The Raiders through lime green glasses

 

Roar Pro

By Mr Sports, 24 Apr 2009 Mr Sports is a Roar Pro

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 Canberra Raiders, NRL, Rugby League

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Another week, another valiant loss. Once again the Raiders did everything bar actually coming home with the two competition points.

It is starting to get very frustrating as a Raiders fan to see, as David Furner put it, “a lot of hard work go into not getting the two points.”

For the third time on the road this year (the others being the losses to the Tigers and Eels), the Raiders have played well for the vast majority of a game only to be cut down and come away with nothing but positive signs.

Apart from the game itself there was plenty to enjoy with attending this away fixture.

Aside from the comparison between the late April climate of Canberra and that of South East Queensland, and the obvious attractions of Cavill Avenue and the surrounding environs, there was also the experience of attending Skilled Stadium itself.

As a regular denizen of Canberra Stadium, with winds that sweep in from the open corridor at the northern and southern ends of the ground, sausage rolls that require a hacksaw to penetrate and toilets that are so grubby that I genuinely expect they are moments away from sentience, Skilled Stadium is something of an adjustment.

Only 18 months old, Skilled is a gleaming monument to the vast quantities of money available in Australia’s Florida.

The Good
It is tempting to say that Marc Herbert getting injured is a good thing, but I was starting to come around to Herbert. Certainly he is no Andrew Johns, but it did seem like he was beginning to find his niche within the Lime Green battalion.

Instead, this week for the good we should focus on the continuing solid play of pretty much the entire team one through seventeen. The former under 20s players are all playing superbly and the forward pack is fabulous at the moment.

The Bad
Losing Herbert is a blow, at least to some extent. Whilst he may not have excelled just yet, he was establishing a combination with Terry Campese and a familiar combination is generally better than an unfamiliar one, which is what we will get with McCrone and Campese this week.

The Ugly
Whilst I don’t really want to point the finger at anyone in particular, the goal line defense that allowed Mat Rogers to wander over almost untouched for the game-winner was pretty ugly for those of sitting in the away supporters bay.

Mr Sports Verdict
This will be the last time I hand out an ‘encouraging loss’ grade to the Lime Green. There are only so many times that you can tell yourself that plenty of good came out of not winning. The Raiders need to get some competition points soon or risk facing an origin period without Campo and Monaghan and with and uphill battle ahead. This week I give the team six and half Victors.

Next Up
This weekend, the Raiders return to the friendly confines of Canberra Stadium to face the high-flying Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs. The ‘Dogs have been the feel-good, turn around story of the year. With the last of the mongrels cleared out after last season, they have been a team (almost) united. Veteran halfback Brett Kimmorley has turned back the clock and is busy making all of his critics look very silly.

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