2024 Round 4 v Sharks: Teams and Previews *Teams p1

[gangrenous]

Certainly grinds me

[Ruben Daley]

I may be wrong but I think Ricky will bring back Hoppa when his burns heal but will drop him for Schiller/Chevy/Asomua later in the season. And next year when Rapa’s spot frees up, it’ll be one of those other guys taking it.

Ricky is slow. So very slow. But I think he’ll get there on this one.

[Regs Revolution]

Savage 2024 is night and day compared to Savage 2022. Scrap 2023 cause there’s no real evidence but his game has come a long way since he spent time in firsts.

[greeneyed]

Canberra Raiders recruits flying but keeping Corey Horsburgh hungry



Corey Horsburgh is doing everything right in his bid to get back into Canberra’s 17 but with new recruits Morgan Smithies and Zac Hosking doing no wrong, the Maroons forward has been left to bide his time in NSW Cup.

“It’s definitely a big confidence booster, but I’m still well aware that if I have one bad game, there’s other people that can play that position as well,” Smithies told media on Wednesday. “So it means a lot but I'm well aware that in this competition, you've got to play well week in, week out. I’m happy I’ve been thrown in like I have, it’ll only make me better as a player and that’s the job I want to do for the team, but it’s up to me to keep that shirt."

Read more: https://www.nrl.com/news/2024/03/27/rai ... gh-hungry/

[Billy Walker]

I’m not uncomfortable with the situation with Hors. He is a very good footballer and was outstanding for us at the start of last season. I think he has a bit a maturing to do and I’m not entirely convinced he takes his conditioning as seriously as he should. I suspect he will fight his way into the 17 but it’s a good thing that that is the expectation. Smithies is offering plenty at 13 and any way you cut this pie there will be good players is NRL cup.

[LimeGreenMachine]

How are we not favorites for this match let alone big under dogs?
If we play how we have been this should be another 13+ victory and there is no indication that will change.

[Botman]

I may be wrong but I think Ricky will bring back Hoppa when his burns heal but will drop him for Schiller/Chevy/Asomua later in the season. And next year when Rapa’s spot frees up, it’ll be one of those other guys taking it.

Ricky is slow. So very slow. But I think he’ll get there on this one.

100% agree, once Chevy is ready he’s probably out and by this time next year he should and imo will be a complete afterthought

Asomua, Schiller, Chevy are going to come over the top and solve this situation sooner than later

[RedRaider]

Savage 2024 is night and day compared to Savage 2022. Scrap 2023 cause there’s no real evidence but his game has come a long way since he spent time in firsts.

I reckon that's expected Reg. In 2022 he was a young fast teenage footballer with a damaged shoulder. Now he has had 2 more off seasons to build his strength and bulk. He has been through some life experiences (a broken jaw will do that) and come out the other side. He is still just 21. He has that wonderful asset of pace and now with growing maturity we are seeing some polish added to his talent. Those tackles last weekend showed both commitment and ability to get the job done. I am a fan and look forward with anticipation every time the ball goes to him.

[pickles]

Anyway, back to this week's game... I quite like this team, seems to me like Sticky is slowly inching towards the best team, this is our best one so far.

Intriguing to see if Hoppa will indeed come straight back in when fit, and it will also be nice to finally see the forward pack and bench get sorted out too, but I guess it's one week at a time, right?

I think Hoppa is a serviceable winger but just doesn't have the strike that you need to be a quality NRL centre. He works pretty hard out of our end taking tough runs, defends reasonably well and finishes reasonably well. He's not the kind of winger who is going to feature in highlight reels but that can be ok. I like Schiller and hope he goes well.

The forwards are trickier. Beyond the competition for prop rotation positions and minutes, which is an excellent problem to have, the real sticking point is Whitehead and how Sticky fits him into the team. This is mainly a problem because Hosking and Smithies have come in and absolutely killed it over the first few weeks. I doubt anyone could have predicted just how well they would start the season so that is a massive positive. It just makes it awkward when your captain covers those positions.

I'm ok with Whitehead being in the team but for mine he is best used off the bench where is able to cover backrow and lock and not have to play big minutes and if naming him i the starting line up and then reshuffling on game day is what keeps the peace then that's fine by me.

[pickles]

I may be wrong but I think Ricky will bring back Hoppa when his burns heal but will drop him for Schiller/Chevy/Asomua later in the season. And next year when Rapa’s spot frees up, it’ll be one of those other guys taking it.

Ricky is slow. So very slow. But I think he’ll get there on this one.

