BY DAN The Canberra Raiders 17-10 victory over the Newcastle Knights was another victory for the club’s decision to go small. The Green Machine’s forwards faced down a much bigger pack and owned them. They could have won by twenty if they could find a way to connect the success of their forwards to freedom … More Raiders Review: Forward March
BY DAN The Canberra Raiders 21-0 victory over the Gold Coast Titans was hard-earned and heartening. The Green Machine just might have learnt the lessons of 2018. Not everything was perfect – this is round one after all – but this performance is a marked step up from the standard of 2018. Just how far … More Raiders Review: A Vast Improvement
BY DAN English half George Williams (from here on known as GWilliams) is coming to Canberra in 2020, according to the Mole. The hype around Williams suggests he will he a welcome addition to the Raiders spine. But his addition comes with a degree of risk and some questions about Jack Wighton’s role in 2019. … More George Williams: Risk and Reward
BY DAN Finding a stable halves pairing has been a challenge for the Canberra Raiders since Ricky Stuart left in the second half of the 1990s. Even in relatively long-term partnerships, like Aidan Sezer and Blake Austin just shared, the union almost always feels pencilled in. It seems the new partnership of Sezer and Wighton … More Sticky, Lozza and the Never Ending Search
BY DAN The Canberra Raiders 28-22 pre-season victory over the Canterbury Bulldogs revealed plenty about the structure of the Raiders. The defence, although improved in parts, also bore many of the hallmark weaknesses of previous years and remains a work in progress. The trial also provided insight as to how the offence would function. Two … More Raiders (trial) Review: A Work in Progress
BY DAN It’s a truism if Rugby League that the key to success is the skill and stability of the spine. The forwards lay the platform, the backs provide the excitement, but the spine is named as such because it connects all the parts. Talent is critical at these positions; but talent still needs time … More Spinal Fracture
BY DAN The impending move of Jack Wighton from the back-house to the showroom solves one Raiders headache but creates another. Who back-fills for Wighton? Canberra doesn’t seem sure (or at least isn’t telling). The Raiders have few options, none of which are perfect. It should surprise no one that the best choice is Nic … More Solving for One
BY DAN When the Raiders announced that they were moving fullback Jack Wighton to the halves it predictably set off a round of takes. We were not immune. This is potentially the last throw of the dice of the Stuart regime. It’s a lot of pressure on Wighton – his success may mean more than … More Wighton A Six: Stuart’s Last Roll?
BY DAN Australian cricket is in a perilous situation. Not just because it’s captain, vice-captain and another player were suspended for sandpapering the ball (as well as possibly the most incompetent cover up since Watergate). Not just because it lost a test series at home to India for the first time in 71 years. But … More A Matter Of Trust
BY DAN Throughout summer a rumour has persisted on social media that Dylan Edwards might be making his way to the Canberra Raiders. It’s not yet at the level where actual journalists feel compelled to write about it, but people I respect have whispered about it so often I feel I must address it. The … More The Appeal of Dylan Edwards
