BY DAN

Five years ago the Canberra Raiders stood on the precipice of greatness.

This in itself was an achievement. The expulsion of literal decades of demons, a moment to stand in sunshine and be grateful for being given the chance to take on the world.

They didn’t win, and you didn’t need to be reminded of that. At the time it felt like maybe this was the start of something. But a myriad of problems intervened. Peter V’Landys broke the game and Canberra were slow to adapt. Too many things broke. Josh Hodgson’s knee, Jarrod Croker’s everything, BJ Leilua and Ricky Stuart’s relationship. George Williams and Ricky Stuart’s relationship. John Bateman’s attention span. Another preliminary followed, and the returns since have been on the downswing of the rollercoaster.

Smarter people than us recognised the rot before we, or even the club did. I remember the great Jason Oliver of Rugbyleaguewriters.com saying that the Raiders’ window had closed after the 2020 preliminary. I didn’t want to believe him but he was clearly right. The end was already beginning, with the Raiders settling into their more normal ‘let’s be part of the 7-14 group’ fighting for a spot in the 8. That they’ve nailed two of the subsequent four years is a good return, if broadly in line with historical averages. But it’s not what we’d hoped for (even if we *knew* better).

The point of this is less to do with telling you the Raiders aren’t near the grand final right now. Just as we didn’t recognise the window had closed at the end of 2020, there’s every possibility that while the next 12 months are likely to feel as far away from a grand final as they have at any point, there’s a plan, and a greater-than-zero chance that we’re already on the upswing.

But it is about recognising that these moments are fleeting. Greatness isn’t promised to anyone. The Panthers have already earned their spot in history by winning three on the trot. A fourth would put them in the discussions with any side in the history of the game. All 116 years of it. A Storm victory would cement Craig Bellamy in the same space, able to win grand finals across a 17 year stretch with vastly different teams, dramatically different styles of play, and against the best team arguably to ever do it. There’s plenty at stake.

But more purely than legacy grand finals are a moment. A time to embrace what has achieved already and what might be possible. Legacies are made but just as likely windows are closed. Ask Kevin Walters. Today isn’t permanent and tomorrow is coming like a freight train. Take a deep breath because this is going to be big.

I love rugby league.

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