

Through green eyes: Feeling hot, hot, hot

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There are two seasons in far, north Queensland. Wet and dry. Hot and warm. Humid and... humid. The humidity is the killer, especially if you're out on a footy field.

It seems like the Canberra Raiders almost always face a trek to Townsville in March or April every year.

It is not really the case.

Because the NRL structures the draw so that Sydney teams can have "local derbies", the teams outside Sydney generally play each other twice. So the Raiders almost always play the Cowboys twice in a season. And that means a trip to Townsville most years.

However, only half of the matches that the Raiders have played in Townsville have been played in March or April.

And there are two sides to the coin. The Cowboys probably don't much fancy a trip to Canberra in the depths of winter, either.

In any case, it is going to be hot and humid on Saturday night when the Raiders play the Cowboys at North Queensland Stadium.

The game day forecast for Townsville is for a top of 33 degrees and a minimum of 24 degrees. The match will be played just after sunset, but 80 per cent humidity is forecast.

"It's going to be hot. You could see last week with Canterbury up there, the hot, humid, slippery conditions play a big part," Canberra Raiders coach Ricky Stuart said this week.

The weather is not the only problem Stuart is facing right now.

The Raiders already have some serious injury problems.

Jarrod Croker is out with a problematic bulging disc in his back. Josh Hodgson a knee injury. Jamal Fogarty's knee problem will cost him half the year. Harley Smith-Shields is sidelined for the season due to a ruptured ACL. Jordan Rapana is suspended. And then there's the ongoing challenge posed by COVID. That has meant that the Raiders will be without their back up to Fogarty, Brad Schneider this week.

Ricky Stuart says he's down to 24 fit players - and took "everybody" to Townsville.

"As a club we're really in unprecedented waters at the moment," Stuart said this week.

"It's a difficult period because we're getting a lot of injuries, COVID at the top grades and we're actually getting a number of injuries down around our lower grades right down to our 19's. We're really depleted on numbers."

Somehow, the Raiders are still favourites to win. Perhaps that's because the Cowboys have won one game since Round 12 last year. I have tipped the Green Machine to start with back to back wins. But it is going to be tough.

****

For a long time, Townsville has not been a happy hunting ground for the Raiders. Between 2007 and 2017, the Raiders suffered a nine game losing streak.

That had as much to do with legendary Cowboys half Johnathan Thurston, as the hot and humid conditions. In fact, it was probably much more significant.

Remember how Thurston conjured a win in golden point in Round 1 of 2017? A failed Thurston field goal came up trumps, with a rebound off the crossbar setting up the winning try. Thurston did that sort of thing to the Raiders more than once.

But in 2018, the Raiders finally got some revenge for that cruel loss.

That year, most Raiders fans expected the nine game losing streak in Townsville would continue. Many expected a big win for the Cowboys. Even if the match was close, most expected that Thurston would produce some magic to break green hearts at the death. But the Raiders' defence was full of aggression, attitude and character.



The defence was more remarkable because the Raiders kept turning over possession to the Cowboys, making critical errors and conceding penalties. The Cowboys had a territorial advantage for much of the match. Thurston forced line drop out after line drop out. He nearly sent Michael Morgan to the try line, late, with the match in the balance. But the defence kept on turning up. The Raiders conceded just one try. And then they took advantage of their limited opportunities to score three of their own. It was a landmark 18-8 victory.

The Raiders followed that up with a 30-12 win in Townsville in 2019. It wasn't perfect, but it was a game that showed the start of some things - things that would see Canberra make its first grand final in 25 years.



The last couple of years, the games in Townsville have been close. An ugly two point victory in 2020. An even uglier two point loss in 2021. It was a classic example of a second half collapse, which happened far too often last year. The less said about that game the better, really.



Hopefully, we'll see the Raiders continue to rebuild on Saturday night - and notch up another win in Townsville.

****

On the day of the first game of the season, the NRL announced significant changes to the judiciary system and penalties for player misconduct on the field.

The membership of the match review committee and judiciary has been expanded beyond former players, and will now include former coaches and referees. That is a good move, a long overdue one. The outcomes of the process have been far too inconsistent in recent years. The addition of former match officials, in particular, will hopefully help address that problem.

The structure of penalties has also been overhauled. The previous points system was confusing. It allowed for discounts for previous good behaviour and early pleas. Repeat offenders were treated more harshly. But it was a complex system, and probably added to the appearance of inconsistent treatment of similar cases.

