BY ROB

Two weeks ago we cheered as the Raiders ran roughshod over an inept Warriors outfit in Vegas.

One week ago we smirked as the Broncos handed the Roosters a round one pasting.

The smirk didn’t last long however, as we quickly realised that the Raiders would be hosting that rampant Brisbane side in round two.

While it’s true that Canberra potentially has a friendlier path through the regular season it’s not without its perils, and there’s nothing more perilous than a Broncos outfit champing at the bit.

The Raiders will have to tackle this herculean task without captain Tapine and speedster Savage. Joey Taps will be cooling his boots for two rounds after he flattened Mitch Barnett with a blatant shoulder charge in round one. Savage will miss Saturday’s clash after dangerous contact on Luke Metcalf post-kick.

Sticky is of course forced to shuffle his list: Papa shifts to starting prop alongside Horse, with Smithies at lock. Matty Nicholson gets his first cap with a spot on the bench, while Albert Hopoate takes up Savage’s spot on the wing.

Stuart has tried to balance his bench accordingly, with a hooker (Pattie), a 2nd-rower/prop (Sasagi), a 2nd-rower (Nicholson) and a prop (Mariota). Brisbane has the same template, with a slight advantage in the mountain-like form of Brendan Piakura.

The brains trust at the Sportress suspects that Stuart might be planning for containment of the Broncos pack, in particular Carrigan and Haas. Haas was near unstoppable against the Chooks, either tearing upfield through the middle or on one occasion taking a leisurely stroll across the defensive line before setting an attacking play in motion. Without Taps besting those big boppers will be nigh impossible, so look for the Raiders pushing up quickly on the edges of the ruck in an effort to keep the Steeden restricted to the middle corridor.

The good news for the Raiders is that their defence looked pretty solid in round one (caveat: defending against a lacklustre attack on a slightly narrower field). Round one showed us what happens to teams who haven’t practiced defence in the off season: they get mauled. Not only do they need to contain the middle, they must also keep a sharp eye on Brisbane’s (quite frankly) electrifying backline. The Broncos launched multiple long-range attacks on the Roosters, with a majority of them ending with tries.

Attack-wise Canberra are starting to have options. Fogarty kicked exceptionally well against the Wahs, and you can bet he’ll be launching aerial raids on Saturday. If the Raiders can apply the right kind of pressure on kick defusal they’ll increase the chances of a Broncos error in the red zone.

The running game attack is going to require some proper thinking, as the Broncos won’t just part like the Red Sea. Offloads were a successful tool for them in round one, although they did get a bit loose at some points. If they can target these second phase plays with a bit more precision they should be able to draw in multiple defenders leaving the Bronx exposed on the flanks.

Fans expecting a boisterous win, or even a narrow victory, should temper their expectations accordingly. Round two is Canberra’s only clash with Brisbane, and if they can get through it with minimal damage they’ll be all the better for it. Some people think this might be a cynical, pessimistic take, but low expectations are the path to amazing surprises.

In Conclusion

Having said all that I’m obligated to provide you with a positive outlook, so let’s say that the Green Machine will sneak home in front of an adoring crowd.

Raiders by 2!

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