Raiders Review: Identity

For much of this season the Canberra Raiders have played as though they were trying to find themselves. Heading sideways, shifting players around, searching for some semblance of an identity. In their 40-16 victory over the Canterbury Bulldogs, they found it. And for the first time all year it looked a lot like their best.

It felt dark coming into this game. Canterbury had won four of their last five. The Raiders won a game, a few weeks ago, but winning via intercept (and one dodgy one at that) isn’t sustainable football. Everything the Milk have done this year has been held together with a glue stick and stubbornness. The idea that a week off and some reinforcements would result in a turnaround was optimistic. Maybe some blind hope isn’t a bad thing.

Because what we got was, nineteen rounds in, clarity. Canberra won because they played through the middle with agility and hard work. Instead of trying to go around their opposition, or trying to barge through them, they simplified. Quick feet and hard runs make quick rucks. Add in some offloads to the mix for a taste of chaos, and it turned into something more familiar. Metres. Space. Opportunities to score. Not really through shifts or big sweeping movements – the turf of Homebush was far too slow for that. Instead, they stuck to the middle in search of opportunity and flooded the zone when any opportunity presented.

A host of players showed how to do it. Ata Mariota started and had his best game of the season. He was more aggressive, hitting the line with verve rather than equanimity. Joe Tapine (15 for 131m, 59 post contact) was also excellent, and Hudson Young’s shortened game was still effective. Canberra didn’t have a back three to wheel through to support this yardage, Matty Timoko (190m, 76 post contact) instead filled the gap.

No one exemplified the sharpness through the middle more than Zac Hosking. He was lightning in his work on both sides of the ball, maintaining Mariota’s pizzazz when he cycled into the middle after 25 minutes. He ended with three tries, all of which were just indicative of how Canberra won this game. His second was just dexterous toes in the line against tired middles. His other two were the Raiders putting bodies in motion and getting to where the ball was, or would be.

The good play of the middle was supported by Owen Pattie’s stunning performance. He was commanding at the ruck, and picked his spots impressively, never overplaying his hand. He ran at the right times, passed well, and put the forwards in good spots to keep testing ruck defenders. His two 40-20s not only resulted in two tries on ensuing sets, but also both came at times when the Dogs were trying to put pressure on the Raiders.

This ability to ‘flip the field’ has been a characteristic of the best of Raider football in recent history. In 2019 it came via one-on-one strips from Josh Hodgson. In 2025 it came via Jamal Fogarty’s belly-bombs. The only thing that has stopped this being a weapon this year is Pattie’s playing time. Now he’s getting play, it’s clear how important his kicking can be. Now, tomorrow, and for the next ten years, hopefully.

Pattie also got through a mountain of work in defence (33 tackles in 60 minutes). For once he was supported by proper middles. Instead of having to bring down big men with Jayden Brailey in tow, the Raiders had the right bodies in the right places. Hosking in particular impressed here, and it was no surprise the defence returned to bad habits after he left the field with fourteen minutes to go.

But for the most part Canberra felt in control in defence and the Bulldogs couldn’t win field position, a fact exacerbated by their poor handling. In the first sixty minutes of the game the Dogs only managed 9 tackles in the Raiders’ red zone. It showed the chokehold Canberra’s bigs had put the game in.

On the odd occasion that the Dogs actually found space, it was the pack in particular flying around the field saving the day. Noah Martin’s try-saver became a 12-point play when Xavier Savage took it the other way. Owen Pattie found himself defending at left centre as outside backs came running at him. He made the play. Joe Tapine mixed a few brutal hits with some critical cover tackles, a testament to the desire to show his team what desperation looks like.

All of a sudden Ethan Sanders was playing with better field position and more time. It’s funny how having three steps before the line makes his job so much more doable. He made better decisions, and executed them more effectively. Sanders had his best kicking game in months, with two tries coming direct from his foot. He also set up a try for Noah Martin with a beautiful read to see the jamming Stephen Crichton. The only thing more perfect than his pass to Martin was the timing and angle of Martin’s line.

It all felt so goddamn sustainable. Winning the middle by playing (and having available) the best at their actual positions. Allowing talented spine players to insert themselves in advantageous circumstances. Focusing the side through the middle third, playing with agility and more bounce than pace. I’d say it’s something you can build on, if it didn’t make me sad it took so long to get there.

This is not to say it was a perfect reversion to 2025. Canberra did the hard work but never really got to extend beyond that. Ethan Strange barely did much more than the occasional Nelson Muntz impersonation, looking for people to palm because there was no space to run free. Kaeo Weekes touched the ball maybe once or twice in space, was set up too deep on one of them, and still nearly made a line break. There is still more this side can do, even when they put 40 on a side.

And there were still plenty of problems. The Dogs blew three tries in the first half, two of which came from grubbers that found Kaeo nowhere near the ball. Jed Stuart dropped as many bombs as Sav Tamale without the elite yardage. One Canterbury try came because Simi Sasagi got overexcited and jumped to the outside attacker, unable to help Sanders bring down a rampaging backrower close to the line. There was enough drivel in the last ten minutes to leave a sour taste in the mouth.

This shouldn’t be a team satisfied with pretty good. Too much has gone wrong this year for them to clock off. A ‘run’ isn’t likely, but that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t do everything they can to make one. Allowing that mess of the last ten minutes to taint what was otherwise a tremendous victory should be anathema to this side.

But we are being pedantic. It was better – something that should have been available nineteen rounds ago, but still better. The fact that they can look this effective at this point of the year after months of ineptitude is a matter for investigation and examination by all of us.

This team is too talented to be as bad as they’ve been. They were put in too many bad positions to succeed, and this was only made more obvious by their performance in this game. This win should be welcomed, but it should also frustrate. Canberra can be a good footy team. They should be so more often.

So this game was not a salve for the pain of this year. It probably isn’t the start of a fairytale run. It won’t heal the sadness whisky and frustration and hidden moments of robbed fantasies. We will not end this year sobbing in joy on the concrete paths of Homebush. This game will make you think otherwise. Maybe it’s a bit like buying a lotto ticket. Sometimes it’s just nice to sit with ‘what if’ for a bit.

More accurately, it is a reminder that there are things about this side that are good, and that with a plan and a bit of discipline, they can use those good things to great advantage. These things are not something they had and then let slip through their hands. Rather they are an intrinsic part of who they are. Sometimes this year that’s been obscured by injuries, bad ideas and worse performances. But this exists at their core, when they can find it.

So we take the victory. We pour the drink, and celebrate that they’re getting closer, even if it’s taken too long this year. Maybe this will be a lesson to learn for next year. Maybe it’ll bear fruit earlier. Either way more nights like this will make them a better side.

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