BY DAN

It’s funny how a win lifts the vibes.

It’s been that kind of season. So much darkness that every time someone turns on their phone-torch it seems like fireworks. The Raiders beat a terrible Dogs outfit, looked good doing it, and rather than thinking ‘it’s good to have a nice day once in a while’, we all ran to the ladder predictors.

I’m not here to tell you whether it’s happening or not, but if it is it has to happen again this week, and the next, and the next and well…there’s a lot of good teams in that direction. Canberra have only beaten two top eight sides this season and they happened in May (the Cows, currently in 8th) and April (hello Souths!). Maybe the Raiders just aren’t that good this year. Maybe last year’s crest and this year’s dip are obscuring the real trend of this side.

The next fight starts against the Bunnies this Saturday. The Raiders line up as per last week, with Jed Stuart still on the wing despite his worst game in first grade, and Sione Finau showing just how electric he can be in NSW Cup. Sav Tamale is there in 18, and Sione Finau in 22, so maybe we might see a good old-fashioned switcheroo (can that be classified as a smokescreen? Feels too small). But I wouldn’t hold your breath.

The rest of the side just looks more balanced. It’s remarkable that Noah Martin came back from double surgery and doing nothing for months and got through 80 minutes of impressive efforts. Zac Hosking switched to the middle 25 minutes in and proceeded to ball out like he’d been playing there all year. Joey Taps, Corey Horsburgh and Ata Mariota finally looked like a dominant middle rotation when Josh Papalii was added to the rambling band.

It was the basis of everything that Ethan Sanders and Owen Pattie built off the back of it. Can they do it again? Despite the names in their lineup, the best place to attack the Bunnies is right up the guts. Last week that worked wonders for the Raiders. Can they remain as effective, and as committed to the plan as they were for a good sixty minutes against the Dogs?

The Bunnies are as healthy as they get against the Milk. Sure there’s no Latrell Mitchell, but at this point of the year he’s usually injured. The rest of the line-up is full of talent. If you want to squint for weaknesses I like Simi Sasagi and Noah Martin running at Tallis Duncan and Euan Aitken. Maybe Ethan Sanders can have a more ball-playing outing.

Look, I think we need to focus less on ladder predictors and more on week to week situations. There is no trajectory right now. No streak. Just a game where things went right. Win again, and maybe again, and then we can have some discussions, but let’s focus on the real game here. This season has been such a shitfight that if Canberra can get some good wins down the stretch maybe they can wash off the stink a bit.

In conclusion

Raiders by a breath. For the vibes.

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