For the Canberra Raiders, season 2013 will go down as one that the fans and the players would love to forget in a hurry, as controversy plagued what looked to be a promising season for the fans in the nation’s capital.
The Raiders entered this season with high expectations, having continued their trend of coming from nowhere to reach the finals in an even year, and underperforming in an odd year.
If this was anything to go by, then this year was going to be one of disappointment, and that’s how the Raiders’ 2013 campaign has turned out to be.
The season did not start well for the Green Machine, being thrashed in consecutive weeks by the Panthers and Titans, both on the road, and finding themselves on the bottom of the ladder after Round 2.
It was after Round 1 in which Josh Dugan was sacked for his repeated off-field indiscretions, as the Raiders finally decided that enough was enough with their star fullback.
Dugan was eventually shipped off to the Dragons where his behaviour and form has since improved, being selected for New South Wales in the final two State of Origin matches, featuring in the losing side both times.
Dugan’s sacking also somewhat triggered a good patch of form for the club, whereby they notched up a hat-trick of victories at home over the Dragons, the eventual minor premiers, the Sydney Roosters, and the New Zealand Warriors; two further wins over the Storm in Melbourne and the Knights at home catapulted them into the top eight.
Blake Ferguson’s good form at the time saw him win selection for New South Wales for Game I, however after being suspended by the NRL for a drinking incident involving Dugan, was stood down for the rest of the series.
The Raiders continued their good run at home, remaining undefeated at their home base until copping the mother of all Canberra Stadium losses – an embarrassing 68-4 thrashing at the hands of the Melbourne Storm, whose AAMI Park fortress had been Raided back in Round 8.
Further losses to the Roosters and the Bulldogs signalled the end of David Furner, as he became the first ever Raiders coach to be sacked in the history of the club. The club cited “inconsistent results from a talented squad” as being the main reason for his dismissal.
But the bloodbath did not end there.
Before August was out, Sandor Earl was suspended by the NRL for admitting to drug trafficking, and formally being the first player to be charged under ASADA’s investigation into drugs in sport.
The club also finally tore up Blake Ferguson’s contract on the eve of the final round of the season, which ended with six straight losses and a final ladder position of 13th.
Having come off yet another disastrous year, the Raiders has successfully lured club legend Ricky Stuart back down to the nation’s capital in an attempt to reverse their on-and-off field misfortunes, which I don’t see improving any time soon.
Despite some poor results as of recent, Stuart remains one of the most marketable coaches in the NRL, as proven when he took the Roosters to the NRL premiership in his rookie year of 2002, and also leading NSW to their most recent series victory eight years ago.
This year, he was supposed to begin a three-year mission to resurrect the Parramatta Eels, but the lure of returning home to fix his old club proved too much and he ultimately abandoned the Eels after just one year, but with little progress being made.
Stuart left the Eels with just five wins from 24 matches, though this was not helped by the continual behind-the-scenes drama in the boardroom and a long-term injury to the Eels’ star player, Jarryd Hayne.
The former premiership winning coach now faces an uphill battle to keep the Raiders away from off-field trouble, as they look to finally discover their potential and clean up their image, with Dugan, Earl and Ferguson all gone from the club.
So, after such a difficult year for Raiders fans, supporters and players, the question they now want asked is whether Ricky Stuart can lift them back into the finals in 2014.
But given the controversy that has plagued the club this year, it appears on-field results might not improve in 2014. Or will it?
The Raiders may want to have a look back at what the Sydney Roosters did following their own controversial 2009 season, in which most of its players made headlines for the wrong reasons and won the wooden spoon on the field.
Their club legend, Brad Fittler, was moved on as head coach and replaced by strict disciplinarian Brian Smith, and had signed Todd Carney after the Goulburn local was sacked by the Raiders in 2008 for alcohol-related incidents.
The Smith and Carney experiment eventually worked out and 12 months after the disaster that was 2009, reached the grand final, only to lose to Wayne Bennett’s St. George Illawarra Dragons.
Perhaps the Raiders can use the Roosters as inspiration for their 2014 season. However, it’s all but certain that Ricky Stuart won’t be their next premiership coach, given the terrible inconsistency the club has had in recent years.
Fans can only hope that the club will one day return to its glory days in the near future.
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