Each on field offence will now be penalised by a standard suspension. The suspensions increase by a week or two for repeat offenders. Everyone can reduce their suspension by a week for an early plea. It is much simpler, which is not a choice the NRL often makes. I do wonder if the penalties might be seen to be a bit too harsh, once they are put into effect. Time will tell.

All round, the changes look to be good ones.

However, the process was flawed. A new system should have been put in place well before the season started. Not on the day of the first game of the season. There was plenty of time for it to be done over the off season, and effected before any preseason games took place. Instead, the ARLC was scrambling to announce them on the day that Round 1 kicked off. The clubs and players received virtually no notice.

That proved costly for Raiders winger Jordan Rapana. He was suspended for two weeks for a grade one shoulder charge in the preseason All Stars game. Under the new system, he would have only been fined. That only added to the Raiders' discontent over the NRL's earlier inconsistent treatment of Rapana.

Prior to the All Stars game, the NRL told the Raiders that Rapana could not serve a one week suspension for an off season drink driving offence in the All Stars game. They were told that suspensions for off-field incidents cannot be served in preseason games. So, Rapana decided to play - and received an additional suspension for a shoulder charge.

Later, NRL CEO Andrew Abdo intervened to allow two other players to retrospectively count the All Stars game against off field suspensions.

Raiders coach Ricky Stuart colourfully suggested that the Raiders were on the wrong end of these sorts of decisions far too often. The language he used was not the best. But he had a fair point in my view.

The response from Graeme Annesley, the NRL's General Manager of Elite Football, was dismissive.

"We're all part of the same game, whilst we're in the administration and we do have to make decisions at times that clubs won't like, we've got a responsibility to administer the game as fairly and evenly as we can. Now I understand clubs don't always see it that way," he told The Canberra Times.

"I can absolutely guarantee you there is no one at the NRL, at board level or at executive level, that's sitting in there saying 'how can we screw over the Canberra Raiders?' Or any other club. That's tongue in cheek obviously."

However, over the years, there have been many examples of how the NRL has not taken decisions fairly and evenly. The most egregious have been in broadcasting, third party agreements and the draw - which reduces the travel burdens of Sydney clubs. All have disadvantaged Canberra.

The NRL really needs to take a much harder look at itself - and consider whether some unconscious biases are in play.

****

As in previous years, every week I'll be rating the players on a scale of 1-10. Here is the tally after Round 1.

Total points

Hudson Young 8
Jack Wighton 8
Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad 7
Corey Harawira-Naera 7
Joe Tapine 7
Josh Papalii 7
Matt Timoko 7
Tom Starling 7
Brad Schneider 6
Corey Horsburgh 6
Elliott Whitehead 6
James Schiller 6
Nick Cotric 6
Semi Valemei 6
Adam Elliott 5
Emre Guler 5
Josh Hodgson 1

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Re: Through green eyes 2022

Post by greeneyed »

Through green eyes: As I saw it

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"It's pretty simple. When you have less football, complete less sets and make more errors than your opposition, it's going to be very hard to win. We made it very, very difficult for ourselves tonight in that regard. I take nothing away from the Cowboys, they played well. They had a lot of football and we just were very ill-disciplined with it in regards to our completions, finishing sets off. Frustration creeps into a football team when that happens and I could see that very clearly. You're not going to win a game of football with those type of statistics.

You've just got to definitely not look at that as an excuse [losing two first choice halfbacks]. That's going to happen right throughout the season.

No [kick defusals isn't an area to work on]. Those boys are very good in the air. It's just one of those games, where they got a flukey little kick, when the ball went to ground and they toed it through and they scored a try. Two balls in the air. I won't go through it. You guys go and have a look at the defensive statistics and you'll see how well we defended. I sound stupid coming out and saying that when the score is 26-6."

Canberra Raiders coach Ricky Stuart


2022 Round 2. North Queensland Cowboys 26 - Canberra Raiders 6. It was a dismal night for the Green Machine. The Raiders were heavily affected by injury and suspension. Play makers Jamal Fogarty and Josh Hodgson are sidelined with knee injuries. Backup half, Brad Schneider, was in isolation due to COVID. In the backs, winger Nick Cotric was a late omission due to a quad strain. Canberra's other first choice winger, Jordan Rapana, was suspended. Centres Jarrod Croker (back) and Harley Smith-Shields (ACL) were also unavailable. That's a lot of missing talent - and it does explain where and why some things went so wrong.



