BY ROB

The Raiders came achingly close to securing an upset to remember last round, going down 22-18 to a flourishing Doggies outfit at Belmore. That loss was a crucial blow for their finals aspirations, and it means that the club and fans can now essentially turn their minds towards 2025, even with five games left in hand this season.

There is still motivation to win – the Green Machine may not have grabbed the choccies for Papa’s 300th, but they have a chance to do him proud in front of a home crowd with favourable conditions that herald the onset of Spring (sunny with a maximum of 16° folks!)

While the Raiders themselves are unlikely to be around for September action they at least have opportunities to influence the top eight – they must face top eight sides for the remainder of the season, concluding with the currently 8th placed Dragons.

There is some hope for the Milk given that they’ve already beaten Manly once this year after staging a resilient fightback at Brookvale, courtesy of a He-has-risen style effort from Elliot Whitehead. The downside is having to do it with a slightly underdone lineup, what with Zac Hosking lasting just two games before confirming beyond doubt that his shoulder is well and truly borked.

Canberra showed improved defence against the Dogs, including some brilliant solo stuff from Kaeo Weekes. They’ll need more of that good D to contain a Sea-Eagles backline that is very capable of getting outside and around edge defenders very quickly, particularly through Turbo and Saab.

Offensively the Raiders will need J-Fog’s kicking game back at its best, given how effective it is at carving out territory for those in green. That in turn requires some better organisation on tackles four and five so that Jamal has time and space to strike his kicks properly.

Changes

The demise of Hosko’s shoulder triggers yet another shuffle. Simi Sasagi joins the bench, but more sensational is the axing of Danny Levi, whose island appears to have been wiped away by a tsunami. In his place comes Adam Cook, who acquitted himself quite well at Belmore. Ethan Strange is back from his weird one week of limbo.

The Opposition

Manly currently hold a comfortably defensible position in seventh spot, courtesy of 10 wins and a differential of +93. They’ve recently put the patchy Knights to the sword and will be extremely wary of the Raiders after the round nine upset. A Raiders win won’t boot them out of the eight, but it will give them food for thought.

Match-ups

Kaeo Weekes vs Tom Trbojevic

Weekes continues to warm to his current role as custodian week on week, and this round he gets a chance to face off against the talisman of his former club. If the Raiders can pop him through a gap he can give the Manly defence numerous headaches. Tom Turbo remains one of the most lethal fullbacks in the NRL, and given how often he shines against Canberra every effort should be made to contain his running game.

Ethan Strange vs Luke Brooks

Canberra’s running six up against Manly’s more organisational pivot. Strange should be raring to go at home in the sun and could prove to be a point of difference out on the edges, both in attack and defence. Luke Brooks has a new lease on life, and while he may not be the strongest runner of the ball he makes up for it with balanced passing and kicking skills.

I think we can safely put Rookie Radar to bed for the remainder of 2024, unless Stick suddenly decides to blood a newby with just 4 games after this one.

In Conclusion

With the pressure of making the top 8 receding (like my hairline) we can expect the Raiders to maybe unleash a bit more razzle in attack. If they’re gonna go down they might as well go down swinging.

Raiders by 8!

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