BY ROB

It’s a cold, drizzly morning in the nation’s capital. The mercury has plunged to 8 degrees. For Raiders fans however there’s a glimmer of hope on the horizon.

That glimmer is the forecast for Sunday’s home game against the Sharks. A perfect 22° at the height of the afternoon when play commences. The main beneficiary of these idyllic conditions are not the fans, who will certainly be enjoying the sun, but the Raiders themselves.

For the first time since the start of the season Canberra will have sunlight and a dry track. The side has been hobbled by the lack of traction in the first three games due to the unending rain, so Sunday presents the first real chance for them to hit the boosters.

Big Papa is once again sidelined, this time due to suspension, and you could be forgiven for thinking that this may, by way of coincidence, be the way that his workload is managed across the season. His absence sees Smithies elevated to starting prop, with Joe Roddy becoming the third bench forward.

The Sharks have returned to form as a thorny opposition for Canberra in the last few seasons and the Raiders will no doubt be keen to throw off the psychological shackles against them. Addin Fonua-Blake remains an arch-villain for Raiders fans and the Green Machine will need to contain him.

Canberra have shown that there are set plays lurking somewhere behind the ad-hoc brilliance and it’s my belief that dry conditions will give them the space to cue those set plays properly. Joey Taps said as much today, as he told SEN:

I’m looking forward to us playing on a dry track. I don’t think the competition has seen what we can do in attack yet. Last week was torrential and we were still shifting the ball, but it’ll be good to get a dry track, get Kaeo Weekes some ball and space, and Xavier Savage and some of those fast men involved.

Ethan Sanders has proven adept at subterfuge, capable of both a quick show’n’go or sending sharp passes behind decoy runners. He seems to be forming a strong link with Noah Martin, who clearly understands the importance of running with his #7 in support.

The Sharks forward pack is perhaps their most daunting component. The Raiders are often lauded (incorrectly) as being one of the bigger set of forwards in the comp, but Cronulla are real big boppers. A good way to tire them is to get the ball to the edges early and try and drag bigger bodies across in defence. If that doesn’t work there’s always Starling darting from dummy half to catch props on the back foot.

The Raiders have all the right pieces to get the job done, and come Sunday arvo they’ll have the right conditions too. It won’t be easy, but things with this team rarely ever are.

In Conclusion

It’ll be tough but hopefully a strong home crowd in the afternoon sun can help get the job done.

Raiders by 6!

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