BY DAN

The Canberra Raiders return to normal was more than that. They handled a desperate Manly side with relative ease, 28-12. Without the ball, without field position, they were brutal and collected, a rare mix usually reserved for psychopaths and parents who are just disappointed. But Canberra didn’t disappoint. They took last week’s loss and turned it into a well-earned victory that proved that they are ready to contend.

Like Cool James said, don’t call it a comeback. In this affair Canberra showed not only how far they’ve come since last year, but also within this season. Earlier in the year Manly put the same clamps on them and they succumbed to the pressure. In this victory they just winked and said ‘buy me a drink first’. This winning business rules. Thank god our collective nightmare is over.

This was a good victory by the Raiders and proved their defence is up to the scrap of finals footy. They handled a vast disparity in possession and position with relative ease. They stuck to their plan, and wore down a team despite barely having the ball. This wasn’t a perfect performance by any means, but it was the kind of effort that shows that even when nothing is going their way they have a plan and a means to win games against desperate competition.

Canberra had to battle because they did not have the ball for large chunks of the game. The end numbers were 55 per cent of the ball for the bad guys, but that probably understates the extent of difference for much of the game. Manly had substantially more tackles in Canberra’s half (77-34 after 68 minutes) and red zone (43-9 after 70 minutes). The Raiders spent the first half defending, and then after 20 minutes of the second half and re-taking the lead, they’d still only had six tackles in the opposition territory for the entire stanza. It was a remarkable disparity.

The reasons they didn’t have the ball were a mix of good play by their opposition and some imperfect discipline. Manly kicked well, and earned four repeat sets from well-placed grubbers. Twice Raiders players nearly made it out of the end zone, only to be forced back in by good defence. On at least four other occasions Canberra made an error on kick clean up (they only defused 40 per cent of kicks) or dropped the ball early in an exit set. This gave Manly the weight of possession. It may be a cause for concern, but it more felt like errors that can and occasionally do happen, all happening at once.

The good news is that Canberra handled this with an impressive resolve and discipline in defence. Manly spent the entire game attacking and outside Ethan Bullemor’s leg speed and Tolutau Koula’s regular speed, the Milk were rarely worried. Simi Sasagi and Zac Hosking were critical in the middle, as was Tom Starling. The edge of Hudson Young, Ethan Strange, Seb Kris and Jed Stuart was brutal, punishing Manly outside-in any time they ventured near the Raiders left side defence.

When Kaeo Weekes spent ten in the bin (correctly) Manly tried to attack where Seb Kris had moved from to cover fullback. Between Young and Strange they looked unperturbed defending too many defenders. They simply smashed the absolute beejeezus out of them. Strange brutalised so many people Canberra police received reports of a no-foolin bear on the edge. It’s hard not to think that Seb Kris’ game-sealing try was caused because Strange shooting out of the line put the fear in both the passer (Jazz Tevaga) and the proposed receiver (Cherry-Evans). Even Jed Stuart got in on the battle, making Jason Saab look about as reliable as his namesake car.

While Manly did score twice going the other way, this was not as concerning as it has been, and had little to do with Matt Timoko or his connection with Jamal Fogarty. Indeed they did a relatively good job shutting down anything on their outside shoulders. Instead both tries came from errors from others.

On one Koula just burned Xavier Savage, something that shocked us and X is equal degree. On the other the weight of defence had worn out the middle rotation. When Koula stepped backed towards what would normally be cover defence, it was still recovering from a good Ethan Bullemor run. Those two poor moments aside the Canberra defence happily turned Manly away for 80 minutes. It’s been a while since they’ve made the Sea-Eagles look like seagulls.

In the totality this defence was impressive. The weight of possession would have worn down most teams. Manly are not a poor side, and while they didn’t look like peak-2021 pace and space, they were fluid enough to put together movements that would score more than 12 points most weeks. But Canberra have been putting together a defence that is good enough to contend for a competition. On this night it was just more evidence that is happening.

When they did get their hands on the ball Strange did what he’d done in defence, but instead with the ball in hand, tearing through Manly with the tenacity of an ill-tempered bruin. One the first try a simple step destroyed an entire defence line. It was funny to see Seb Kris point at him to straighten, as if to remind him no one opposite could actually tackle him. He did that again in the second half, exploding through the line in a way that had everyone having visions of Laurie Daley.

It was also good to see him chime in on shifts, and generally look threatening pushing directly at the line. He also had an involvement in starting his third try, rightly getting early ball to Seb Kris before Jed Stuart’s miracle ball allowed Ethan to make Daly Cherry-Evans look like a fool one more time, for old times sake. Bruce Stadium has seen the end of the careers of visiting legends before (Hi Joey!). This felt like another passing of the torch.

Apart from that Canberra did so many things that normally work for them. The middles did their job but didn’t have enough ball to make a consistent impact. Only Josh Papalii (9 for 124m) was able to break 100m, but I thought Ata Mariota’s stint was further proof of how good he’s becoming. He was never taken straight on, using immaculate footwork to dance between defenders. If someone could hang off his shoulder there was two or three occasions where a popped ball was ready and waiting to be taken to the house.

Alongside Strange, Jamal Fogarty managed the game well and while he couldn’t get the killer stroke on a kick, he generally was smart. His willingness to put the ball out and settle the side while they were defending with twelve men is worth noting. He looked sharper this week, which was pleasing. Kaeo Weekes was also good outside of flubbing a kick in the first half and getting sin-binned. It feels like every game he doesn’t break a home run is a disappointment, but he also chimed in importantly, making the break that got Matty Timoko into space for the Savage try.

This was exactly the kind of victory Canberra has been seeking for a while. They were up against a good side playing for their season. The opposition played a well-organised and planned game that has beaten the Raiders before. They even got an extra player for a period, something that earlier this year resulted in 17 tries being score in 9 minutes (all numbers approx). This time the Raiders just muscled up and got smart. Stop me if you’ve heard this before, but it’s what good teams do.

And that’s what this Raiders team is. Last week was a blip that could have become a lull for a team less mentally forthright. This Canberra team weren’t having that. They got out their shovel and put in the work. It’s downright inspiring. I’ve never felt this consistently competent about anything in my life. Imagine how it must feel. ‘Don’t worry. We’ll just work hard and find a way’. Is this a thing that people do? It’s a thing these Raiders do. We can equivocate about what *might* be later this season. But they aren’t. They want it. Are they ready for it? Are we?

Canberra head into the bye now, and the temperature rises a little bit more. The Panthers are waiting on the other side of the bridge, unfortunately patched up and fully-powered. In another year I’d would be full of trepidation and near panic. Now I fully expect the Canberra fucking Raiders to be not just ready for a fight, but itching for the scrap. For now we bask in a return to a normal that almost seems a dream.

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