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The Canberra Raiders will enter the NRL finals as the real dark horses to take out the competition. A young and talented team, Canberra has won seven of their last eight games heading into the final round.
They have been in great form of late, smashing the table-topping Dragons as well as defeating the third-placed Panthers.
They seem to be able to score tries at will and throw the ball around a lot. In Josh Dugan they have probably the most exciting young player in rugby league. He is supported by an emerging forward pack, spearheaded by Origin reps David Shillington and Tom Learoyd-Lahrs.
They also have a quality half in David Campese and good centres in Joel Monaghan and Jarrod Croker. But probably the key for Canberra is their hooker and captain Alan Tongue. An old-style player, Tongue is a no-nonsense battler who always throws himself into battle and leads from the front. He is a real inspirational captain for the Raiders and as tough as nails.
Tongue will miss the final round match against the Broncos, a key game which will sort out where the Raiders finish in the eight or if they lose, they will miss out completely. I think the Raiders will beat Brisbane and be a real danger team in the semis. The likes of St George, Penrith and the Tigers will want to avoid them in the first round of the finals.
This Canberra team reminds me in some ways of the great West Tigers team in 2005 that surged in and took out the NRL title from nowhere. The Raiders are young, unafraid and bursting with talent.
While next year the Raiders will be boosted by signings Brett White from Melbourne and Blake Ferguson from Cronulla, they may hit pay dirt a season early and be a real chance this year.
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