When NRL hoodoos are mentioned, the Dragons’ inability to win in Canberra and the Storm’s difficulties against the Warriors come to mind.
However, another inexplicable run of fortune exists in the NRL – between the North Queensland Cowboys and Canberra Raiders.
Since 2007, the Cowboys have beaten the Raiders eight times out of 10 starts. The Raiders last defeated the Cowboys way back in Round 25, 2010. One team’s superior winning rate against another doesn’t exactly constitute a hoodoo, but after looking into recent games between the Cowboys and Raiders, the men in green have had an extraordinary run of luck in these contests.
Let’s take a trip down memory lane.
Round 25 (30 August 2008)
The Raiders entered this match with everything to play for. Written off by bookies at the beginning of the season as wooden-spoon favourites, they were sitting sixth on the ladder at the time and had a top-four berth in sight. They were also on a three-game winning streak, during which they had outscored their opposition by 152 points to 55. On the other hand, the Cowboys had recently snapped a club-record 13-game losing streak and were, ironically, fighting to avoid the wooden spoon punters had awarded the Raiders pre-season.
The Raiders, full of fight and hope, should have rolled over the worst team in the competition.
However, the Cowboys dug deep and with Ray Cashmere leading the way, prevailed over the Raiders 22 points to 10, thus crushing Canberra’s top-four hopes. This proved a crucial win for the Cowboys, as they avoided the wooden spoon by finishing the season with a superior points differential over Canterbury. As for the Raiders, they would go on to finish sixth and be bundled out of the finals in the first week. If they had beaten the Cowboys and gone on to finish fourth, they would have stood a better chance in the finals.
Round 13 (5 June 2011)
One of the craziest games ever seen, this was also notable for the spawning of the ‘Cowboy Curse’.
Entering this clash, the Raiders were regaining confidence after breaking an eight-match losing streak. They had upset the Storm in Melbourne two rounds earlier and were coming off a strong home win against the Bulldogs. Further adding to hopes of a change in fortune for Raiders fans was the return of Terry Campese, who had last played in the Green Machine’s preliminary final loss to the Tigers in 2010.
The Cowboys, meanwhile, were riding high in the top eight. They were expected to easily account for the struggling Raiders.
However, I was shocked when the men in green shot out to a 22-nil lead after a quarter of an hour. Josh Dugan was slicing through the Cowboys’ defence like Wally Lewis through the Blues’ backline, while controlling the game like Allan Langer. Unbelieveably, all of this carnage took place before Campese had even taken the field.
Yet not several moments later, Dugan, who had been playing so well, was lying on the ground injured – and the Cowboys exploded to life with a try to Thurston. Soon after Thurston added the conversion Campese took to the field for the first time in over nine months. Surely his return would settle the Raiders and he would lead them to victory.
Incredibly, a minute after joining the defensive line Campese was injured in attempting to tackle Glenn Hall, who barged over him to score a try. In a freak turn of events, in 10 minutes the Cowboys had sent the Raiders’ two most dangerous players to the sidelines. How often does that happen? This was akin to the Storm losing Billy Slater and Cooper Cronk in a similar time frame.
The Raiders never recovered from this blow and went on to lose the game 40-24, with Tariq Sims and Kalifa Faifai Loa playing the best games of their careers to set up an impressive comeback win for the Cowboys. Canberra subsequently struggled to challenge teams without their key players and went on to finish 15th on the ladder.
Round 5 (2nd April 2012)
There was an aura of expectation surrounding the Raiders in the lead-up to this match last season.
The men in green played strongly in the first round against the Storm and were coming off an impressive win without stars Josh Dugan and Dave Shillington against the Tigers . This had been Canberra’s first victory over the merged-club since 2008 and Terry Campese’s name was being thrown up as a potential Origin bolter. He needed another strong game to push his claim.
The Cowboys were coming off a frustrating home loss to the Sharks. Both teams were sitting on four competition points. Canberra entered the match as strong favourites with another blinder expected from Campese.
However, the Cowboy Curse hit the Raiders once again, with experienced prop Brett White succumbing to a season-ending ACL injury, while Joel Thompson limped from the field with a rolled ankle. With Campese also completely outclassed by Thurston, the Cowboys strolled to a comfortable 22-6 win over their much-fancied opponents.
Due to his poor showing, Campese’s name disappeared off the NSW selectors’ radar, and he was injured again a few games later. As a result, the Raiders form slumped until Josh Dugan returned from injury to play with great success in the halves. That is, until the Green Machine next faced the boys from the north.
Round 16 (23 June 2012)
Both teams entered this game with similar recent records, having won two of their last four matches. Despite this, the Cows didn’t have too much to worry about, having defeated the Broncos 12-nil the previous week. The Raiders were depleted and didn’t look like they would offer too much resistance.
At half-time any lingering concerns for Cowboys fans were diminished as North Queensland led 30-6. However, after the break the dangerous Dugan began to show his class and scored a try to give his team some hope. Soon the Raiders had scored back-to-back tries.
Would the Green Machine click and repeat their stunning comeback from the previous year? The Cowboys had, after all, lost games from better positions in the past.
Yet just when things were looking good for the Raiders, tragedy struck. The curse claimed Dugan again as he broke his ankle attempting to bust through a tackle. For the second time in little over a year, the Cowboys had ended Dugan’s season. They then went on to win the game 40-18.
This Saturday evening the Raiders play the Cowboys at home. Terry Campese has just returned from injury and has been named on the bench for the Raiders. Josh Dugan will miss the game, which, for him, is probably for the best.
Raiders fans, don’t be surprised if someone from your team goes down injured this Saturday night. The Cowboy Curse now demands a victim every time the two sides play.
Or will the curse be broken this year, with a Raiders victory and a clean injury list post-game?
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