BY DAN

As mythical coach Tony LaMotta would tell you, the Canberra Raiders are in hell right now.

The last two weeks are one of the darkest periods in recent Raiders history. I’d put it alongside the hell of the opening of 2018 and the turmoil of 2021 as periods where things have felt hopeless. Not in the calamitous sense of the word. But in the yearning, the tearful, the desperate sense. The Canberra Raiders are in hell right now but it feels like there’s no way out.

Two losses that were embarrassing and exposing. The revealed a truth hidden until now by the smoke and mirrors of effort and moments of individual brilliance competence. Canberra’s new clothes have been revealed to be hatless. I repeat, suspect is hatless. While there is some saving grace in the output of a young team learning, it’s hard to maintain that facade when you realise they were substantially more experienced that their counterparts on the weekend, and the architects of their demise weren’t the youth for the most part, but often the very people they are to be learning from.

Whatever thoughts you had of fixing this imperfect period it probably started with having all hands on deck. But the Raiders are likely to unable to muster even than small victory. In a vain attempt at grounding a Rapana grubber as Canberra searched for points late against the Tigers, Matt Timoko dislocated his shoulder, put it back in again, and played on. Doing that when the game is up for grabs would be courageous. Doing this while the rest of the team basically vomited in its own lap is borderline insane. We can do little but salute the man.

The problem of course is that depending on how the scans play out (or played out, like Britney I’m always last to know), it could mean a range of time out. The hope is that the damage isn’t substantial and that Matty T won’t miss a huge amount of games. We’ll have to wait and see. But he’s been one of the Raiders best all season and not having him will make it harder.

Nic Cotric too finds himself likely to miss some time with an injury. He too soldiered on from an ankle injury that looked painful, risking his next contract for a hopeless cause. Say what you will about Nic, that is another display of toughness we can do nothing but admire. That he turned in a limitation like an ankle made of spaghetti into a pretty good outing all things considered is an even further testament to the man. Add to that pile that with all the contract noise floating around it’s probably a pretty stressful week and well, it’s as plucky as it comes.

The solutions are likely to be straightforward. Albert Hopoate and James Schiller are next in line on both depth charts. Schiller’s *still* dominating Cup footy, and while he had some mixed outings earlier in the year in first grade, he continues to prove he’s ready for the level. He had a try in NSW Cup on the weekend where he basically took the ball up the middle for a 60 metre try. My couldn’t the top line use that now.

Hopoate doesn’t offer the same game changing ability but he does offer a hard-working floor. When you’ve been in a toxic relationship maybe a bit of stability is what you need. He’ll do his work in yardage, finish short range movements if offered to him, and generally stay out of everyone’s way. Right now not taking things off the table feels like a win. There is a possibility where Stuart’s dual horizon sees him move Bert into the centres and Michael Asomua to first grade (deservedly) for the first time. Given how Schiller’s been going in Cup it feels too cute by half for me. But no day surprises like the next for Raiders’ fans.

Canberra also have the bad news of continuing to not have Corey Horsburgh or Pasami Saulo available. The scuttlebutt is that Horsburgh has damaged his groin in his ongoing quest to make annus horribilis seem like a goal rather than happenstance. Saulo’s recovery from a back injury continues to make slow progress. Even if he were healthy this week it would be weeks before he was fit enough for first grade. The Raiders could desperately use the offerings of both right now. Alas the injury god is vengeful and smitey.

With the ongoing absence of Fogarty and Hosking too it puts the Raiders in a decidedly ‘dance with who brung ya’ situation. They’re in a mess of their making, and with two noticeable absences, can only dig themselves out. It’s time to clean up the mess they made, straighten their new pants and find a bin for the bag of unspeakable crud they’re holding.

The Canberra Raiders are in hell right now, believe me. And they can stay there and get the shit kicked out of them. Or they can fight their way back, one inch at a time. That’s what Tony LaMotta would say.

The only question is where to start?

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