BY DAN

A real concern for some fans after the naming of Canberra’s team for round two was the lack of out-and-out middles on the bench. With Joe Tapine’s absence Morgan Smithies has moved (back) into the starting line up. On the bench is Ata Mariota as the only recognised middle. Alongside him is a young hooker, a debutante backrower, and a utility player most recently lauded for his ability to cover outside back positions as well as halves. In short the Raiders are Mooney-less. I repeat, subject is Mooney-less.

It’s a far cry from what we’ve been used to in recent years. Canberra to a large extent have bucked the trend to bring in more ball-playing and agility through the middle rotation. In 2024 Morgan Smithies was the third big, alongside the likes of Tapine, Papa, Mooney and Mariota. In 2023 it was Corey Horsburgh in that role. Adam Elliott before him was the ‘small’ among the man-mountains manning the middle ground. In short the Raiders have been hefty hefty hefty.

So safe to say it surprised a few people when Matty Nicholson and Simi Sasagi were both picked on the Raiders bench. Neither are out-and-out middles (though Coach Stuart says Nicholson has the abilities and physique to handle that load). Most expected Trey Mooney, or Pasami Saulo, to get a shot in the first grade side. But yet the club went hooker, backrower, utility, and just one middle on the bench.

Is this a deliberate new strategy? Are the Raiders trying to embrace small-ball belatedly?

A hint has been offered in both games Canberra’s men’s teams have played this season. In Vegas Owen Pattie came on in the 62 minute. Normally one would think that would mean an early shower for co-rake Tom Starling. Instead the sterling starter came back on and ended the game at 13. An anomaly, sure. That was my thought at the time. Then in NSW Cup Danny Levi spent an inordinate amount of time playing a similar role. Shaun Packer came on, and Levi stayed, often taking the ball at first receiver, adding some variability and agility to an otherwise massive Canberra pack.

If this was just a moment in one game for Starling I would have not paid much attention. I’m a big picture guy after all. If it was just Levi doing it in Cup I would have assumed it’s a way to expand his role so he’s getting enough minutes in case they need him in first grade. Combine the two though and a fella can be forgiven for starting to wonder things.

Look it’s still a small sample size. Two games isn’t enough to tell a story. It seems that Canberra may be expanding their approach to one less reliant on size. One that’s comfortable with a backrower or a utility or even Tommy playing as the third middle. At the very least the Raiders may be abandoning the rigid ‘three props and your mum’ on the bench.

That means a few things. It might mean a more expansive footy style, one less reliant on kicking the front door down and more akin to sweet talking your missus. Show her Ethan Strange two wide from the ruck setting up Matty T. She’s only human (I don’t know what that means either).

It also means big minutes for both Pattie and Starling. Starling can hack it because I think he might be able to play 80 minutes did you asked him. He’s solid. He’s a strong defender. He leads the line and takes the metres offered. I wouldn’t like a system that had Levi in the role – the defensive challenge in first grade would be too much for him, at least from what he’s shown prior to this season.

But with Pattie in tow it doesn’t have to be. It will be asking the young fella in defence. With Tommy in the line he’ll become the focus for big running middles, only there will be less people there to help. But if it works he’ll have someone at first receiver who will always be energetic, able to go with him if he spots somewhere to run.

The risk of leaning into a kid coming into his first season of big boy football is real. Somewhere along the line he became more exciting than truth, beauty and a picture of you. You might say you can’t weigh twenty minutes of football too heavily, which is fair. But the club has been talking this up for some time. They’re all in publicly, and this change might suggest they’re putting their game plan where their mouth is.

It’s worth not getting carried away. I have a feeling I wrote this article either last year or the year before (survey says….2023). There’s every chance this was a momentary adjustment to circumstances that won’t be much more. Even if it is, Starling playing 6 minutes as an extra forward isn’t a substantially new or different idea on its own. In the past it’s been deployed as a duct tape or a bulldog clip to problems without the time to properly fix.

But combining that with a host of agile and utile options on the bench makes it worthwhile considering whether the Raiders have made a stylistic move.

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