BY DAN

For a few years now Chevy Stewart has been held up as a beacon of hope: a marker of a future Canberra Raiders outfit untethered from the pain of the past and free to embrace new possibilities. Like Dewey said, the future is now. Stewart has been named to make his debut this week.

It comes, like all news related to the Raiders, with a healthy share of melancholy. Jordan Rapana has injured his MCL. The Canberra Times has reported he’s had fluid drained and it’s likely an MCL injury will keep him out for some time. Life is cruel, pain is forever, glory is a myth bestowed on the unworthy. The best people never get what they deserve. I doubt this is the last we’ve heard of Rapana. He will play footy again because if he doesn’t it’s because the sun hasn’t risen, the world has stopped turning and Justin Hawkins no longer believes in a thing called love. But if it is then we’ve seen one of the greatest ever Raiders do it. Mama, there goes that man. Update: the club says 6-8 weeks.

Rapana’s injury has fast-tracked an elevation of Stewart that most had assumed would occur later in the season, but it’s not the only factor. I’m certain the length of Rapana’s injury played a factor, moving ‘week-to-week solutions’ we’d canvassed out the door and requiring something more substantial. If this goes well Jordy’s return might be on the wing.

Stuart’s unusual willingness to embrace change is also undoubtedly influenced by the performance of the team more generally, and that of Xavier Savage more specifically. Whereas once the idea of carrying him and Chevy in yardage would have worrying, the Savage has shown such maturity and effectiveness in the fundamentals of the game that it suddenly feels less risky. Whereas once it may have felt dangerous to have a host of young players catching high kicks from opposition halves, the performance of Savage in particular has shown there’s less to worry about.

It’s hard not to think that Ethan Strange’s rapid development is important here too. Whereas in recent years many (including us) have been critical of the club’s willingness to push young talent through, this year seems a different proposition. The performance of young players like Strange but also Savage, Schiller and Smithies in their forays in first grade this year has undoubtedly provided a bit of confidence that they are ready. As if to underscore this, Stuart has finally named Trey Mooney on the bench also (courtesy of Big Red’s groin issue that will also keep him out 6-8 weeks). For now, we breathe.

As importantly Stewart has manifested much of his promise in Cup footy. As we’ve noted a few times he’s an electric ball player at fullback (two tries and three try-assists already this season), and offers many of the best skills that Rapana can offer ball-in-hand. In NSW Cup he chimes in as a second-man on sweeping movements and at first receiver in short-side raids, making excellent passing decisions and ability backed by faster feet than Fred Flintstone (sixty year old reference! Contemporize man!) He built a good connection with Savage and Strange last season, so could well build on that. He has an error in him but so does the man he’s replacing. He’s got a quality short kicking game and good instincts in following ball-players. He’s not ‘Savage’ quick but he’s not short of wheels, and he’s willing to do work in yardage (154m a game).

There are things he won’t be able to do as well as Rapana. He’s just not the physical presence that Jordy is because he’s still a child and only 89 kilograms. It means that while his exit set work is eager it won’t be as effective – until he learns how to use his feet and his head to get between bigger defenders like X has taken on board this season. In Cup this season he’s shown willingness, good instincts and technique in defence that aren’t always matched by a physical ability. Occasionally he’s not quite where he needs to be for kicks. He’ll also need to tell grown men where to be in the defensive line and trust himself to get that judgement right. It’s a lot to ask of an 18 year old. But these are all things that will be mended by the passage of time.

There are those who will argue this is a good game to debut in but I don’t really subscribe to that view. The Titans haven’t been good this season but this is the NRL. Even the bad teams will still require you to cover Mo Fotuaika when he comes steaming at you at ‘A’ defender on the goal line. Kieran Foran will test if he is in the right place for every kick, and lord help Chevy trying to help bring down a rampaging David Fifita.

It’s exciting. Stewart, along with Ethan Strange and a host of other players, represents a new wave of Canberra talent. Chevy and his brethren have the potential to be elite, to be the harbinger of a new era in which the Milk ascend to the top of the pile buoyed by the impertinence of youth. Strange was first. Stewart is now. The new era is here. Go well young man.

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