BY ROB

Summer is on the downhill run. The hours of daylight are slowly ebbing away again, taking with them the sound of leather on wood. The Australian Open is done and dusted, the Super Bowl settled for another year. There’s still basketball being played, but for those of us in the antipodes it feels like we might be running low on sports.

Striding out of the halcyon summer haze comes Rugba Leeg. Suddenly there’s a flurry of activity on the schedule: Round 1 of pre-season trials along with the Indigenous vs Maori All-stars game (both NRL and NRLW editions).

The Raiders meet the Eels for their first shakedown in 2024, both teams looking to either maintain or reestablish credibility heading into the season proper. The Raiders have been popping up in spoon conversations the last few weeks, whilst the Eels will be keen to return the 8 and stay there until finals.

Changes

Perhaps the most overblown observation of the offseason is the departure of Jack Wighton. MSM voices bray that his absence will be a spanner in the works, but that (as we so often point out) is because they didn’t pay the Raiders and Wighton much attention in 2023. What looks like the loss of a marquee player to outsiders feels like a revitalisation to everyone in green (but not cardinal red). In fact with the exception of Fogarty there’s upheaval across the Raiders spine.

Chevy Stewart has been handed the fullback role, while fellow contender Xavier Savage must make do on the wing. Kaeo Weekes pairs with Ethan Strange in the halves, meaning we’ll get to see both possible candidates for 5/8th straight away. Zac Woolford gets the starting hooker honours, with the captaincy as an added bonus.

There’s a host of senior players absent, but even if they were available they’d almost certainly be rested. Kris and Horse are still seeing out suspension, while Taps, Raps, Mooney and Timoko are away for rep duties (Hohepa Puru is too but if he wasn’t he’d certainly be in the team list). Papa and Smelly aren’t to be wasted on frivolous trials, as we need them in working order for the season proper.

The Opposition

The Eels spent 2023 drifting in and out of form, never quite finding that groove that took them to a grand final the year prior. Both they and the Bunnies will be striving to reassert their top 8 status of recent seasons and Brad Arthur will be looking to his depth players and rookies to show that they’re capable of keeping the ship afloat when resources are stretched during the season.

Like Canberra, Parra have put forward a list dominated by rookies and recruits, sprinkled with a few senior forwards for direction and morale. Ethan Sanders, currently the object of Canberra’s love letters, is the Eels 7 for this game, meaning the Raiders could have the pleasure of being wrecked by someone who may well be joining them in the near future.

Match-ups

Strange vs Sanders

Canberra’s possible future #6 faces off against the Raiders possible future #7. Strange is still in that quantum state where he could become either a genuine centre or five eighth, with both his burgeoning skill set and available roster space contributing factors to where he winds up playing. Sanders meanwhile is a halfback designate, his rise only curbed by senior players occupying his future role. Raiders fans will be salivating over the idea of a livewire Strange partnering a maestro Sanders in green, somewhere down the line.

Saulo vs Lane

I was going to pick Guler for this match-up, but given the news of Pasami putting pen to paper, and his (slightly shorter) similarity to Lane I went this way. Canberra’s decision to retain Saulo shows that he’s contributing enough to be considered a key part of the engine room as we move into the next era of the Raiders forward pack. Lane, meanwhile, has really begun to put his mark on the Eels edge, both in defence but more importantly in attack, where he’s learnt how to use his towering frame to pry open gaps between opposition defenders.

Rookie Radar

Strange, Savage, Stewart, heck just chuck all of them in there. Yes I know that both Strange and X have already tasted first grade but given how brief those moments have been this feels like the year they arrive properly. Stuart will be looking for players who hit cues and tick boxes, rather than just putting on a bit of sizzle.

In Conclusion

Trial games, the most meaningless of matches that are also somehow a preview of what a team can maybe do later in the year. Please refrain from throwing remotes and just sit back and watch what these young Raiders can do.

Welcome to footy 2024!

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