Matt Frawley took over at half, and some of the options he took weren't great, especially in the red zone. Intercept passes were thrown at crucial times. The fifth tackle options from the halves really left a lot to be desired. It was tough for both Frawley and Wighton, as the Canberra forwards were being dominated - and the Cowboys' defence swarmed on them. They targeted Frawley, in particular, and hammered him a couple of times with big hits.

We saw a vicious circle emerge for Canberra, with poor fifth tackle options giving the Cowboys territorial advantage. The Raiders' back five - missing three or four first choice starters - didn't help much in gaining metres on early tackles. Their inability to defuse kicks was a big problem too. The forwards then struggled to get the team out of their own end. Tom Starling looked a little lost, with his fellow forwards failing to make metres. The pressure produced more poor fifth tackle options, more errors, more turnovers.

The margin could have been a whole lot worse, but for some good defensive efforts from the Raiders. The Cowboys were their own worst enemy as well. Cowboys coach Todd Payten admitted his team looked clunky, and they often turned over the ball in good attacking positions. Canberra was still well in the game at the 55th minute, trailing by only two points. But they finally cracked when Cowboys fullback Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow chased a bomb and leaped above Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad. "The Hammer" went straight to the try line.

Things unraveled further when Hudson Young was sent to the sin bin for obstructing a North Queensland chaser. Two more late tries Cowboys followed, both from kicks. Feldt's try had a strong air of good fortune about it. But ultimately, the Cowboys had created their own luck. They were eager in defence, dominated field position and merited their opportunities. They deserved their win and deserved to win well.

The Raiders reaped what they sowed. And while the injury toll helps explain what happened, it is not an excuse for the performance. There was still plenty of top talent on the field and few delivered anything like their best. The Raiders host the Titans in Round 3 - and they'll hopefully have at least a couple of troops back. But they'll have to play with a whole lot more intent in attack and defence than they did in Townsville.

Stats that mattered? The Cowboys ended the match with a 56 per cent share of possession. That's seven more minutes with the ball. They also had 81 per cent of the territory in the second half - and 71 per cent overall. The Cowboys had 45 tackles in the Raiders' red zone (Raiders 27, and just eight in the second half). Canberra's completion rate was a woeful 56 per cent (76 per cent for the Cowboys). The Raiders made 15 errors (Cowboys nine) and conceded more penalties (8-6).

The Cowboys produced around 630 more running metres than the Raiders (1738-1109). They made 50 more runs (173-123) and 10 more metres per set (45-35). Only three Raiders players topped 100 metres gained - Joe Tapine (130), Sebastian Kris (119) and Josh Papalii (112). Much criticised Cowboys lock Jason Taumalolo was immense (161 metres). The Cowboys made one more line break (3-2) and the Raiders made more tackle breaks (31-19). But the Cowboys were very dominant in possession.

The Raiders' kicking game did little to compensate. They put in 10 kicks for 281 metres. The Cowboys gained 371 kicking metres from 18 kicks. The Raiders defused just 29 per cent of those kicks (Cowboys 50 per cent). That's diabolical. Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad and Sebastian Kris had an off night in handling the bombs. Jack Wighton did get a 40/20, but the Raiders did nothing with it. The Cowboys forced two line drop outs, the Raiders one.

The Raiders had a much heavier defensive load, but ended with the better effective tackle rate (91 per cent, compared with 86 per cent for the Cowboys). The Raiders missed 19 tackles, compared with 31 for the Cowboys. There was not much difference in the ineffective tackles (Raiders 12, Cowboys nine). That's why Ricky Stuart was relatively happy with that aspect of the game. However, it also says something about the Cowboys' "clunky" attack. They still did enough to put 26 points on the Raiders. And four tries conceded is the defensive statistic that really counts.

Memorable moments? The Raiders scored only one try. It was an individual effort from Corey Harawira-Naera. He was surrounded by five Cowboys, but was still able to back his way over the try line and plant it. However, it doesn't really qualify as a memorable moment in my world. All the memorable moments belonged to North Queensland.

Best performers?

Corey Harawira-Naera. One try, scored all six points for the Raiders. Six runs for 53 metres gained, one line break, five tackle breaks, one offload, 26 tackles, two errors, one ruck infringement.

Joe Tapine. 11 runs for 130 metres gained, 72 post contact metres, two tackle breaks, 25 tackles.

Josh Papalii. 11 runs for 112 metres, 39 post contact metres, one offload, 23 tackles.

