BY ROB

It feels like only yesterday that we marked the occasion of Croker’s milestone 300th game with a desultory loss to the Warriors in freezing conditions in Canberra. Fast-forward a few rounds and the Raiders now hop on a big jet plane to make one of the tougher journeys in 2023 – a trip to Mt Doom Smart stadium.

The Raiders and Warriors are in some ways on a similar part this year. Both are exceeding expectations, albeit in vastly different fashions. The Raiders are almost Mr Magoo-like, consistently bumbling their way to narrow victories despite all odds. The Warriors meanwhile are a dark horse resurgent, success coming off a fresh injection of squad culture and cohesion, along with input from new coach Andrew Webster.

This could actually be the smokey blockbuster of round 21 – teams 4th and 5th going at each other in what are forecast to be cold, wet conditions. In good news for the Raiders the Warriors have struggled in the elements at home this season. Given that they play an expansive, quick shift style it’s no surprise that lack of both ball grip and sure footing can hamper their attack.

A conservative battle through the middle should help level things for the Green Machine, but they still need to be on top of their ball discipline – completion rates will be at a premium in the wet.

With Origin finally finished the Raiders can finally name what is arguably the best 17 they can muster, and thankfully Sticky has seen promise in loading the bench with three forwards and a backup hooker. He’ll need to be sharp with bench management to stop the Milk falling into a fatigue slump, particularly around the ruck.

Team list thoughts

As mentioned above it’s arguably the best 17 Canberra have, which means they all need to front up with a full 80 minutes of effort. There are a host of youngsters shining bright in NSWcup and poor performances at this point in the year may see older legs getting rested if they can’t keep up.

Match-ups

Jamal Fogarty vs Shaun Johnson

The Fog has been a revelation for the Raiders in ’23 – a sensible and creative #7 with a sharp boot on him. The Raiders attack better when he has the wheel and they need to make sure he has space and service on tackles 4 and 5. Johnson remains one of the game’s most skilful conductors, capable of pinpointing weaknesses and exploiting them for maximum profit. The Raiders need to be extremely wary of his plays inside their 20m zone.

Predictions

If the forecast holds up and delivers a wet weather grind then Canberra may be in with a chance. If a dry track eventuates we could be in for a painful game – the Warriors have eviscerated the Eels and Sharks in successive weeks.

Raiders by 4 in a cold close game!

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