BY DAN

Go fuck yourself fate because I hate you and all that stand with you.

Sorry, you should probably know that it looks like Zac Hosking will be out the rest of the season after re-injuring his shoulder in Sunday’s loss to the Dogs. The Raiders will be hoping he can recover but as pointed out by NRL Physio things do not look good. The short version is that re-injury after his previous issue usually means season over.

Fuckn sigh.

Stick did talk about it in the post game. He seemed unsure what it would mean, other than to note Ata Mariota and Simi Sasagi were first cabs off the rank to provide support should Hosking miss games. But with the above advice from the Raphael of reconstructions we might be about to put a red line through the new recruit. For this year at least.

It’s a shame. Prior to his first injury Hosking provided great output on the right edge, the reintroduction of a dynamism in our ball running there that threatened to open up the game for Jamal Fogarty and Matt Timoko. He hasn’t quite reached those levels in his return but that is more about opportunity than any specific issue. Canberra had won both games he played big minutes in, and the flexibility he allowed them both in their edge and middle rotations was not a small part.

It raises a few questions going forward. Most immediately is who fills in for him, firstly on the edge, and secondly in the 17. These two might not be the same. The most likely outcome is that Elliott Whitehead goes back to wearing himself out with eighty minutes of pain on the right edge. His efforts through the middle and the back end of this season has been noteworthy. He did a fine job on Viliame Kikau, and I’ve no doubt he’ll pull a similar effort against the Sea Eagles.

In the short term though that compounds an issue of how Canberra manages Morgan Smithies’ absence. He does a lot of the defensive work in the middle, along with Tom Starling. Whoever replaces Smithies (be it Corey Horsburgh, Emre Guler and apparently not Hohepa Puru according to Stick’s post game comments) may need to provide a similar role without the benefit of Whitehead spelling them.

One option will be to bring in further backrow support on the bench. Simi Sasagi comes on for 30, Smell spells Horse (probably) for 20, and we hope for the best. Sasagi isn’t the defensive maven that Whitehead has been. Ata Mariota could do the same thing but that feels like an overly complicated approach that might weaken two positions to half achieve one set of ends.

The other option is to pick an out-and-out middle at 17. Picking someone like Emre Guler on the bench with Mooney and Mariota would create a massive rotation, which is something Coach Stuart has leaned into on occasion. It’s a risk in that it means the team will definitely roll when it has the ball. But it does expose them defensively. When you have someone like Tommy T lurking around the ruck it’s enough to make you nervous.

Of course I’d love Stuart to pick Hohepa Puru, or find a more useful way to utilise Danny Levi (or his position) rather than just saving him for garbage time. But it makes me feel unheard when I voice my needs like this and Stick just ignores them. Smithies should be back the week after, so this problem is reduced if not eliminated then. But Hosking’s absence will still be felt in the bones of Elliott Whitehead, and Tom Starling’s terrified face should an outside back go down.

There’s a longer term question here too. Matty Nicholson joins the club next year and his role is unclear. While one might’ve assumed Zac Hosking would get first crack at the position, barely getting through eight games in a season isn’t going to bed down the role. I’m not suggesting this can’t be managed. For starters we’ve proven this year depth at the position is critical. Hosking can play multiple positions across the backrow and with Corey Horsburgh and Puru potentially departing the club there’s a need for someone to cover 13. Morgan Smithies might continue to improve but he can’t be the only option there. Entering the offseason with a bit of uncertainty isn’t insurmountable, and with Nicholson arriving that was going to exist to a degree anyway. But in an ideal world we’d have greater clarity of what we have, if not for roles, at least for recruitment and retention purposes.

Alas it’s just another challenge that the Raiders have to overcome this year. As we noted in the review the season stands on an edge. Having all hands on deck would be a baseline need in order to make an unlikely push to the finals. Instead, miracles or medical malpractice aside, it seems they may have to do it without Zac Hosking.

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