To be honest, I have struggled to come up with a top three.

Top tacklers: Elliott Whitehead 37, Adam Elliott 34, Tom Starling 33
Most metres gained: Joe Tapine 130, Sebastian Kris 119, Josh Papalii 112

My player ratings:

Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad 4
James Schiller 4
Matt Timoko 4
Semi Valemei 4
Sebastian Kris 5
Jack Wighton 6
Matt Frawley 4
Josh Papalii 6
Tom Starling 4
Joe Tapine 7
Hudson Young 4
Corey Harawira-Naera 7
Elliott Whitehead 5

Adrian Trevilyan 4
Emre Guler 4
Adam Elliott 4
Corey Horsburgh 6

Do you agree with the ratings? Let us know!

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Re: Through green eyes 2022

Post by -PJ- »

Just on running metres.

I was under the impression we only ran for just over 800m and no forward ran for 100m.

They were banging on about it post game.

827m said Cronk.
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Re: Through green eyes 2022

Post by greeneyed »

-PJ- wrote: March 20, 2022, 4:54 am Just on running metres.

I was under the impression we only ran for just over 800m and no forward ran for 100m.

They were banging on about it post game.

827m said Cronk.
I rely on the NRL statistics in these match reviews… unless they’re unavailable. Territory stats and tackles in the opposition 20 metre zone are taken from the Fox Sports stats. Fox Sports statistics show the Raiders made 841 running metres from 117 runs. The Cowboys 1407 from 154 runs. That’s a difference of about 550. Different statisticians, the Cowboys dominated either way. Fox has only Sebastian Kris breaking 100 metres in the Raiders team.

The statisticians revise the statistics after a second viewing. These numbers in the article are the revised, final figures. The article was initially written on the basis of the live match stats.

I often try and do the reviews the next day, so as to have final statistics in front of me. And to take the emotion out. Hopefully I haven’t been too harsh in the ratings.
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Re: Through green eyes 2022

Post by -PJ- »

greeneyed wrote: March 20, 2022, 6:34 am
-PJ- wrote: March 20, 2022, 4:54 am Just on running metres.

I was under the impression we only ran for just over 800m and no forward ran for 100m.

They were banging on about it post game.

827m said Cronk.
I rely on the NRL statistics in these match reviews… unless they’re unavailable. Territory stats and tackles in the opposition 20 metre zone are taken from the Fox Sports stats. Fox Sports statistics show the Raiders made 841 running metres from 117 runs. The Cowboys 1407 from 154 runs. That’s a difference of about 550. Different statisticians, the Cowboys dominated either way. Fox has only Sebastian Kris breaking 100 metres in the Raiders team.

The statisticians revise the statistics after a second viewing. These numbers in the article are the revised, final figures. The article was initially written on the basis of the live match stats.

I often try and do the reviews the next day, so as to have final statistics in front of me. And to take the emotion out. Hopefully I haven’t been too harsh in the ratings.
You’re doing a fantastic job GE.

We were poor across the board. Get some troops back next week, we move on.
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Re: Through green eyes 2022

Post by BadnMean »

Probably fair enough on the ratings.

Tarps tried his guts out in the 2nd half. 72 post contact metres! I know post contact metres can often be over-rated but when he was constantly digging us out of holes and dragging us finally out of our own 20, they were valuable.

At least I won't have to read anyone trying to tell me Frawley is better than Schneider anymore because of his pinpoint kicking game.

In those conditions you absolutely DON'T want to be giving away field position from 7 tackle sets and it seemed like we sent every kick dead (every kicker). Frawley's other variation was a bomb landing nowhere near deep enough. He had a really rough night.

Schneider has a chance to improve us there.

Did anyone think RIcky might stick his hand up about all the dropped balls off kicks and admit he had a centre playing out of position on the wing adding to all those drops when he COULD have picked someone who is a FB/winger with presumably hands to match sitting in #19???

I'm sure Kris was glad to get the game but he's never picked in his actual position by Ricky and it is going to affect his career. Savage also must look at that and wonder how he isn't regarded as ready for FG...
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Re: Through green eyes 2022

Post by Foal »

I really think Savage deserves a crack. CNK was awful and Schiller looked completely out of his depth.
While CNK has years' worth of quality performances, including in the international arena, to validate his place in the team the same can't be said for Schiller.
With Rapana and Cotric absent you have to wonder how Savage, despite evidently being the way of the future in our back 5, ever gets a run in this squad in 2022.
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Re: Through green eyes 2022

Post by greeneyed »

Through green eyes: Between a rock and a hard place

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Canberra Raiders coach Ricky Stuart is between a rock and a hard place right now.

