BY DAN

Round one is finally here, and the Canberra Raiders have given us what most would expect as a starting point, with one exception: it’s Owen Pattie time.

As we’ve said for much of the pre-and-trial season, it seemed from the outside at least that Pattie was ready for more responsibility. Stick praised his creativity and ability around the ruck. He actually called it craft, which implies a maturity and experience in how he plays. He’s got a good running game and a great kicking game. The only question was going to be his ability to fight the good fight defensively. Hookers are the target for as many runs as possible, and usually by the biggest and meanest pricks on the field. Even experienced hookers tire from the work. This is effectively a decision that he can handle that load, in whatever role the club is envisioning.

Kudos to Stick for not shirking the decision. We’ve critiqued him in the past for being too conservative with his decision making but this is anything but. There’s been a lot of made of ‘if he’s ready he’s ready’. Stuart is usually a good judge of this in the past (Ethan Strange and Nic Cotric are good examples). Regardless this is a decision laden with risk that the Raiders’ abject desperation at the position has played as big a role in ‘pulling’ Pattie into the side as his skills have pushed his way there. Stick could have played it safe and pushed the problem out until it was beyond certain. Instead he’s embraced uncertainty like a long lost buddy (or like two mates in a lift?). Will it work out? We’re about to find out. Let’s just hope the two curves of need and skill meet in a moment of equilibrium.

In that regard if there’s a good hooker to pair him with it’s Tom Starling. He’s possibility one of the few hookers in the game who wouldn’t find the conditioning or defence needed for an eighty minute effort too much. He makes 50 tackles a match look easy. While Pattie will likely be given the middle forty of the match, as per the first trial, if he can’t make the distance Starling is well within his capabilities to expand his minutes.

It’s a big risk and people will be holding their breath. So much has been made of Pattie by the club, the media, and the fanbase (and us) over the last twelve months that it’s hard not to overweigh the importance of this game. Pattie is, or will be, good enough. We need to be wary of turning Sunday into a referendum on his worth to Canberra’s future. The Raiders have other rakes coming through if Pattie doesn’t work out, and we’ve been hurt before (Travis why did you never become good?). But Pattie has such potential, both for now and the future of the club.

While the only ‘surprise’, Pattie isn’t the only debutant with Savelio Tamale winning the battle for the first up wing spot. Tamale is a powerful runner, but he’s also got a clean wheels. As we’ll point out later in the week, in any other team of recent years we’d consider a pacey option, but suddenly he’s the ‘slow’ one in the back three. It will be interesting to see if he (and the other Ferraris) can be used on the narrow Vegas field. He surprisingly struggled in yardage in a few moments in the trial match. Now he knows what power he needs to bring.

Nicholson’s non-selection will miff many (including us). There had been much recognition of the work he’s put in by Stuart during the off-season. This included how much his body had changed. Evidently there’s work to be done before he’s playing first grade. In the role we expected for him will instead be Simi Sasagi. This is also a recognition of how Sasagi he’s come over the last 18 months in his transition from centre to backrower. It looks like he may rotate with Zac Hosking (as we had suspected Nicholson would) through the right edge and the middle. I’m curious what happens if either of them get to 13, or more accurately if either play as a third middle. Will that open up the game at all by bringing pace to the middle, or will the middles wilt?

I’m also curious to see how the Morgan Smithies and Corey Horsburgh split minutes. Naming both of them in the starting line up means one will come out at 20 or 30 minutes, and one later. I assume Stuart wants to spend much of the game with at least one of them on the field for defensive reasons. But how much will they play together? In support Papa starts off the bench, alongside Pattie and Ata Mariota, who won the ‘next’ over Trey Mooney and Pasami Saulo. That’s quite a large rotation to bring on through the middle forty. It’ll be interesting who of Horse, Smithies or Sasangi/Hosking spends most of it alongside them.

It’s also nice to see Huddo and Smithies there after smiling and hugging (figuratively) for the cameras this morning. Let’s hope they put as much energy into the game as they did into their inflatable bats last weekend. But let’s forget the noise and support the boys (said unironically). This is a big game for the club, but even bigger for Owen Pattie, and his fellow debutant in Tamale.

Green light, now begin.

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