BY DAN

The Canberra Raiders are likely to be without Tom Starling this weekend. He was charged by the Match Review Committee, and the offering of one week with a guilty plea seems the most likely outcome.

It speaks to how far Tom has come this season that this feels like a substantial blow. Starling has been a huge part of the Raiders’ surge this season. A downhill runner, he’s taken advantage of, and reinforced, the good work done by the middle in attack.

In defence his ability to not be a target is a huge part of how Canberra’s defence functions. It’s such an advantage. For most teams their front-line spine is where attacks send their waves. Get a half in a tackle, win the ruck, go from there. Having Starling in the front line (along with Ethan Strange) changes that equation.

Without him the work rate of Corey Horsburgh, Morgan Smithies, and others, will only increase. A weekend after the middles all made huge amounts of tackles, this is hardly a good thing. But Canberra will have to make do. We’ve said it a lot this year, but that’s what good teams do.

It does of course mean the return of Danny Levi. I expect him to start – not because I expect him to play 50 plus minutes as Starling does most weeks, but rather to save Owen Pattie the damage of the first rotation. Levi would (finally) be performing the role he was (should have been?) brought to the club to perform; a perfectly adequate third string replacement nine. He’ll run well behind this line – with more regularity than Starling though less impact. He’ll create and provide better service. His defence won’t be as good; that’s both about his relative skill set and also Starling’s strengths. But he’ll do a job. I am not worried about Danny Levi.

Then come 30 minutes or so I would expect Owen Pattie to come on. That’s exciting. Anyone with two eyes knows how good this kid could be. His kicking, his running, and his creativity and service are all top notch. He’s still getting used to the rigours of first grade. His longest minutes output this season is 29. So expecting him to push 60 out to the rest of the game doesn’t feel realistic. But maybe loosening the chain a bit will see him get 40ish minutes, with Levi coming on to finish the game.

The challenge for Pattie will be defensive. That’s not a weakness for him but it is something he’s working on. The more he’s out there, the more he’ll he targeted, not in the least because it’s one way to blunt how good he is with the ball. The Roosters aren’t massive through the middle but they are fast, and Pattie will be tested by Jimmy the German. If contact isn’t perfect and arms get loose it could be a real problem. But then we’re back to Morgan Smithies and Corey Horsburgh solving problems. Like they also do (this year at least).

But it’s still enticing to see what he’ll do with more time, more opportunity. This is a player who will be a huge part of whatever Canberra put together over the coming years. Letting him test the edges in a relatively safe environment is an opportunity as much as Starling’s absence is a problem. Canberra’s middles could find themselves in more space. We may also see more width in attack, just because now they can.

It’s still a shame, not in the least because Starling’s infringement was avoidable, and is an unnecessary speed bump on a stellar season. Introducing new players to side functioning as well as the Raiders should be an avoidable risk. Canberra have been building to something bigger and this could have been avoided.

Each game this season brings a new challenge. Missing Tom Starling is a big deal. But if the Raiders have problems they also have solutions. They are prepared and have no excuses.

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