He has lost his first choice hooker Josh Hodgson to a season ending ACL injury. Another one. The third in four years.

He has lost his first choice halfback, Jamal Fogarty, for half the season. Another knee injury for the club. Fogarty is still to play an NRL premiership game in green.

The Raiders had already embarked on a process of generational change this year.

But you know what? Sometimes reality bites. Reality is cruel. I'm feeling it. The club, players and other fans are no doubt feeling it too right now.

Co-captain Jarrod Croker is one of my favourite Canberra Raiders players of all time. He is struggling with a chronic knee injury and now a bulging disc in his back. He's been named for a return in NSW Cup this week. But he's also been listed as an indefinite "out" on the club's official injury list. He's on a long term deal. I'd love to see him make his 300th game and break some more club and NRL records. But if he gets back on the field in first grade he'll be doing very well. I do hope he can.

Elliott Whitehead, the club's other co-captain, is making a transition to a ball playing lock. Sort of. I'm not sure exactly where he's playing at times this year. He's also on a long term deal. But it is also clear, that after some wonderful service to our club, he cannot play 80 minutes in the era of Vlandysball.

Josh Hodgson. Apart from the legendary Steve Walters, he's the best dummy half we've seen in green. And that is saying something, as Walters was unjustly overlooked for the Team of the Century. The best hooker in the first 100 years of rugby league in Australia. At times, Hodgson was the best hooker in the NRL... even though he has never had the title of Dally M Hooker of the Year. He was playing in the era of Cameron Smith. It was a tough gig to be the best when Smith was around. He has now finished his playing career with the club.

It isn't only veterans who are missing or who have seen better times. An up and coming player like Harley Smith-Shields, who we all expected would be a first choice centre, is out for the season, with an ACL injury.

Now, Ricky Stuart has to somehow craft a team. One that will be competitive in the 2022 premiership. One that will build for the future.

After two rounds, no NRL coach can give up the ghost on making the finals, on making the Grand Final, on taking a premiership. But it sure is going to be tough now.

In my view, it is already time to focus on the future. It is the only way.

The Raiders performed poorly in Townsville in Round 2. It was an embarrassing loss. Let's make no bones about it. It was a horribly embarrassing loss. The Cowboys had won just one game in over half a season.

There were reasons. It was hot and humid and slippery. Too many key players missing. But the players who did play, many of the senior, experienced players, played badly.

And in those circumstances, I'd rather see some young players now given their opportunity. A number of players, who are still in the top 17 in this week's team to face the Titans, are probably counting their lucky stars.

Ricky Stuart seems to be conservative in bringing young players into first grade. In recent years he has made much of giving some young players a "Raiders number". But he has often given them few minutes. No real opportunity. Now is the time to be adventurous. There is nothing really to lose in the current situation.

Picking players who have repeatedly failed to hold a first grade spot... that's going to get you nowhere. Focusing on the short term is going to get you nowhere.

In my view, Xavier Savage should have had a shot on the wing in the first two rounds, while both Jordan Rapana and Nick Cotric were unavailable. I can't see how you're easing a player into first grade by not playing him when there is an opportunity to do so, a need to do so.

I struggle to see why Adrian Trevilyan finds himself in reserve grade this week. James Schiller is probably a bit unlucky too.

I don't care if Ryan Sutton has signed with the Bulldogs. He is in the Raiders' best 17 players in 2022, without a shadow of a doubt. I just don't get how he has been left out of the team in the opening three rounds. I guess pride goeth before a fall, but we've had the fall already.

I do sympathise with the coach. It is an incredibly tough job. He's mostly judged on the short term results. He's really between a rock and a hard place. But there have been some baffling team selections. Now is the time for some more serious generational change. There's really no alternative.

****

Josh Hodgson was recruited to the Canberra Raiders in 2015 from the Hull Kingston Rovers. He was 25 years old when he came to the other side of the world. He had played two games for England and just before he turned up in Canberra... broke through a door at a party while on tour in New Zealand. The video went viral.



It was blown out of proportion. But, in any case, that wasn't what Josh Hodgson was about. He showed that when he pulled on the green jersey. He went on to co-captain our club. He went on to play 138 games in eight seasons for the Raiders. He took Canberra to his heart and the Raiders fans took him to their heart.



