BY ROB

We can all agree that last week’s rainswept loss at the hands of the Warriors was less than ideal, but it carries all the hallmarks of the early season hiccups the Raiders are somewhat famous (infamous?) for.

Canberra have another test of their mettle when they host the Dogs this Thursday night. Canterbury are not yet a quantifiable team – they only just downed the Dragons in round 1 before sitting down for a bye in the second week. But if last year is anything to go by, they will be a difficult test.

The good news for the Raiders is that this will be their first game on a dry(ish) track – there are showers forecast for the afternoon, but hopefully the Canberra stadium turf is well drained by kick-off.

The other good news is the return of Big Papa, no doubt well rested after his week out under protocol. His presence in the middle will be a boon for the Green Machine, both practically and spiritually. But also defensively.

The key improvement for the Raiders this week must be discipline on both sides of the ball. Too often against the Wahs they either conceded a dumb penalty or infringement, or they coughed up the Steeden while trying to hustle it out of their own end. The next person that drops a ball first play into a ‘six-again’ will get the scowling of a lifetime.

The two Savs in particular need to do better this week. Too often their early carries lost ground in NZ, so this week they need to grind out every bit of yardage they can. The Bulldogs will be aware of Tamale’s kick defusal issues – the only way for him to overcome these is to clear his mind, keep his eyes on the ball and meet it with soft hands. Or so I hear.

The last time these two sides met the Dogs gave the Milk a rather humbling lesson in the meaning of hubris. Up 22-6 at the break, the Raiders returned to the field to find Captain Crichton a man reborn, and we could only watch on in horror as he dismantled the Raiders edge defence.

It’s almost impossible to predict what this new iteration of Canberra can or will do. Do they have their defensive cohesion sorted? We know they can attack, but we also now know that Manly may be in for a rough 80th season. There’s lots of young promise in the side, but it needs patience and encouragement from the elder statesmen to help it along the way.

In Conclusion

The Raiders can do it, but it’s going to be a heck of a grind. Switching off for 10 minutes at any point could prove fatal.

Raiders by 4!

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