BY DAN

Canberra are on top of the ladder but not the world.

It’s been a rough two weeks. Hard fought victories over the Tigers and the Knights have propelled them to the top of the ladder, but not to the top of their performance. It’s something admitted by Coach Stuart in his post game comments after Friday.

I’ll take any win but in the last 15-20 minutes, we weren’t the team that we had to be. We played to the scoreboard and had three bard errors…That’s not good enough. We’ve got to build on that. It’s important for the boys to hear it, because it’s not good enough going into the back end of the season.

As we’ve noted recently there’s work to do. None of it is major, or structural. But rather it seems to be one of energy and personnel. Injuries have come to players that performed key functions. No Tamale. No Nicholson. Joe Tapine has a sideways finger. Well, more the wrong kind of sideways. NRL Physio says no fracture and he’s good to go. I hope he’ll be healthy come Saturday.

Now Origin has come hunting too, removing Hudson Young and now reportedly Josh Papalii for game three. For Hudson it was caked into expectations, recognition of what he’s achieved this year on both for club and state. He was one of NSW’s best in game two. I hope he has a similarly effective outing in game three.

For Papalii we’re ecstatic. He’s been excellent this year, and thoroughly deserves his spot. A player like him that can bend the Blues’ line is exactly what Queensland need. It’s a nice little bookend for his career too. His last season in the NRL will also involve recognition he was still throwing a fast ball with good heat. One last chance to deliver on the biggest stage. I hope Billy uses him more than he did last time he had Josh at the top level.

I’m sure it’s confusing for Corey Horsburgh. He’s been on the fringes of Origin selection (well, he should have been selected) and has only been exemplary in club footy. 190 plus metres on Friday was just the latest example, and should have been enough to propel him into the side, if an opportunity came up. One apparently has, and it’s gone to his team-mate. Rough. If I’m Corey I’m trying to work out what I’ve done to Billy. But at least the Canberra will have Red.

That’s important because Queensland’s gain in Papa has made the job harder for the Raiders. They’ve notably been less dominant through the middle forty of games recently. When they could roll out a bench of Ata, Papa and Zac (or Simi) they were able to change the pace of games. Now they’re just holding on. No Papa, no Huddo, and maybe no Joe will be a significant strain on resources.

They’ll likely be starting most of the aforementioned pace-changing bench. The most obvious outcome is that Morgan Smithies starts for Papa, and we pray Tapine’s finger is just a dislocation and not a fracture. Noah Martin will presumably stay on the bench and get an elongated opportunity to prove his capabilities. Last Friday’s 18th man Trey Mooney is also likely to get another shot in first grade as a replacement for Papa in the 17. If Tapine’s finger renders him unable to play then Pasami Saulo was the best performed middle in NSW Cup on the weekend. It’s next man up stuff but it puts a strain on Canberra’s strength.

It’s a much more conventional 17, particularly if the Raiders continue to only use Noah Martin in the middle while he gets used to first grade. A rake and three middles on the bench is honest, but it lends itself to a far more ‘grindy’ game plan than Canberra used for this year (up until the last two weeks).

The pressure on Horsburgh to perform, particularly if Tapine is absent, will be substantial. Instead of the Origin field, Red’s redemption may have to come on the field on Saturday, as the leader of a pack sapped of its top line talent and experience. I hope Jamal Fogarty lifts too. His frankly artistic 40-20 on Friday was his best kick in weeks, and I would love to see him flip the field regularly to support the depleted middle. If there’s a silver lining here it’s that the insult to Corey and injection of new and underused players should help address any of the energy or complacency that may have plagued Canberra in recent times.

However it’s unequivocally another challenge. The Raiders have been remarkable in overcoming them this year. Without Hudson, Papa, Tamale, Nicholson, and perhaps Tapine, it’s one of their toughest yet. But that’s what good teams do at Origin time. They find a way.

Do us a solid and like our page on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, or share this on social media. Don’t hesitate to send us feedback or comment below if you think we are stupid. Or if we’re not.