Given the situation that the Raiders find themselves in it is more than a little apt that The Bell Shakespeare Company are currently performing Henry V in Canberra right now.
The play is the Bard’s romanticised portrayal of The Battle of Agincourt in Northern France in 1415. The outnumbered and disease-weakened English army was trying to retreat to Calais, but found its way blocked by the French and was forced to fight or be destroyed.
The tale goes that King Henry walked among his troops the night before the battle to rally their flagging morale and steel their resolve.
Just like those soldiers all those years ago, what the Raiders are suffering is a crisis of confidence. Following the confirmed loss of Anthony Milford to Brisbane, the Raiders – angered that the NRL had done nothing to help them retain their own junior – decided to share the pain around and poach other teams’ players.
The problem was that none of them came. Effectively, the Raiders own retreat to Calais was blocked and now, down on morale and belief, they are forced to fight against the odds.
To say the players feel unloved right now is an understatement. Not only did the targeted players not want to come, but they also turned down huge money – money that the majority of the Raiders squad are not likely to be on.
And the media has blown the whole thing up into a crisis.
But it’s not a crisis, it’s actually business as usual. The last big-name signing the Raiders made was Mal Meninga in 1985. Every other Raiders star has been developed at the club.
And what’s more, this maligned and beleaguered squad looks very similar to those that stormed to the finals in 2008, 2010 and 2012. In each of those seasons the players made a stand, and from it they built belief.
This Raiders squad has a clear choice to make: give in to the doom and gloom that surrounds them, or decide as a unit to strive for victory.
They should take heart from a tale only a decade old in which a raw young prop from Penrith addressed his team mates at half time.
“I’m flaming sick of losing,” declared called Joel Clinton, along with a lot of expletives.
It was their Henry V moment. Not only did his side – which had come 13th the previous season and claimed the spoon the year before that – come back to beat the reigning premiers that day, they carried that form all the way to the 2003 premiership.
The Raiders have the troops to do the same thing. Heeding Shakespeare’s words, the boys in green should not care about what players don’t want to be there, only about those that do.
“That he which hath no stomach to this fight, Let him depart; his passport shall be made, And crowns for convoy put into his purse; We would not die in that man’s company.”
They need to squeeze everything they have out of themselves as a team.
If you examine the stats, you’ll see that the Wests Tigers and Parramatta Eels defence is as shaky in 2014 as it was last year. The difference is that they are attacking with more intent and venom, scoring more points and giving their opponents less of the ball as a result.
The Raiders’ big problem is their intent. If I had a dollar for every time I’d watched a Raider do a half-hearted kick return or hesitated before hitting the ball up this year, I’d probably have around a grand.
They need to rip in like Joel Clinton did all those years ago. Like Terry Campese did following Todd Carney’s sacking in 2008. Age may have wearied Campo but he still bleeds green, and in recent weeks has shown his fight of old is still there.
While he is probably the best man to inspire and lead them into the fray, he also has some excellent troops.
Paul Vaughan is the best young prop in the game. He can bend a line as well as Joel Clinton ever did, and he isn’t scared to either.
Now back at centre, Jack Wighton looks a million dollars in attack and defence. He will be a superstar. His centre partner in Jarrod Croker is a brilliant attacking player whose defence has only gotten better.
Shaun Fensom is desperately unlucky not to have played for Country Origin this year. His defence is superb and his attack is getting dangerous.
Glenn Buttriss, Josh McCrone, Brett White, David Shillington, Josh Papalii, Joel Edwards and Dane Tilse are all experienced campaigners who know how to do their bit well. Kyle O’Donnell, Jarrad Kennedy and Sami Sauiluma add youthful enthusiasm to the mix.
What is missing is faith in their game plan and confidence in each other.
Some changes could be made too. Tom Learoyd-Lahrs is rearing to get another run in first grade. He runs the ball as hard as anyone I’ve ever seen. While coach Ricky Stuart is only giving Shannon Boyd an average of 15 minutes a game, it is strange that big Learoyd-Lahrs doesn’t get another crack.
Then there is the fullback role. Milford does possess an ‘x-factor’ in attack, but his ability to make one-on-one tackles is very poor. Further, the Raiders make the fewest kick-return metres in the NRL. For a very quick player, he runs the ball back with a lot of hesitation.
