BY DAN A few years ago when the clouds lay across Bruce Stadium enveloping all that was good in the world, we sat down and worked out the road less travelled. Specifically, we looked at all the talent, all the possibility and opportunity that had walked out the door from the start of the Stuart … More The Tevita Pangai All Stars: Part III
BY DAN It’s rare that you get to watch a player develop so brazenly before your eyes. The 2020 season was a story of obstacles. Pandemics, bus rides, rule changes, bush fires, me eating too much, bubbles, Peter V’Landys chewing administrative structures of the game to bits while the media polity applauded. It wasn’t an … More In Plain Sight
BY DAN Whew! The blank slate. A chance to start anew. A new year is here and another rugby league season will soon follow. Last year we had a crack at 20 predictions, and we even got some right! Joe Tapine did break out! Hudson Young did prove his worth. I did tweet about missing … More 21 Bold Predictions for 2021
BY DAN When we wrote this article last year, the best moment for the Raiders was so obvious. Josh Papalii burst through the coward Damian Cook’s grasp and ended 25 years of absence and pain. It felt like there was a momentary vacuum of sound, before an explosion of noise swallowed Bruce stadium. It was … More The Best Moment of the Year
BY DAN It hasn’t been an easy year for anyone. All of us enter the stretch run of 2020 with at least a light covering of merde. Even if the coronavirus didn’t impact you directly, it shaped your year (and for those of us in Melbourne, it did more than that). The chaotic destruction it … More A Very Sportress Christmas III
BY DAN Smart business management is part and parcel of modern sport. News trickled out Sunday evening that would bring warmth to any fan of the Milk. According to the Australian Financial Review, the Raiders have sold an investment in a Bunnings in Sydney for $56 million, a profit on their investment of near $26.5 … More Financial Certainty
BY DAN Are you certain who’ll be starting in the Raiders centers and wings next season? You could go the ‘conservative’ option like me and assume it will be some mix of Croker, Rapa, Scott and Simonsson. You could look at the young talent and think Harley Smith-Shields or Matt Timoko is ready to rock. … More Outside the Box Part 1: Elijah Anderson
BY DAN As the annual jumble of players has settled like a boggle game, the eyes of the rugby league world have started to think about the ramifications. For most, including the good people at Fox Sports, this has been a focus on what potential lineups will look like. You don’t need actually need to … More The Backup Plan
BY DAN Recently John Bateman played his last* game for Canberra. *Maybe he’ll come back. We hope. Bateman has been a transformational player for the Raiders. He introduced a steel to the right edge, and his arrival coincided with the Green Machine’s defence improving to one of the best in the competition, conceding around 15 … More Filling a Bateman Sized Hole
BY DAN The slightest ray of sunshine poked through the rain clouds of 2020 today, with the release of round one of the 2021 draw for the National Rugby League. Unlike this time last year, where the NRL, and the television companies, showed little interest in the people’s team, the Raiders have managed to score … More A Modicum of Respect
