BY DAN

Expectations are a funny thing.

A year ago if the Canberra Raiders had put 40 on their opposition, won going away and barely got out of second gear I would have been flabbergasted. Poured the world’s biggest celebration whisky and put the happy tunes on. This game, in which they rolled through the Gold Coast Titans 40-24 with the intensity of a nauseous partygoer attacking a day-after burger, should have been a celebration. Instead the re-appearance of familiar flaws stripped the fun.

But that doesn’t make the moment unworthy. The build continues. This was a chance to get right after a loss. They hope was that it would be flawless. While it wasn’t a perfect and precise display, it was still victory. Still exciting, and still demonstrated the Raiders to be a team with vast potential. The cliche is that good teams win when they aren’t at their best. Canberra weren’t at their best and were dominant.

In a game against a quality pack the Canberra Raiders forwards were dominant. The Raiders outgained their opposition by 400 odd metres, and it wasn’t built in a few moments, but consistently, throughout the game. They routinely had the Titans kicking from their half. In contrast it seemed like Fogarty’s bombs were almost always attacking. This spoke to to physical superiority the Raider established, and maintained, throughout the entire game.

Of the Raiders starting pack only Zac Hosking and Tom Starling didn’t crack 100 metres. Joe Tapine (146m, 63 post contact), Corey Horsburgh (144m, 50 post contact) and Hudson Young (180m, 63pcm) were the best but it feels like splitting hairs. Morgan Smithies (143m, 56pcm) was more than solid. Josh Papalii had 140m in a stellar stint off the bench, and Ata Mariota ensured the momentum rolled through the rotations. They did miss Hosking as extra pace through that middle forty, but that’s the challenge of major injuries.

Offloads were a key part of this success. It’s been a big part of the plan this year, but in this game the threat was constant. 17 resulted, and each one reinforced the physical ascendancy, forcing the Titans bigs to make another tackle, make another effort. They tired, and never really were able to work their way into the game. It reminded of the victory over the Warriors in round one.

The back five also got through their share of work – all cracked 100 on the ground. It’s such a luxury. At one point late in the game we saw Matt Timoko take a dead-ruck hit up right at Tino Fa’asuamaleaui and not get dominated. That’s not something we should take for granted. Having a back five all willing and able to get through yardage work is such a boon and saviour to the forward packs’ legs.

Canberra won the battle between the 20s. It wasn’t always perfect (but sometimes it was). They threw plenty of shape, some set plays and generally made merry, particularly attacking down their right. It seems like every time Jamal Fogarty and Kaeo Weekes got working together it was downright pants-off time.

Three tries were directly from this connection. One a gorgeous set piece in which Fogarty played face to Hosking, with Weekes coming on an inside-out run-around to hit Matt Timoko on an outside-in line. Another Fogarty left it to the last moment to play out the back to Weekes. He got smashed for it, but it meant that Weekes was one-on-one with Keiran Foran who met mortality trying to chase the Raiders fullback. A further try came in the second half which looked like a training run. Fogarty-Weekes-Timoko-Savage-Timoko. It was all so easy.

It’s phenomenal to see Weekes playing such a massive role in opening up the Canberra attack. That pace on the edge is such a threat, and seeing the young man spread his wings and soar like he’s never heard of Icarus is a pleasure – both in terms of what it means for him, but also what it means for the Milk. Canberra have been so stuck in recent years, only able to shift in one direction like they’re Zoolander. Now they’re able to play tip-to-tip (no, not like that Lobby). It’s open, occasionally free-flowing and downright exciting. It’s not even halfway through the year and Matt Timoko has as many tries and more line breaks last year. So much of that comes from the way that Kaeo Weekes role shifting as second-man on the right opens up the game for him.

That’s not to say the left wasn’t having fun too. Three of the Raiders’ eight line breaks were down the left. While it didn’t result directly in tries, more than once they were just a moment or a pass away from scoring. Ethan Strange had a great game, and each week looks more and more a threat, both in pass and running situations. If I had one quibble it would that I wish he didn’t shuffle the ball to Hudson Young on the last tackle so far ahead of the line. But it still resulted in one (helluva) try in this game, so who am I to complain? Hudson Young is a genius, let the man cook.

That Young-created try was one of five kicks Canberra scored from tries and all had their charms. Only one of them was an out-and-out error from the Titans. Zac Hosking’s miraculous catch-and-offload for Savage’s first (and Josh Papalii’s try-assist) was amazing, as was Seb Kris’ tap-back to Tamale. Savage’s bomb-catch and power-run to start the second half showed how far he’s come, mixing it the ethereal talent of snagging the ball out of the air while hurtling at full pace to the line, only the turn on the power when it was needed to carry three bodies on his back to score.

The Raiders iced the game with a wall-to-wall shift left, then right, then grubber for X to score was technically from a kick, but that’s like saying the Godfather is a mob film. I mean yeah, but it was so much more. People will tell you that those tries aren’t sustainable. But they’re narcs and shouldn’t be trifled with.

That so much good happened in this game and it still felt underwhelming came from the fact that Canberra’s weaknesses came to the party. Like a drunk ex with too much to say they were just there, man. Killing the vibe. Ruining the whole shebang. The most obvious issue was the right edge. Matt Timoko got made to look silly twice – once by AJ Brimson to open the scoring in the game, later by Jojo Fifita storming past him in the second half.

Neither were only his error. On both tries inside defenders allowed Keiran Foran far too much time and space to wonder across the field and pick the person and the line he wanted to target. Getting Brimson outside Timoko meant the Raider had to put on the jets to cover across. He’s never had that pace. Then in the second half he got to choose in or out, ended up choosing air.

It’s an ongoing problem. As we’ve said before it probably won’t be fixed by personnel changes – it’s undoubtedly a team effort. But if it keeps up personnel change might be necessary, if only to throw the opposition off the scent. I hope it’s not, because what Timoko et al are doing on the other side of the ball is a big part of why Canberra are actually good this year. Regardless, it added a pall to what should have been a party.

It becomes a question of taste. Winning is the thing that matters, particularly with the chaos below them on the table. Every two points matters, and it’s not like the Raiders are unaware of the problems on their right edge. Fixing them because they’ll be a problem when you’re playing good teams in the finals is better than lamenting them stopping you from getting there. At the moment Canberra have a weakness. They are overcoming it consistently.

That doesn’t mean they don’t need to fix it. That, some discipline issues and late-set defence (they’re currently in the bottom three in metres conceded on the last two tackles of the set, per the Rugby League Eye Test). These things are fixable, and they are just weaknesses. It only feels so upsetting because it’s so visible, so obvious, that even clowns like me are wondering if we can fix it.

Ultimately the Canberra Raiders won. In the past I would have killed for a game in which their pack dominated, and they boxed an punch-drunk opposition with left and right hooks until the referee ended the match. Sure it wasn’t the joy of standing over the prone body after a perfect hook, but that’s not what May is about. Collect the wins, keep working to get better and worry about tomorrow when it comes.

Victories shouldn’t come easy and this did. There are harder tests ahead, and ones that they won’t be able to out-run their demons. But that days like this are now underwhelming only speaks to the ceiling this unit has. Having work to do is better than not. Sunshine all the time makes a desert. A few fixes and it could be an oasis and dreams.

The Canberra Raiders put forty on the Gold Coast Titans, barely broke a sweat, and it felt underwhelming.

How good is that?

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