BY DAN

The sun rises in the East. A man opens his heart to the new day, stares out into possibility and feels the warmth course through his veins. He clears his throat. No one believes, just the way he likes it. His knuckles tighten. He is ready to fight.

***

Some people avoid confrontation. Ricky Stuart likes nothing more than a scrap. Sometimes too much, even when there’s no need. Given the choice between a fight for $50 and $500 for free, Stick will be walking away with a pineapple and a bloody nose. For better or worse the Canberra Raiders have taken on this philosophy as a team. Forget being willing to fight, in recent years Canberra have sought them out. Bring the wind. Bring the rain. The Raiders don’t want pleasant weather. They’re Lieutenant Dan screaming at god. Gimme what you got.

It’s not a foolproof plan. Sometimes they fight when they don’t need to. Sometimes when they shouldn’t. More than we’d care to admit they fight with themselves, a self-defeating dance in that is galling and enthralling at the same time. On those days, in those moments, you can see them wrestling with the anguish, the ire pointed at themselves like Travis Bickle. When it’s pointed outwards it makes people believe silly things like ‘it’ll be fine, our winger will kick two field goals’ or ‘we’ll just hold out the soon-to-be-four-time-champs for most of the game and win with an intercept’. It comes from a sense whatever being least likely, becoming most likely. Way too often it does.

Not many outside of Canberra are in their corner. You could probably make a team-list out of the ex player media types that have tipped them for the spoon. Last year that led to them proclaiming their views on the wall. It was a generic statement because if they were specific they’d need a bigger poster.

One of the reasons people don’t rate the Raiders this year is because they think this attitude is personnel based. That with Jordan Rapana and Elliott Whitehead leaving that there’s no one to take the mantle of getting shit done. That’s fair to an extent. Jordan Rapana never met a a tank he could cavalry-charge at, a windmill that didn’t look like a dragon. Elliott Whitehead’s resolve was quieter, but no less robust. Give him a hardhat and a pasty and he’ll come back covered in soot.

But this underestimates how much of this fight is built into the soul of this side because of who Stuart is. It’s the most pervasive aspect of their play. That’s a good thing in a sense. It ensures a floor that most don’t understand. Canberra are underestimated, the ‘go to’ spoon team for people who have never got their heads around the benefits of being the craziest person in the fight. And they thrive on it. Just last week Joe Tapine told the Canberra Times proving people wrong is the best feeling. Jamal Fogarty noted that when the media rule them out, it ‘fuels the boys’. They love the mud.

It’s also a ceiling in a sense. It’s been years since they were as stylish or cohesive as other teams. Not even good ones. At times Canberra’s attack looks like it was built from off-brand lego while the league is trotting out the real gear. They seem incapable of doing the things other teams take for granted. It takes minor miracles sometimes to overcome that. It shouldn’t take landing on 21 to win every hand. Not every discussion should require a fight. What if they just solved problems like adults?

If Jordy or Smell aren’t there to make miracles happen there’s plenty ready to take the mantle. Hudson Young has already had plenty of moments winning games he shouldn’t have (who doesn’t win games by their second-rower grubbering for themselves? We can do it with prop too if you want?). Mentally he seems shinier than Smell or Jordy. Craziness with a charming smile – which is a weird thing to say about someone twice done for eye gouging. Ethan Strange has a bit of this about him too (shouts to Harry for putting this in my mind). Crash through or out. No in between.

Regardless of how people think this team will go this year there is one thing you can guarantee. Teams will hate to play them. They will fight and claw and scrap. Any day against them will be annoying, fraught with defensive wounds and confusion as to how they keep getting away with it. Because while they don’t have a structured attack, while they may not have a functional defensive system, they do have an inbuilt desire to brawl and it starts with the coach.

***

Ricky Stuart will stare out the competition again this year. A cold Canberra wind will remind him he’s alive. He clears his throat and admits to himself this season will be hard. He knows he doesn’t have enough to win it all. But for every bloody nose his boys get, someone is getting a black eye.

He’s never felt so alive.

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