BY DAN

The Canberra Raiders were an arrow scything through the air, relentless, decisive, and fast. They were too quick to get a hand on. Too powerful to get in front of. Any time they met flesh they won the battle. The blood drips from the Broncos tonight because of this. If the rest of the competition wasn’t paying attention they are now. The Canberra Raiders are sharp. They are dangerous. They are a serious football team.

Their 32-22 victory over the Brisbane Broncos was built on intensity and severity. A swiftness. Attack the heart of the beast. Do it with ferocity. Do it with pace. They didn’t win because they were stronger, though a lot of the time they were. They didn’t win because they were fast in the big spaces and ran around their opposition. They didn’t need to and only occasionally tried to. Instead they mostly attacked directly. Between the tram lines. Big men running fast, constantly changing direction in big and little ways, shifting the point of attack. Making defenders make multiple efforts. Winning rucks with their feet and with their bodies. Creating chaos. It’s repeatable. It’s sustainable. It’s exhilarating.

It started with the big guys. Corey Horsburgh (13 hit ups, 124m) made the entire defensive line work to get him down, stepping in, out, and around the standard three-man-front he would face. He created a try for Matt Timoko basically by being too hard to tackle. Josh Papalii (13 for 131m) was also brilliant, but in more subtle ways. It was quick feet in the line, getting between defenders, turning one good run into two by the mayhem he created in the ruck. Combined with Zac Hosking (17 for 149m) darting through the middle like a dog in search of tennis ball, what used to be lumbering is suddenly dynamic.

If the middle scattered the horses, then the attack utilising the edges terrified them. They were cutting, fast, confident. Coming outside in, the sharp diagonal of the arrowhead tearing between the flesh of the opposition. Seb Kris ran fast and powerfully at the Broncos right edge. He created one try for Big Papa off a kick. He also created one for Savelio Tamale on a short side raid. In more than those moments he looked unstoppable. Running face first towards the opposition, stepping off both feet. Even when they did tackle him it always seemed a surprise.

Matty Nicholson tore into the left. His line off Jamal Fogarty for the Raiders’ first try was so fast, so powerful, so perfectly timed and executed it shocked. A shooting star lighting up the night. We all marveled. When have the Milk ever run something so simple yet so perfect? It’s been a while. But when he hit that ball it was the gust of wind that swallows the arrow. I gasped. You did too. Then came the screaming. He did it again a few minutes later, running a more workmanlike line of Tom Starling.

And when the middle weren’t creating second-phase chaos, or the edges tormenting their opposition with power and pace, Tom Starling was doing fascinating things. Look, let’s be frank. Tom is never going to be Cam Smith. But he plays to his strengths, and his willingness to take running opportunities that present and to lead the line in defence is only part of his charm. It’s exciting to see him take risks. More than once it ended with him standing holding the ball like he was standing at the urinal. But another time he recognised a matchup on the short side on the goal line, gave Seb Kris the ball and said ‘cook, my guy, cook’. On another his grubber hit legs and he picked it up and wandered in. Two risks and two tries. Can something be risky and smart at the same time? This was.

That we’ve named names so far feels counter to the completeness of the performance. Pick your player and I’ll tell you the good things he did. Hudson Young’s 150ish metres and 35 tackles were exemplary. What he does every week should not be taken for granted. Savelio Tamale isn’t perfect yet but also is constantly threatening. Kaeo Weekes is a half break away from a blinder. Matt Timoko takes every dirty carry and doesn’t seem to resent the opportunity. Jamal Fogarty orchestrated this game like Christopher Tin.

That everyone is thriving speaks to the effectiveness of the approach so far. Play direct. Win second phase play. Target the edges outside in. Pace, agility, ferocity. Decisiveness. There’s a clarity and confidence in what they’re doing. Everyone knows the plan, agrees on the read. Spots the same opportunity and reacts with the same urgency.

It’s a fun environment and a functional game plan. It’s not just defending their ass off and playing smart. There’s a risk to it, and Canberra are making more errors. They’re also trusting players to play what they see – like Owen Pattie kicking early for a near 40-20, but they’re backing that man – like the ferocious chase that followed so when the ball didn’t go out, the defence ensured the turnover. They’re creating second-phase play, half-breaks, line breaks. Opportunities, man. It’s confident. It’s brazen. It’s beautiful.

It’s not perfect and it’s not complete. It’s a long season and Canberra still have things to work on. The initially subdued nature of celebrations made me wonder if they think so too. They weren’t able to create anything effective in shape or structure. Sometimes they tried and ran into the jam. Sometimes the ball got stuck at the ruck as Tom Starling would stand still, like a stunned solider waiting for the war to land on him. Everything was predicated on changes of directions inside the jam but they couldn’t get outside it with ease.

Some of that is due to the intent that the Broncos tried to jump the route so to speak. Matty Timoko never got the ball without something shading his outside, same for Ethan Strange. But also it’s because they’re still not perfect, still searching for the exactness needed to be a proper contender.

Their defence is also improved, but still needs work. The last twenty minutes they were hanging on and scrambling their heart out. Under fatigue they could no longer hold the door as Payne Haas went on a solo mission to kick it down. He had seven offloads, five in the second half, and nearly all creating chaos as the compressed middle meant the edges got stretched. The last quarter was a bumpy ride.

Against any team that’s a risk. Against a team with smart ball players finding Selwyn Cobbo, Reece Walsh and Deane ‘Grand’ Mariner lurking it creates near impossible problems for edge defenders to solve. Jesse Arthars made Bert Hopoate look silly more than once. The Raiders left was so under siege we were a few minutes from Erika Eleniak bursting out of a cake. But when the Broncos got on a roll they never gave up, making them extend plays in order to see if they had the precision to complete the task. More often than not it ended with Reece Walsh looking like the Trae Young of Billy Slaters.

It’s a way of beating Canberra, and good teams will find ways to be able to win that middle quicker, and test those edges earlier, than the Broncos did in this game. Or maybe they won’t be able to. Maybe this line speed will hold up, meaning it takes someone of the quality of Haas to actually worry them. Wouldn’t that be fun? And while we worry about the last quarter, we should remember Canberra held a Broncos middle with Payne Haas and Pat Carrigan at full tilt practically dormant. They did it while Stuart curiously held Corey Horsburgh, so dominant of both sides of the ball, out of the last 30 minutes of the game. They did it without Joe Tapine.

I know, I know. It’s two games. We should all keep a cool head and a calm heart and wander into the next battle hardened not hearty. But geez, when you’ve seen the things we’ve seen you’re allowed to live in the moment. Carpe the flipping diem my guy. Let’s all be like Elton John and be a rocket, man. I’m gonna be hiiiiiiiiiiigh tonight.

What’s exciting isn’t the two wins. It’s the way they’re coming. This is the kind of footy we’ve watched other teams play for years and wonder why our BBQ didn’t look like advertised. Now they’re doing it to teams, leaving good teams gasping and confused. Sure they need to get better. But if this is what they roll out each week it’ll be pretty fun.

Canberra will go back to work, sharpening the point, so to speak. Two wins isn’t a season. But wins like this can make them. The Canberra Raiders are an arrow hurtling through the air. If they keep playing like they did in this game, I pray for the people that get in the way.

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