BY DAN

After a loss like the Raiders had on Friday it might be hard to find silver linings. Canberra were courageous, but outplayed by a better side. They played both to the best and worst of their ability, revelling in both the dauntless task that faced them and the fact that their biggest obstacle to victory was themselves. It was, in short, a very Raiders Friday.

Add to that on-field basket the fact their next opposition is suddenly looking sharp, and the Raiders could have found themselves in not quite a hole, but perhaps an uncomfortable ditch after this weekend, chasing a group of sides that took two while they went the other way. Nothing but pressure would be the result, and the world around the Milk would get a little hotter.

That pressure still exists, but a little bit of heat got let out of the cooker. The performance of the clubs around the Raiders this weekend was about as well suited to the good guys hunt for a top 8 position as could be hoped. The Storm – equal with the Raiders on points – lost to the aforementioned improving opposition (the Knights), a team unlikely to make the finals no matter what they do. The Sharks, a possible candidate to drop out of the finals race capitulated at home to another also-ran team in Manly. The Eels lost to the Cowboys, which given they have a draw as challenging as me staying within a word limit was another victory for the Milk.

Having said that the Raiders still need wins. A loss on Friday was expected but it’s hard to not notice that the manifestation of it made the whole situation feel a little more volatile. Almost like the tiny bank that collapses before the big one causes the financial crisis, it had a strong warning sign feel to it. One would hope the take away from the team and the coaching staff was that progress made over the bye requires further work.

We didn’t see that message in the post-game press conference on Friday. Stick was more keen on railing against rulings. That’s ok. I’ve always felt with Sticky these are one part a performance for the benefit of Graham Annesley and the ghosts of referees future, and a bit of how I would react in the same situation if someone shoved a microphone in my face at the same point of the night (I was yelling similar things to no one in particular in the pub I was at). Messaging to the players happens behind closed doors, and on the training park. We don’t always know how honest he’s being away from the prying eyes and spin of the media.

Still, I wouldn’t mind a bit of small tip of the hat and some reassurance that the club thinks it’s on the right path to improvement. What we have at the moment is a single data point and it would be nice if the club feels there’s a trend ready to emerge. While the effort against the Warriors was hardly anything approaching a good performance the issues that have existed in recent weeks didn’t seem anywhere near so treacherous. They lost this game on moments and isolated errors rather than what had previously felt like a structural weakness. As weird as that sounds, if that’s right, then it’s a good sign. There’s a small improvement required between a kick being directed properly. That’s one person doing one thing slightly differently. There’s a much bigger challenge in fixing the actions of an entire edge, or the completeness of an attacking formation.

While their competition ensured the situation wasn’t worse on Monday than Friday, that doesn’t mean laurels can be used for a bit of shut eye. The need to find wins at the back end of the season still exists, and the Raiders are still a team with some glaring limitations and a ever-dwindling amount of time to address them. They need wins to make to ensure a place at the table, and improvement to make sure they do something with it.

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