Having been around for the 40 years of the club, I've been asked if Hodgson was the most influential player to sign with the Green Machine after Mal Meninga. I have to be honest, and say I don't think so. I say that because I think there were others who came to Canberra who were more critical, and more critical in delivering premierships.

But without Josh Hodgson, the Raiders probably don't make the 2019 Grand Final. The club's first Grand Final in 25 years. That sure is influential. There sure have been some moments.



Hodgson is in the top two hookers in the history of the club. Recently, he was rightly was selected by the readers of The Greenhouse in the best 30 players in the history of the club.

Josh Hodgson has signed with the Parramatta Eels for 2023 and 2024. It will hurt to see him play in the colours of another NRL club. My best wishes to him. I hope he and his family will come back to Canberra. He has more to give our local rugby league community. To the code in Australia. And we will be lucky to have him.

****

Every week I rate the Raiders players on a scale of 0-10... and here is the points tally after Round 2. Tell us what you think of the ratings!

Total points

Corey Harawira-Naera 14
Jack Wighton 14
Joe Tapine 14
Josh Papalii 13
Corey Horsburgh 12
Hudson Young 12
Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad 11
Elliott Whitehead 11
Matt Timoko 11
Tom Starling 11
James Schiller 10
Semi Valemei 10
Adam Elliott 9
Emre Guler 9
Brad Schneider 6
Nick Cotric 6
Sebastian Kris 5
Adrian Trevilyan 4
Matt Frawley 4
Josh Hodgson 1

Average points per match

Corey Harawira-Naera 7.0
Jack Wighton 7.0
Joe Tapine 7.0
Josh Papalii 6.5
Brad Schneider 6.0
Corey Horsburgh 6.0
Hudson Young 6.0
Nick Cotric 6.0
Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad 5.5
Elliott Whitehead 5.5
Matt Timoko 5.5
Tom Starling 5.5
James Schiller 5.0
Sebastian Kris 5.0
Semi Valemei 5.0
Adam Elliott 4.5
Emre Guler 4.5
Adrian Trevilyan 4.0
Matt Frawley 4.0
Josh Hodgson 1.0

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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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"We're our own worst enemy. The first half, I said it all week, he way we played last week, you can't turn possession over and give other teams more football than us. We played our style in the second half. We played well. They showed a lot of resilience and determination. I'll tell you, there's a lot of football teams that wouldn't come out and be able to do that. [At half time] I certainly showed confidence in the ability for us to turn it around in a few things, if we could do a few things in regards to execution, better.

We need Jack Wighton at his best, but we need everyone at their best. Stability is a big thing and I’ll repeat myself again because I’ve been saying it for the last three months... when so many people wanted to criticise Jack and bag the hell out of him. But he had five fullbacks last year, he had a number of combinations at halfback and hooker. I don’t care if you’re Johnathan Thurston or Andrew Johns you can’t play to your capability.

We’re still trying to create a bit of stability. We’ve had two different combinations already with Brad Schneider and Matt Frawley in the halves for Jack. We’ve had Josh Hodgson, Frawls, Tom Starling and Adrian Trevylian at hooker for him. As a fan or a person in the media you watch the game and you make your opinions off the style of play and what happens. As a coach you know what stability creates. When you haven’t got it, there’s always going to be a little bit of... you get clogged up. You don’t get fluency around your spine without that stability of playing week in, week out with your combinations, it’s just too hard. And especially in this competition, it's a very, very tough competition.

It's great to see the young players we place trust in, play well. We've got great trust in Matt Timoko, along with a number of our other younger players. I've got to give my senior players a rap there, because they talk to me about the players they trust. They talk to me about the players who train well and don't take short cuts and know they're going to be comfortable and trust them on the field. And I'll always take the advice of my senior players in regards to the players I've got to put beside them.

When you take off two players like Joe Tapine and Josh Papalii, they're world class front rowers. And then I can throw in Emre Guler and Corey Horsburgh, and they keep the intensity and the quality of game going forward. It's a massive help to the team. Corey and Emre over the last two years, especially Corey, they've had really, really poor off seasons, because they've been injured. They both had a really healthy off season this year, and that's what a lot of people don't see. And they're quick to criticise. But when you get a good base and a good off season, there's confidence in the individual and their talent comes to the forefront. Because they've got to be fit and healthy. The last two off seasons, both the boys have had major injuries and haven't been able to get a lot of work done.