Given that Tony Milford going to go ‘home’, perhaps Reece Robinson should get the No. 1 jersey and Milford can take the utility role on the bench. History shows that Robinson’s stats at fullback are far better than what he provides on the wing, and he would probably stay in green if asked.
Finally, Mitch Cornish is unquestionably the future for the Raiders at halfback. Just like it did for Luke Brooks at the Wests Tigers, that future needs to start right now.
But most of all the Raiders need to heed the words of King Henry, come together as a team and smash into their opponents as hard as they can. They must create their own redemption through a brotherhood forged in battle.
A brotherhood those that presently deride them will wish they had been part of.
Tim Gore is a broadcaster and stats wizard for ABC Grandstand. He can be found on Twitter @gorskiopork .
The Barry
Roar Guru
"A winning percetage of just 23% including that gifted premiership isn’r exactly re-writing history, that is fact." Hahahaha - you lose all credibility with that ridiculous comment - where are you getting your statistics...sorry I mean FACTS??? Let me guess..."if you don't count his first three years at the Roosters and take out the games he won at the Sharks...then he has a win % of 23%. FACT." Not sure what you mean by rose tinted spectacles either...I have absolutely no allegiance to Stuart whatsoever. It just galling when people regurgitate the same old garbage without checking their "facts".
Tim Gore
Guest
Noice. Choice. Grouse.
Tim Gore
Guest
My error. Tommy is out with a knee injury...
millsy of perth
Guest
Coaches get blamed why who knows maybe they lose respect of the players, however like players in an open market they need to be loyal to themselves and their families. Clubs can be ruthless when they want and where they want, it is a business now unfortunately. As with winners there is always teams that run second but that's the nature of sport. I follow teams for the love of the game through good and the bad.Solutions for the raiders would be to go and have a look at the swans setup. They seam to be hitting the mark in an aggressive market.
millsy of perth
Guest
Coaches get blamed why who knows maybe they lose respect of the players, however like players in an open market they need to be loyal to themselves and their families. Clubs can be ruthless when they want and where they want, it is a business now unfortunately. As with winners there is always teams that run second but that's the nature of sport. I follow teams for the love of the game through good and the bad.Solutions for the raiders would be to go and have a look at the swans setup. They seam to be hitting the mark in an aggressive market.
Mister Football
Roar Guru
Excellent article Tim, and your reference to Henry V is apt. In recent times have pondered about what was so different about that late 1980s period which allowed the Raiders to become the strongest club in the league, admittedly for a short period, it's flame extinguished with the super league wars. For 'tis your thoughts that now must deck our kings, Carry them here and there, jumping o'er times, Turning th'accomplishment of many years Into an hour-glass; for the which supply, Admit me Chorus to this history; Who, prologue-like, your humble patience pray, Gently to hear, kindly to judge, our play.
Cugel
Roar Rookie
We should just pack the whole show in, given all the money forced into the pockets of the Gnats and the AFL, apparently that's where we want to go. Save me 300+ bucks a year on season tickets too.
Chop
Roar Guru
I give him credit for getting rid of the deadwood, but definitely not for HOW he did it. IF what has been bandied about is true that's an absolute disgrace. There's a problem in Canberra with players wanting to leave and just behaving badly knowing firstly that Canberra will (rightly) sack them and secondly that some other desperate club (Roosters, Dragons, I'm looking at you) will sign them as soon as possible. I feel sorry for Fensom, he looks so frustrated when I've been out at Bruce Stadium. Croker is ok, Robinson is better at fullback, McCrone should not have been re-signed. I don't think he will make the raiders better going forward.
Chop
Roar Guru
TYPO: start of the 2013 season, but you're right I did credit him with 2 wooden spoons when it was only one.
Marldon
Guest
He always but always goes for established players or "names" as I call them. He cannot assess league skills and potential so he always try to buy an established name for key positions. Don't think I have ever seen him discover and bring a new player to the fore ever. I have seen him (almost) destroy one in Albert Kelly.
