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The Canberra Raiders were on the cusp of something irresistible at the end of 2010. After going down to the Wests Tigers in week two of the playoffs, many predicted booming times ahead for the Green Machine.
Oh, how wrong we were.
The Raiders placed 15th last year and are slipping to darker depths in 2012.
Skipper Terry Campese is gone for the season and their star player Josh Dugan would rather consume alcohol than heal his injuries.
David Furner’s dream of becoming a career coach is quickly becoming a nightmare. It might be time for David to start typing up his résumé, such are the state of the Raiders’ problems.
On Friday night they were useless. They produced a performance more befitting of a park footy side.
They looked fine in attack at times, but the rest of it was just garbage.
You can argue they were missing Campese, Dugan and Blake Ferguson (stood down for attending training drunk).
But Canberra still boasted Josh McCrone, Jarrod Croker, David Shillington, Shaun Fensom and Tom Learoyd-Lahrs.
“I thought we had a side that could (do something),” Furner said at the post-match press conference.
“We proved that in the first half, we had a side there that fought our way back into the game.
“I thought we were in the contest there in the second half, but we made some fundamental mistakes.
“The second half, I think in the first 20 minutes they doubled our possession, whether it was a repeat set, a penalty or they just had (the ball) and we couldn’t sustain it.”
You can use the possession card all you want Mr Furner, but isn’t the reason the other team had more ball is because you guys couldn’t keep it? Or that your team kept letting in tries?
Perhaps all this State of Origin chit-chat has glossed over Canberra’s hemorrhaging ways.
Supporters on a Canberra Raiders fan forum site are overwhelmingly against Furner as coach.
“Has to go, he should of been gone after round one 2009. I knew it was a bad move, why we didn’t advertise the coaching job back then is beyond me – ah that’s right we are the family farm,” Nth Queensland Raider said.
“Sorry Dave you’re a great bloke, but only a blind man with an arrow through his head would be happy with how we’ve gone under your stewardship. Four long years. The fans aren’t listening. The players don’t seem to be listening either,” Go_Greenm@chine added.
Raiders CEO Don Furner may have the hardest decision of his tenure ahead of him. To sack his brother or not to sack his brother.
Canberra host the Wests Tigers on Saturday. Oh dear.
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