It worked [starting Matt Frawley]. Starting Matty gave me the ability to have Tom Starling play his normal game of footy. And I thought Frawls did a really good job at the start of the game. He's been practising all off season as a utility nine, seven and six. But we've been really focusing on Matty at nine over the off season, and the work we've done there has obviously given him the chance tonight to play well. And he did, he did a job for us tonight."

Canberra Raiders coach Ricky Stuart


2022 Round 3. Canberra Raiders 24 - Gold Coast Titans 22. The footy gods were angry. And then the footy gods smiled. Perhaps that's why it was the classic "game of two halves". Late in the first half, the Canberra Raiders were down 22-0. By the end of the match, they'd scored an unanswered 24 points.

The Raiders have come back from a 22 point deficit twice before. In 2015, they trailed the Wests Tigers, 22-0, after 28 minutes at Leichhardt Oval. They won 30-22. The following year, they trailed the Newcastle Knights, 22-0, after 38 minutes at Canberra Stadium. They won 29-25 with the most remarkable of golden tries from Jordan Rapana - the result of a Blake Austin field goal attempt that went wrong. They've never come from behind by more than 22 points, to win. Last night, the Raiders equalled that feat.



Of course, the Raiders put themselves in that hole in the first 40 minutes. They continued in the vein of last week's dreadful performance against the Cowboys. There were errors galore. The Raiders turned over possession repeatedly. Repeated penalties allowed the Titans to start their sets near halfway. At times, the Titans easily rolled up field. Canberra lacked intensity in defence and attack. The right edge defence, in particular, was a problem. Jordan Rapana was supposed to play on the left, but moved to the right, alongside Semi Valemei. Valemei's defensive positioning was again an issue.

But Valemei did some good things too. Some very good things. There were some strong runs. He got the Raiders on the board, just before half time. Without that try, the Raiders ultimately would have fallen short. It would have been too big a deficit to overcome in the second forty. Towards the end of the game, he produced a stunning tackle on AJ Brimson, snuffing out any Titans' hopes that they might produce a miracle.

In the second half, the Raiders were everything they were not in the first half. It was like a light switch had been flicked. They had intent in defence. Their completions were almost perfect. Some key players unleashed.

Jack Wighton was superb. He terrorised the Titans with his running and passing. His kick chases were stunning at times. His kicking was on point, and he was often the first there to chase his own kicks. Throw in some crunching defence and it was classic Jack Wighton.

At half time, Ricky Stuart told hooker Tom Starling to "get out there and cause a bit of chaos". He sure did. The tactic of starting Starling off the bench certainly worked. It has been obvious for a long time that the diminutive hooker plays his best football when he's injected at the 20-25 minute mark. Many fans were calling for it during the week. I'm not sure Matt Frawley is the answer as a starting hooker. In fact, I'm pretty sure he's not. But last night he held down the spot for 25 minutes. It allowed Starling to produce some trademark damaging runs from dummy half in the second half.

Then there was the damaging running of Matt Timoko and the enthusiasm of Jordan Rapana. The steady hand of a two game rookie, Brad Schneider, at halfback. He didn't have the best night with the goal kicking... but he set up the match winning try and nailed the conversion that counted most, to give the Raiders the decisive lead.



As wondrous as the second half comeback was, we shouldn't forget the first half. There is clearly a lot to work on. Is the line up quite right? I'm not sure about that. There were some forwards in NSW Cup who were putting their hands up yesterday, the likes of Harry Rushton, Trey Mooney and, possibly to a lesser degree, Ryan Sutton. Jarrod Croker also made a solid comeback from injury in the reggies' win over the Magpies. The battle for first grade positions will be a good thing for the development of the team, at the least. And the manner of the victory last night will give the team a huge confidence boost, as they enter a tougher part of the draw. It starts next week with a clash with the Sea Eagles.



Stats that mattered? The Raiders completed at just over 50 per cent in the first half and conceded five penalties. That gave the Titans almost 60 per cent of the ball. It is no wonder that in the second half, it was all the Raiders. They completed 17 of 20 sets. It was Canberra that had 60 per cent of possession and almost 80 per cent of the territory. Those numbers were the key to the Green Machine's victory.

Overall, the Raiders finished with a 52 per cent possession share and completed at 77 per cent (Titans 81 per cent). It was enough. There was not much difference in errors (Raiders nine, Titans eight) and penalties conceded (Raiders six, Titans four). The possession advantage saw the Raiders finish in front in most of the attacking statistics. Canberra made more runs (175-162), running metres (1682-1403), post contact metres (600-501), kick return metres (206-118), metres per set (48-38), tackle breaks (37-32) and offloads (14-5). The Titans made one more line break (5-4).

