BY DAN

In the last month or so, the Canberra Raiders have frustrated with their inability to take bad sides seriously. They’ve scored points in bunches, interspersed with periods of napping, watching Tik Tok and eating ice cream and cocopops mixed together (trust me).

There’s been an underlying worry about this. That’s because winning the NRL, shit just being good is really hard. The idea that Canberra could go workmanlike through the middle of the season has created an sense of anxiety about the preceding 12 weeks. What if it was all just a dream?

In that we’ve searched for reasons. They were missing key personnel, because of injury and Origin. Teams were aiming up, and Canberra were struggling with the responsibility of leading the pack when the pack are hyenas hungry for a bite. At each lead they’d gathered, 16 at Campbelltown, 16 at Newcastle, 18 against the Dragons, they’d let the other side wander close, but never take the lead. Nipping at the heals, but never getting a full chomp.

Then the Eels took the lead, and it finally felt like the inevitable was coming for them. If you keep dancing with the devil, one day he’s gonna follow you home. Canberra were getting their just desserts for a month of bits and pieces. The flood would come and cleanse the corruption of our souls that the profligacy of good times had given us.

Only it didn’t. In the second half Canberra put on their best full stanza performance since the second half of the Bunnies game over a month ago. They scored thirty points in the stanza, and blew two other tries. They outgained their opponent the best part of 700 metres, driven by a pack that wanted to kick some heads in.

Ata Mariota and Joe Tapine had 100 metres in the second half alone, Hudson Young, Josh Papalii and Corey Horsburgh all had 75 plus. The sheer dominance would have been more obvious if the Milk were driving from the front rather than having to come from (slightly) behind, or if they hadn’t blown basic tries along the way (Matt Timoko, I’m looking in your direction).

If you ask the players the change came from one direction. I’ll let Jed Stuart tell you.

That first half we probably let them down a bit. Went in to the second half there, got a little bit of a spray…about letting down the boys upstairs that played before us.

Jed Stuart to Triple M

It’s confirmed what Coach Stuart told the press too.

That’s what we spoke about at half-time. We turned it around, and it was a day we had to turn it around in regards to the people here who have played in our jumper before, and played in our number. We had to turn it around and show a little bit of pride in the jumper itself, and they did. I was really happy with the way we dug deep in the second half and played better footy.

Ricky Stuart in the Canberra Times

It’s funny that for the literal thousands of words we’ve written trying to understand the mid-season malaise that the solution was a bit of a rev up from Stick. It speaks to the overstated nature of this worry. Canberra were winning, not playing great, but still showing that they had other gears when they were needed. In the second half of the Eels game they finally put the foot down, and even then it took them a while to get used to the steering.

Of course, this simplistic explanation is just what’s provided to the public, and other adjustments will have been, and will be, made to do so. We noted the importance of Zac Hosking’s speed in the middle of the park. Owen Pattie’s injection was similarly important. The missed tackles of the first half could have been effort. They could also be reflective of a season of wear and tear.

We’ll know more in the coming weeks. It’s been so long since the Raiders have a good team that this takes on a groundhog day quality. Canberra wake up Monday with the same problem to solve – how to beat a team with nothing to lose willing to go to the wall to prove themselves worthy of the top side. They’ve been solving that recently. All they need is a little rev up.

Do me a favour and like the page on Facebook, follow me on Twitter, or share this on social media because love is true and heaven is a Raiders victory. Don’t hesitate to send us feedback (dan@sportress.org) or comment below if you think we are stupid. Or if we’re not.