100% agree, once Chevy is ready he’s probably out and by this time next year he should and imo will be a complete afterthought

Asomua, Schiller, Chevy are going to come over the top and solve this situation sooner than later

There's a tricky balance here as you don't want your first grade squad nervous that if someone puts a couple of good weeks together in Cup then you'll be out the door while also giving players who are killing it in cup a chance to show they can carry that form into the NRL.

It's definitely a big step up and there's very few players, regardless of their cup form, who step up and kill it immediately and raiders history is littered with players who we thought had a lot of potential upside and never translated that into actual NRL form and results.

[Botman]

Depends on who you are and what your standing in the team is.
Do you want Joe Tapine thinking he'll get demoted to NSW Cup with a few so-so performances in favour of a **** hot few weeks of Mooney? No.

But Saulo and Guler should absolutely be fighting for their spots week to week to hold off the guys in Cup.
Same with Cotric/Hoppa and that entire argument... Should Matt Timoko be feeling threatened by Schiller/Asomua's excellent form in cup? No. But Albert Hopoate isnt close to being the level of player and nor is his current form good enough to hold a mortgage on a position in this team. But for now i am resigned to the fact Hoppa is out of this team only via injury and he'll very likely come back into the team irrespective to what Schiller does with the opportunity. That's just who Stuart is as a coach and who he's always been. And that IMO would be a mistake. If Schiller performs well, he should retain his spot in the team and then it is up to others to unseat him.

But this a short term problem. At some point this year Chevy is going to come into the team and he's going to be given plenty of rope when he does. I dont think Stuart is going to pick him and then drop him 3 weeks later unless it's truly horrific and unplayable ****.... that's going to push Rapana to wing, and one of Hoppa, Kris, Timoko and Savage is going to go
Easy decision.
Long term replacing Raps, i understand what you're saying about the league being littered with juniors who had promise and never able to step up. To my view Hoppa is that (albeit really not his fault), he's stepped up so far as to say he's a decent back up... so Asomua and Schiller dont have a high bar to clear. And i am extremely confident they can clear it.

And hopefully if/when they do Stuart lets them run with it.

[greeneyed]

MATCH PREVIEW: Raiders v Sharks: viewtopic.php?t=36044

https://www.raiders.com.au/news/2024/03 ... -v-sharks/



Raiders feature as part of new NRL Coin set: https://www.raiders.com.au/news/2024/03 ... -coin-set/

[Finchy]

If Rapa didn't miss 5 seasons of footy between 2009-2013, he could be playing his 350th game by now. Then again, perhaps his hiatus protected his body, giving rise to his current longevity.

Not many outside backs still running around at 34-35 and delivering much quality footy. Rapa is a beast.

[Ruben Daley]

If Rapa didn't miss 5 seasons of footy between 2009-2013, he could be playing his 350th game by now. Then again, perhaps his hiatus protected his body, giving rise to his current longevity.

Not many outside backs still running around at 34-35 and delivering much quality footy. Rapa is a beast.

Yeah, could have some try-scoring records too with more years in his 20s.

But I think the break is probably why he’s still going now. Not to mention how it probably helped him appreciate being a pro footballer.

[pickles]

Depends on who you are and what your standing in the team is.
Do you want Joe Tapine thinking he'll get demoted to NSW Cup with a few so-so performances in favour of a **** hot few weeks of Mooney? No.

But Saulo and Guler should absolutely be fighting for their spots week to week to hold off the guys in Cup.
Same with Cotric/Hoppa and that entire argument... Should Matt Timoko be feeling threatened by Schiller/Asomua's excellent form in cup? No. But Albert Hopoate isnt close to being the level of player and nor is his current form good enough to hold a mortgage on a position in this team. But for now i am resigned to the fact Hoppa is out of this team only via injury and he'll very likely come back into the team irrespective to what Schiller does with the opportunity. That's just who Stuart is as a coach and who he's always been. And that IMO would be a mistake. If Schiller performs well, he should retain his spot in the team and then it is up to others to unseat him.

But this a short term problem. At some point this year Chevy is going to come into the team and he's going to be given plenty of rope when he does. I dont think Stuart is going to pick him and then drop him 3 weeks later unless it's truly horrific and unplayable ****.... that's going to push Rapana to wing, and one of Hoppa, Kris, Timoko and Savage is going to go
Easy decision.
Long term replacing Raps, i understand what you're saying about the league being littered with juniors who had promise and never able to step up. To my view Hoppa is that (albeit really not his fault), he's stepped up so far as to say he's a decent back up... so Asomua and Schiller dont have a high bar to clear. And i am extremely confident they can clear it.

And hopefully if/when they do Stuart lets them run with it.

