The Canberra Raiders 22-18 loss to the Sydney Roosters was maddening and exciting. The Raiders went toe-to-toe with the class of the competition and had the better of the game. With better goal kicking, some improved discipline, and less baffling refereeing and the outcome may have been different.
In the Wrumble for this game Viv posited the question ‘are we good?’ This contest was demonstrable proof. In a longer off-season than previous the Raiders have built a real good footy team, one that, in this game at least, showed the ability to upset the duopoly that has existed at the top of the league since its inception.
This was built on a pack that is playing fast and direct. Sophie Holyman (11 for 106m), Simaima Taufa (17 for 148m) and Jordyn Preston (16 for 148m) were instrumental in this. Kicking the door down in a two-pass wide space on almost every Raiders set.
It wasn’t complicated. Canberra wanted to play between the scrum lines. But the pace, and precision of their actions were hard to handle. Hit the middle for a couple. Hit an edge. Win the ruck, play off the back. It’s not rocket surgery, but its simplicity is matched by execution. When the Roosters compressed their defensive line to try and stop it, the Valkyries made smart choices with low-risk execution to take advantage of the space offered.
It was backed by a brilliant kicking game from Zahara Temara and Sheridan Gallagher. Every kick put the Roosters back five under constant pressure. Grubbers for repeat sets, long kicks for forty-twentys, and towering bombs that put Canberra’s chase in great positions for the whole game. They all helped the Raiders establish dominance across the field.
And in good ball the Raiders spine looked comfortable and clear in what they were doing. Finally having creative threats outside herself has opened up Temara’s running game. She looks faster than before, and that threat is opening space outside her. Alongside her Gallagher isn’t a sophisticated ball-player, but her power close to the line is a weapon in itself (an effective one, as proved by her try in this game).
Put these things together with some physical defence and you can see why the Raiders deserved to beat a glorified Origin team. One try came from Holyman’s strong red zone run creating a quick ruck, giving Temara the space to take three steps to engage the line before shifting to a motoring Bobbi Law. Another came with Temara attacking a retreating line and hitting Preston running with more power than the defence could handle.
A final try came with Krystal Blackwell, herself a revelation as part of this creative group, finding Leanne Tufuga, who got outside Jess Sergis to set up Makenzie Wiki to score. This put the Raiders up with just on ten minutes to go, and was an encapsulation of how far they’ve come. Shifting the ball away from their ‘name’ players, executing simple and direct movements with pace and precision, and reaping the benefits.
On another day this not only would have been enough to win, but win easily. But the Raiders only converted one of these tries, and in the end that was literally the difference in scores. Some ill-discipline was also noteworthy in allowing the Roosters more opportunities than they deserved. Nine errors is too many when your opposition only has five. It’s hard not to think that some of this was driven by the energy expelled getting ahead of the Roosters, and trying to maintain that rage over the 70 minutes.
And of course, it’s hard to ignore the helping hand the referees gave the Roosters. The first try came from a very forward pass. The second had a player a good foot offside. The final was a grounding in the eye of the beholder. It was sent up no try and the overturned when the footage was at best ambiguous.
Then somehow a blatant hip drop by the Roosters, that resulted in injury, did not result in a sin-bin. That was inconsistent with anything we’ve seen in any professional league. It was even more galling that the commentary reported it was not deemed to be of significant impact as the Charlotte Basham trudged off the field injured.
If Canberra are genuine in their desire to take it to the Roosters, and the Broncos, they need to find ways to overcome things like that. Breaking the habits of referees used to giving the stars of the league the calls they think they deserve will take time. Being the best starts with being better.
So it ended with frustration, but it also ends with promise. This collective has the capability to really take it to this league. Performances like this show that they can compete with the best and build on the dismantling of the Dragons and Warriors.
If the question is ‘are they good’ then the answer is unequivocal. But this is the wrong question. We should aim higher. This team can achieve more. Are they a contender? Now that’s a real question, and one they’ll answer soon enough.
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