BY DAN

The Canberra Raiders 22-16 victory over the Penrith Panthers didn’t matter because it’s a trial. When it’s second string against second string there’s a limit to how much you can extrapolate from a game. But it did show that today will be better and tomorrow could be amazing. And for now that’s enough to be pleased.

Trials are usually meant to be scoured for a sign that things will be different this year. Small sample sizes stripped of all context, moments given weight they don’t deserve. The outcome of a few rucks being proof or otherwise that everything is fine, not, or somewhere in between. So we enter the waters of looking at this game for hints as to what might come with that in mind. This is one piece of data, with at least 25 more pieces to follow this year. But right now it’s the only one we have.

And from that we are happy. The Raiders team wasn’t their best. It was, as Coach Stuart points out, a project for the future. Of the players that started the game, you would be surprised if anyone but Matty Nicholson or Pasami Saulo was a starter in week 1. All we wanted to see was the this next generation (and the next, next generation) is ready, and that the Milk’s systems seem functional enough. Maybe even a little bit innovated, if we could be selfish.

What we got was a mixed bag. With the wet, and the fact is was the first outing of the season, the Raiders took a while to get into the game. They weren’t losing the battle in the middle (they weren’t winning it either) but they were dropping a fair chunk of ball at inopportune times. The upshot of that was that they were doing a lot of defence, and not as much attack as we’d hope. For the majority of the first half their opposition had 66 per cent of the ball. The Panthers were tackled 16 times in Canberra’s twenty before the Milk had a ruck in anger. At half time Penrith had 48 play-the-balls on the fun side of halfway. The Milk had only had 26.

As I said that came mostly from Canberra’s doing. Adam Cook and Manaia Waitere had errors early on. Jed Stuart gave away a penalty on an attacking kick. There was one of them newfangled play the ball turnovers from Bert Hopoate. Simi Sasagi dropped it on a shift. Ethan Sanders got done for a crusher, and Jed Stuart knocked down a pass when the attack nearly got around him. And that was only the first twenty minutes.

The good news is that the Raiders defence held strong. They didn’t look powerful or physically dominant in the middle but they maintained their discipline. The Panthers won enough space through the middle to be able to test their edges, but the systems held strong there too. Matty Nicholson provided a heap of help outside in, and was still able to provide inside shoulder support for Adam Cook. He got through 31 tackles in the first half, and generally looked like he belonged in the NRL. I don’t know if he’ll be the starter for week one but he’ll be close. On the occasion that the Panthers were able to get outside the defence the cover came strong.

It was pleasing if not perfect and it helped keep the Panthers scoreless for nearly 35 minutes. It took the mass substitution of the kids in the back fifteen of the game for the defence to ever feel precarious. In previous years the best of this defence has come from turning up the effort to 11. But this felt slightly different, more built from smart decisions that the chaos of overwhelming force. Ferocity and effort is a week-to-week thing. But more discipline in their structures? That’s a far more sustainable approach. We’ll see if that’s a moment or a method.

No better was this displayed than through a try saving tackle from Chevy Stewart on Jack Cole attacking the line in the 15th minute. Canberra hadn’t had the best of the set, with the Panthers relentlessly attacking their left edge (where Ethan Sanders was defending). That was their favourite place to go for a quick ruck and space to test back on the right. On this occasion it had worked a treat. The defence had been dragged to the Raiders left, and Cole attacked the line on the other side with numbers outside him. Stewart was *meant* to panic and overrun Cole as he stepped inside the young fullback. Instead Chev saw it for what it was, made the tackle and killed the play. It was a mature defensive decision made by a player with a calm mind. And it wasn’t the only such decision in the first sixty-five minutes.

When they got over dropping the ball the attack had some green shoots, more to do with personnel than any grand change in scheme or structure. They still worked through the middle, and largely relied on offloads to get a chance to attack a broken or stretched defensive line. There were moments were they shifted with more freedom than they have in the past, and good things came from that. I enjoyed some short-side raids, where it felt like their first receivers were infinitely more direct than they’ve been in the past. And they certainly shifted more directly and with greater precision than in the past. But if there were improvements in the attack it felt more to do with the people doing it than any innovation to the approach.

Indeed as always with this era of Milk, it was still birthed from the middle doing good things. Matty Nicholson did work on that side of the ball, and Michael Asomua and Bert Hopoate had big yardage runs. Asomua in particular ran angry, and nearly always got post contact metres. Ata Mariota didn’t come on until twenty minutes into the game but he looked fucking hot man. Forget my pre-game concerns about him even being named for this game, when he stepped through the line and went twenty plus metres before Owen Pattie’s first try it was like seeing the future and present at once. That’s what we’ve been waiting for. I hope we get more of it.

It was all supported and reinforced by the work of Owen Pattie. Pattie was everything we’d hoped, as far as one can be at this level. He looked immediately comfortable at the ruck, providing quick and quality service. The Canberra middles enjoyed worked around him. He immediately threatened with both feet and with casual deception the like of which hasn’t been seen from a Canberra nine since…oh lord let’s not put that on him. Yet.

He also kicked well, defended stoutly and scored two tries. One was opportunity strikes when a grubber bounced oddly in the rain. Another was an intriguing decision to take on Brad Schneider and Mavrik Geyer hanging out at at marker and A defender on the goal line. He should have been taken, but he was stronger, lower, and outmuscled them for the try. In the moment I thought it was a poor decision. But the mix of grunt and intelligence he displayed to get to ground made me think he has a greater understanding of what he’s capable of, and different view of the risk ratio.

Of his spinal colleagues, Chevy Stewart was the other who was most impressive. He attacked the line with pace and deliberateness. He looked better than the competition particularly when getting the ball at first receiver and being afforded a modicum of space. If last year’s efforts had worried you that he might be more hype than quality, this will quieten those thoughts. He looked dynamic, agile, like he might break the line at any moment. He made many good runs, and his line-break one-pass off the scrum was the instigator of a try and also the quickening of this lonely man’s heart.

Ethan Sanders and Adam Cook also did an admirable job steering the side around the park. Cook seemed more consistently involved and kicked brilliantly, but Sanders was the more threatening. His willingness to attack the line set up the first try (for Simi Sasagi). He showed quick hands to move the ball to Cook for the kick that became Pattie’s second try. On both occasions his willingness to dig into the line was a breath of fresh air. It’s been a moment since Canberra halfbacks routinely did that. Sanders did get tested in defence though. As we noted earlier he was the mark that the Panthers went searching for at the start of sets. You can have one of him in a defensive line. But it suggests he’s best placed as a half alongside Ethan Strange than instead of him.

As to what this all means for this year only time will tell. One night of good defensive structure and clear and dynamic attack from a glorified NSW Cup team isn’t going to change the likely outcome of the season. We’ll get another view of what this might mean on Thursday. But this was as much about winning as it was a proof of concept. The talented group on display in this game was about showing today has aspiration and tomorrow has beauty. This is as much about whispering to us to step away from the ledge. There is hope. There is a future. Something to believe in. This game gave us a little proof that is true.

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