BY DAN

Find your deity. Make your promises. Bargain, negotiate, plead with them. Hope. Not because you’re actually hopeful, but because if you don’t hope then what is left? Despair? If you’re going to walk through hell, it’s better to whistle while the flames lick your feet and the demons elbow your ribs.

The Canberra Raiders might win this game. Not because they’re playing good footy. They’re plainly not. They were torn to shreds by Harry Grant last week like intent fingers through crepe. They were more crepe the week before against the Eels, who are more the Dragons’ speed, so there’s not even any guarantee the Raiders are above the level. But with one win on the season, St George are possibly the only team right now I would be confident the Raiders are as good as.

Not better. You might want to talk yourself into if and buts but we’ve seen enough. This team is incapable. Of what? Everything. Every rugby league truism. Of treating the ball with respect. Of discipline. Of ruck control. Of actually sticking it out. This team is less than the sum of their parts. Whatever carried them in 2025 drags them in 2026.

Man do they need a victory. Not because it will turn around the season. This season is gone. It’s a whazy, it’s a woozy, it’s… *whistles* Fairy dust. But a victory would at least be proof to them that they are capable. Provide a bridge back to the world in which they play to the level of their talent. Maybe even some stepping stones they can balance on until a little break allows them to come back in 2027 with something approaching a way of winning.

As it is, they’ve entered this game with effectively the same line up that lost to the Storm. Of course we’d be remiss to suggest that Simi Sasagi’s re-entrance isn’t great to see, but it’s a lot to expect him to cover the cracks himself. Furthermore, his insertion into the backline means the Raiders’ pack remains an abject disaster, reliant on Jayden Brailey to do things he wasn’t hired to do, and getting substandard performances from a host of people that should be better.

Ethan Sanders needs to be better. I think he’s been unfairly maligned at times this year, struggling with the astounding weight of responsibility foisted upon him by a club unwilling to find creativity elsewhere in the spine. But with Owen Pattie on deck last week, it opened up Canberra’s attack at times. There is less pressure on Sanders to do more than he can now. He needs to scale his work accordingly. If the spine is more Strange, more Kaeo, and more Pattie, then his job is done.

But more than any of that Canberra need to defend. This isn’t about structures or positions or personnel. This is about wants and needs. The Raiders should be beyond desperate. They should be like the zombies in 28 Days. Shit they’re halfway there already but they just need to bring the rage too. Line speed. Forceful contact. Anything to show that they actually have some problem with what’s going on. I see Joe Tapine trying to tackle everyone and fight anyone just to lead the way. I hope 16 other players go with him.

None of this is analytical genius. But Canberra don’t need genius right now. They don’t need innovation, or some secret sauce that will be the difference between winning or losing. There are no short cuts here, as this season has continually showed. Be better, for 80 minutes. That’s the game plan.

Alas, we’ve been dreaming of that since March. And here we are. There’s hope. There are prayers. And that’s about what I’m holding on to.

In conclusion

Abandon all hope, ye who enter here.

Raiders by 2

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