BY DAN

It’s not a fracture, but yet the news is terrible.

Xavier Savage will miss at least four weeks, and it could be more, pending outcomes of a scans, according to the Canberra Times’ David Polkinghorne. He was cleared on an ankle fracture, but the damage done means the Raiders will be without him for a long time. In a year which is quickly taking on the shape of a Bondi cigar, this just adds to the smell.

Savage hasn’t been great this year, but within the range of outcomes this team is offering, he’s not been any more disappointing than anyone else. His 150-plus metres on the ground are a career high, as are his 4.25 tackle breaks a game. This is reflective as much of Vlandoball as of any specific improvement. The current version of rugby league turns exit sets into the big metres for outside backs and middle defenders are worn down. It also gives backs with pace more opportunities in space (as shown in his four line breaks in four games this year).

Savage has struggled with the high ball, with nine kicks defused on the season (and nine errors, noting that can include handling errors in non-kick situations, of which he has at least one I can remember). Everyone on the team has struggled with the high stuff, and it almost feels unfair to point him out more than Savelio Tamale. But we all saw him not even go for a relatively easy bomb on Easter Sunday and gift a try to the opposition.

But if the Raiders are serious about realigning themselves towards winning it would certainly be easier with him on the field. His yardage work, often maligned earlier in his career, is a critical part of Canberra’s back three balance. With Jed Stuart in his place last season, it put a huge weight on Sav Tamale’s shoulders in exit sets. His pace on the outside is a weapon that in Vlandoball can be used both through the middle early in sets, and on the wing later as the ball is spread (if the Milk could play with that level of discipline and aforethought).

Further, while inconsistency under the high ball in defence has been a problem, Savage has also been a weapon on attacking kicks in the past. There’s arguably not a player on the roster with the same ability to pluck an impossible kick out of the air and find a try amongst the trees. That Canberra have largely shut up shop on that front this season, an odd strategic decision, has limited his impact, but perhaps in their current situation they may have reopened that front and embrace a little risk.

Alas, they won’t have the same weaponry for at least the next four weeks. In his place this week is Jed Stuart. Beyond that there’s a host of options. Sione Finau was signed in the off-season for this precise situation. Michael Asomua has spent several years trying to crack his way into the side. Matt Timoko and Chevy Stewart want in, and Seb Kris is a handy option to cover the wing, particularly given his relative comfort with the high ball.

The problem is none of these players is playing good footy at the moment. The club wide malaise has spared almost no one. I watched NSW Cup on the weekend and barely noticed Finau. Asomua is great in yardage but remains a liability on kick defusal, which is a luxury the Raiders cannot afford right now. The inclusion of Timoko or Stewart may require shifting Simi Sasagi, one of the few highlights in this young season. It’s such a long outage that the Milk might end up cycling through all of these options if the chaos continues to envelop them.

They say when you have a lot of options you really have none, and boy does it feel that way right now. What had seemed well managed depth now feels like hopelessness. Asking one of these players to come in and cure what has been ailing the Milk seems unfair, but they will be asked to be stability where others have failed.

In a perfect world I would be suggesting Finau is ready. He’s lightning on the ground, and capable in yardage. The Raiders should want that as the best like-for-like replacement. But they’ve chosen Stuart first because of the assurance that he won’t be insane, that he’ll go ok with high kicks, and he won’t take anything off the table. And maybe that’s what we need.

That’s where the season is right now. Xavier Savage won’t be around to help right it. Let’s hope that Jed Stuart can. Or Sione Finau, or Seb Kris, Matty Timoko and Simi Sasagi in a trench coat. It’s not the Raiders biggest issue, but shit man, do they need another problem?

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