It definitely seems that this year there is plan to rotate the middles over the course of the season to manage workloads and fatigue which seems smart given the pace of the game which will hopefully see Mooney given a taste of NRL to see how he handles the step up. There seems to be a general consensus that it takes around 50 NRL games for players to really find their feet in first grade so it is hard to know where the balance lies between giving people a chance who make take a season or two to really hit their straps and sticking with players who may be closer to that point.

It's very rare for players to come into the NRL and have immediate impact. Hopoate has around 35 first grade games so should be starting to hit his straps and at this point his highlight reel is pretty thin. I certainly hope that some of the younger guys can come over the top of him, especially in being damaging runners in yardage sets which is something we are behind the best teams in the comp at the moment.

There was a period of time where the Raiders stank and bringing in juniors was like sheep to the slaughter and it probably killed some promising careers. I feel like our younger players are being brought through pretty well at the moment and that more of them are finding their feet and becoming genuine NRL players which is a good sign. There's also been plenty of seasons where there was no one pushing the top team for their positions so this is much better problem to have.

[radicalraider]

Schneider was great last night.. did pig-headed ricky stuff up again.. he looks to have more potential than fog.. another one bites the dust...

[LimeGreenMachine]

Whitehead ruled out

If it hasn't already been mentioned

[Beejay]

If big red is in on the bench that would be amazing

[Botman]

Whitehead ruled out

If it hasn't already been mentioned

Oh really?

[LimeGreenMachine]

Whitehead ruled out

If it hasn't already been mentioned

Oh really?

NRL Physio just posted it
Calf injury , doesn't know severity or if it's a re-injury

[Dylan’s Raiders]

COME ON DOWN TREY MOONEY!

[Finchy]

Ah yes, as predicted the old "calf injury" struck again. Ironic it was the same same "injury" that took Hodgo out when he was with us.

Saves face dropping the captain.

[dubby]

COME ON DOWN TREY MOONEY!

He was named 18th man, so I assume he'll be named. Or maybe big red.

[Dylan’s Raiders]

I trust Physio but no idea where he found it - can’t see it anywhere

[IBG]

I actually hope it's Mooney rather than Horse. I just want Mooney to establish himself - Horse will come in for Saulo at some point I have no doubt.

[LimeGreenMachine]

I trust Physio but no idea where he found it - can’t see it anywhere

Yeah I've just looked too. He's usually on the money with his stuff.

[Dylan’s Raiders]

I really hope they get Mooney in and then re-sign him in the coming weeks. I can cop losing Puru (although I would rather not) because we have really good lock options with Smithies and Horse. I haven’t see enough of him at 9 see whether he can develop into a better option then what we have but he is versatile enough to plug a hole during the game.

Anyways, raiders 13+

[Mickey_Raider]

Do I need to feel guilty for the way that I feel when I read the headline “Whitehead ruled out”

[Dylan’s Raiders]

Also, whether it’s Horse or Mooney, this will be our strongest line up of the season which is exciting.

[Botman]

He’s got contacts. He doesn’t post unless he’s got it squared away so I think we can take that at face value

It certainly will be interesting to see who of Mooney or Hors comes in. Hors is a SOO rep and played excellent last week, probably offers a touch more versatility but Mooney’s last two weeks of cup have been as dominant as you play at that level

“sometimes you're 2-3 injuries away from being a good team”

[LimeGreenMachine]

Whitehead out, Hosking to start, Horsburgh in



Raiders captain Elliott Whitehead has been ruled out of an Easter Sunday clash with Cronulla due to a calf injury. The experienced backrower’s withdrawal will prompt the return of Raiders front-rower Corey Horsburgh.

Horsburgh is expected to be added from the reserves to the Raiders bench with Zac Hosking promoted into the starting side to cover the loss of Whitehead on the edge.

Read more: https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport ... 5a241ae89f

[Botman]

Do I need to feel guilty for the way that I feel when I read the headline “Whitehead ruled out”

Yeah it’s tough.
I’m looking forward to EW retiring, so I can go back to having nothing but positive responses to hearing his name

[LimeGreenMachine]

Hosking is a better player than what Smelly is right now. This will improve our side.
Smelly has been fantastic for our club , champion.

[The Nickman]

Boy, I’m even more excited for how the team is going to line up on Sunday now! And I’m sure I’m not the only one who actually hopes it’s Mooney instead of Hors who comes back in?

Big Red will be back, there’s no doubt, but Mooney needs his turn now.

[IBG]

Ah well there you go, Horse in.

Mooney in for Saulo and it would be our best possible team IMO. (I like Saulo btw, underrated defender, but Mooney deserves his shot)