By Dan

Zac Woolford is leaving and I’m really sad.

It’s not a surprise. Woolford had wanted to leave the club at the end of last season only to have it rejected by the club. Like Nic Cotric he’d spent most of the year in NSW Cup, a place now so full of players being moved on (Schiller, maybe Hola, maybe Guler, perhaps Puru?) that it felt more French Foreign Legion than Raiders pathway. But we’d hoped against hope that he’d find a way to stick around. Alas he’s gone to search for better work.

He came to the club in 2022 and was the shot in the arm a moribund offence needed. With him at the helm Canberra showed the only period since 2020 in which they’ve had an effective offence, scoring near 27 points a game down the stretch of that season. But then they moved on to Danny Levi for reasons none of us continent dwellers understand, destroyed Zac’s confidence and submerged him in Cup footy, barely to be seen in the top line again.

It could represent a clean out for the club at the position. They’ve reportedly given up on Danny Levi, and there’s no word as yet as to whether Adrian Trevilyan will have a contract for next year (though we think he will). The path is being cleared for Owen Pattie, who has impressed coming through Flegg and Cup in a season, but it’d be an optimistic person to expect him to contribute substantially in first grade next year. If Woolford and Levi both go then the Milk will need a serviceable, experienced rake able to inject a bit of width to the attack. You know, like Zac.

I’m glad for Woolford though. While I think he’s good enough to play NRL if he wanted to stick around, his lack of athletic pizzazz means he’ll always be grinding to keep a spot in a top 30. That’s not a criticism – Zac is unquestionably a first grade quality player. But it seems clubs are reluctant to stick with people because they’re good at footy. They need have an athletic point-of-difference too. It doesn’t help that Woolford is built more like a powerlifter than a whippet; unfortunately clubs want their hookers to look a certain way (do not take this sentence out of context I beg you). It’s only a one-year deal reportedly, so hopefully that means he’ll be back in the top line as soon as someone comes knocking. And given the paucity of first grade quality hookers I reckon that’ll be sooner than we realise.

He had some great moments for the Milk though. That first game against the Dogs Sharks at magic round demonstrated not only his ball playing ability, but also his excellent decision making capacities, tearing a 30m gash in the Dogs middle to set up a try. Much will be made that he wasn’t a runner, but he did run, and only when he absolutely needed to and it wasn’t keeping good ball out of the hands of the halves (unlike another player, we’ll call him Danny L for privacy…no wait, D Levi). Canberra’s attack flourished with him at the helm in 2022 because he knew exactly who needed to get the ball and when.

As you would no doubt know, we’ve always been in his corner. His passing and creativity from the ruck is something the Raiders have only found in him since Josh Hodgson left the club. We’ve seen how the attack has stagnated over the last two years. While not the only reason, Woolford’s ability to provide width direct from the ruck has been a key factor in the Milk’s inability to get wider than first receiver. I won’t say the Raiders will miss it on the field, because they so rarely let him on there. How about they *should* miss him, kinda like your mate that’s never eaten a vegetable?

It’s a miss for the club. In that they stumbled into a first grade quality hooker and then managed to mess that up. They put him in the depth chart behind a player that his abilities far outstrip. Then they stopped him from getting a first grade deal at another club, only to bury him in reserve grade and burn his market to the ground. Now he’s leaving the NRL altogether, presumably in search of the security the Raiders stripped him of last off-season. It just makes it sadder they did this to Raiders royalty.

He deserves better. And hopefully he gets it in the Super League. For now at least, Zac’s time with Canberra comes to an end. Go well Zac. You deserve the best. You certainly gave the Raiders yours.

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