The Titans kicked more (21-17) and made more kicking metres (570-463) - but the Raiders produced two forced line drop outs (Titans one). The Raiders' kick defusal rate was below 50 per cent (Titans 75 per cent). It did not prove to be as costly as it did in last week's game. Canberra posted a better effective tackle rate (89 per cent, Titans 84 per cent), with the Titans missing 37 tackles (Raiders 32). The Gold Coast also produced a whopping 23 ineffective tackles (Raiders seven).

Memorable moments? There were some great tries from the Raiders in the second half. Seven minutes after the break, Jack Wighton put in a perfect cross field grubber for Matt Timoko. Just four minutes later, Timoko was in again. Tom Starling produced an electric 30 metre run from dummy half before throwing a great offload to Jordan Rapana, with Rapana getting the last touch assist for the try. Sebastian Kris crossed with 20 minutes remaining - thanks to the combination of Wighton and Schneider. The cut out pass from Schneider to the winger was first class. The match winner was also set up by Schneider, his kick to the in goal just grounded inside the dead ball line by a flying Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad. It capped a second half that will now be part of the club's folklore.

In defence, I've mentioned the Semi Valemei tackle on Brimson. It certainly should be a contender for one of the Raiders' tackles of the year.

Best performers?

Jack Wighton. 13 runs for 110 metres, 30 post contact metres, one try assist, two tackle breaks, 25 tackles, 10 kicks for 278 metres, two forced line drop outs.

Brad Schneider. 10 runs for 100 metres, 29 post contact metres, one line break, one line break assist, two try assists, one tackle break, 22 tackles, six kicks for 151 metres.

Tom Starling. Eight runs for 91 metres, 22 post contact metres, one line break, three tackle breaks, two offloads, 21 tackles, 95 per cent tackle efficiency.

Matt Timoko. Two tries, 13 runs for 145 metres, 52 post contact metres, seven tackle breaks.

I feel sorry about not including any of the forwards in the top performers. Joe Tapine (145), Corey Horsburgh (127) and Josh Papalii (120) all broke 100 running metres gained.

Top tacklers: Hudson Young 33, Elliott Whitehead 33, Corey Harawira-Naera 27
Most metres gained: Joe Tapine 148, Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad 145, Matt Timoko 145

My player ratings:

Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad 7
Jordan Rapana 7
Matt Timoko 7
Semi Valemei 6
Sebastian Kris 6
Jack Wighton 8
Brad Schneider 8
Josh Papalii 7
Matt Frawley 5
Joe Tapine 7
Hudson Young 6
Corey Harawira-Naera 6
Elliott Whitehead 6

Tom Starling 8
Emre Guler 5
Adam Elliott 5
Corey Horsburgh 7

Do you agree with the ratings? Let us know!

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RedRaider
Laurie Daley
Posts: 11267
Joined: March 3, 2007, 7:02 pm

Re: Through green eyes 2022

Post by RedRaider »

I thought Tapine was worth an 8 GE. He was very good with gaining ground in both halves and was our top meter eater in total. If that offload to Rapa in the first half was not quite so hard the score may have been 6-4 in our favor and I would have asked for a 9 for Taps.

I agree with your assessment of Brad Schneider and the 8 he earned. The cut out pass to Kris and his kick for the CNK try were top halfback efforts. Two games starting for two wins. I like how cool he was, if not all of the results, with his goal kicking. He sticks with the same process and really nailed the match winning kick.
mick63
David Grant
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Joined: June 28, 2009, 5:04 pm
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Re: Through green eyes 2022

Post by mick63 »

Yes.I agree with RR that Tapine looked like an 8.
Very strong carried through the middle with many post contact metres.

And thanks for uploading the team song.
Love how Rick got in close and got involved.
Billy Walker
Laurie Daley
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Joined: April 29, 2017, 7:22 pm
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Re: Through green eyes 2022

Post by Billy Walker »

Tough game to rate. I think you have correctly ranked players according to contributions but as great as the second half was the first half stunk. Having 3 players with 8’s and an argument for a 4th seems a little high to me.

I think you have everyone ranked correctly but I’d almost be inclined to knock 1 point off every score across the board to reflect it was really only a 50-60 minute performance.
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