Marldon
Guest
A winning percetage of just 23% including that gifted premiership isn'r exactly re-writing history, that is fact. I will admit that because of the nature of Origin and because of the support structures around him that Stuart is a better Origin coach than he ever will be a club one. In Origin, he can go for all names in his selection and they already pumped so sticky can't do that much damage. He still didn't win a series though did he. Bellamy is not suited to a short term rep coaching position. His style is about building a team over a long period not getting a few blokes together for a few weeks. He is simply the wrong type of coach for that. The reason that the stuart bashing always starts up is because to most of us, the problem is glaringly obvious. Why clubs keep hiring this muppet is beyond my. The Eels were handed a get out of jail card when stuart dumped them in that disgraceful way, now look where the Eels are. If Stuart were still at Parra we would be asking ourselves if any team can get 3 spoons in a row. Open your eyes, take off those rose tinted spectacles and see how much damage he is really doing.
Parrafan
Guest
I'd add to that Luke Kelly as well. He isn't a fulltime FG half back but he can certainly tear it up in NSW cup and played well at Hooker and HB in his last two outings in the blue and gold.
Parrafan
Guest
In regards to players he cut I would keep Willie Tonga (who has been fantastic after dropping some bulk he was told to put on by King Rick) And Ben Smith was playing pretty well this year up until his injury, although I admit he was only there for leadership qualities in the edge forwards. In regards to Milford, Milford wasn'twalking out on a contract to sign with Broncos. 2014 was his final year with Raiders and he had a choice to join a couple of teams for next year. Ricky was in the middle of a 3 year contract (although he did have a get out clause after 1 year). Milford also stated that he would be moving to the Broncos. Ricky was talking about 5 year plans at the Eels before his exit. I don't blame Raiders performance solely on Ricky, some of the players there have been extremely ordinary and from Campeses' post match conferences he doesn't look like he even wants to play footy. But it is the Head Coaches job to motivate the playing group and I don't know if RS has the ability to do that without a pack of solid footballers. Other coaches, including Brad Arthur and Mick Potter have been able to motivate their packs when many wrote them off to be at the bottom of the ladder, so the coach does play a big part in having their troops rready to perform on field.I'll wait till half way through next year to see whether Ricky can turn Raiders around but I don't have much hope.
Tim Gore
Expert
Perhaps Lachlan but which Raider did have good stats in 2013?
David
Guest
Hi Chop, you might want to give Ricky some credit for moving on a lot of deadwood and underachieving players from Parra. he's trying to do that in Canberra but can't get players to come. We had Tedesco, Proctor was close and Ennis stayed close to home. If we had landed those guys we'd have a very different attitude in Canberra. What irks me is the sooky behavior of these players. Some of them have no heart. Croker, Fensom and Vaughan can hold their heads up, while I like Shillington and Kyle O Donnell. Sadly, The likes of Campese, Tilse, McCrone, Buttriss and a few others just don't look interested. Its sad.
Tim Gore
Expert
I can understand that Eels fans don't think much of him. However, which of those players he cut would you want back? And was he wrong to do it? AND, It is miles too early to judge his performance at the Raiders. The Raiders lost the last 6 matches of 2013 with an average concession of 30+ points - including their worst defeat ever. Things have actually improved markedly in a lot of ways. Surely Rick can get some credit for that? Along with all that Rick has some family issues that being in Canberra distinctly helps with. After all, its fine for Tony Milford to go home, so it should be ok for Ricky.
Lachlan Bickley
Roar Guru
Reece's 2012 stats at fullback were great. 2013 not so much
Lachlan Bickley
Roar Guru
Agree statistics can be misleading and playmakers tend to make more errors than others so you give players like Kelly and Brooks a discount for that. However errors still hurt you and Jack's recent errors have been alarmingly similar - reasonably straight forward drops when on attack. At least two of them blew near certain trys. Agree Jack has wonderful potential but right now those errors are hurting us
David
Guest
The Raiders were in disarray before Ricky arrived. They have won 4 games in about 20, under Furner, Dunemann and Ricky. It's a player attitude fault, not the coach who inherited this pack of mental muppets.
David
Guest
The Raiders have won 4 games in about 20 games. It's almost a club "record". So under Furner, Dunemann and Stuart only Stuart has coached them to victories. The Raiders looked good in the opening month. Best defence, least errors, least penalties conceded, least missed tackles, best completions. For some reason they didn't turn up against Manly and have looked lost since, apart from the Storm win.