The Raiders were good last year. Actually that is underselling it, they were wonderful last year. They were fun and exciting to watch, playing attacking football that even the best defensive sides in the comp struggled against.
Players like Jordan Rapana, Joey Leilua, Josh Hodgson and Elliot Whitehead had breakout years, and were all key in Canberra’s charge into the top four and the third round of the finals, before being beaten in a thriller by the Melbourne Storm.
So the team from the nation’s capital come into 2017 with a buzz. They seem to have the goods to maybe even win the comp this year.
But given the Raiders’ history of having a great year followed by a terrible one, can they make the eight this year? Or will 2016 be a flash in the pan?
Strengths
This team has the best centre combination in the game. Jarrod Croker is on his way to becoming the highest point scorer in the history of the NRL with his knack for scoring tries and amazing kicking accuracy. He has buckets of speed and playmaking spark that allows him to create opportunities for himself and those around him. If he continues his 2016 form, he will finally get a State of Origin berth.
However, if Joey Leilua doesn’t get his Origin debut this year, then Laurie Daly needs his head examined. Leilua and his wing partner, Rapana, were the best thing since sliced bread last year. I haven’t ever seen an edge partnership dominate the game like these two did, sharing 40 line breaks, 34 tries and 268 tackle breaks. Their speed and power will continue to be unmatched on the edges.
For the first half of 2016, Josh Hodgson was the dummy-half of the year, marking himself as one of the best imports from England in the last decade. The way he manages to get these big Canberra forwards on the front foot is invaluable and his spark from the ruck has the ability to rip a game wide open.
Speaking of these forwards, they look incredibly potent. Shannon Boyd and Junior Paulo are just ridiculously big and powerful, while Clay Priest is a fine workhorse and Joe Tapine has wonderful spark. You know your prop rotation is good when Paul Vaughan can’t break into the side.
Also, if you don’t think this second row is pure quality I don’t know what to say. Iosia Soliola is one of the most underrated forwards in the world, Elliott Whitehead is an English representative player for a good reason, and Josh Papalii – with his ridiculously hard-to-tackle frame and powerful running – causes headaches for opposition in every game he plays.
Weakness
You know, for a side that finished second, their halves didn’t exactly play too well last year. Granted, Hodgson acts like the dominant half in the team, but while Aidan Sezer and Blake Austin weren’t bad, the calm Sezer from the Titans was nowhere to be seen, while injuries meant that we got to witness basically none of the explosiveness that Austin demonstrated in 2015. These two need to step it up for the Raiders to win a premiership.
Jack Wighton is a centre pretending to be a fullback. Usually he plays acceptably at the back but then he has the odd game or two when he just completely turds it up and drops every single ball that comes his way. He made the most errors of any player last year by far and away, with 44. His brain snap in Round 10 lost the Raiders their game against the Dragons and similar performances will prove costly.
But the biggest weakness of this side in 2016 was their defence. While it wasn’t bad (conceding the seventh-fewest points) they are going to have to become a top-four defensive side to win a premiership, and since the Raiders have the squad to aim for the premiership, this needs to be high on the agenda.
Canberra scored the most points of any team last year, with 688, so their defence is the only thing that needs improving.
Summary
This is a great squad. It has taken many years, but it seems like a Ricky Stuart-coached side will do well.
Their spine, outside of Hodgson, need to step it up a little, but I am confident that their halves will (at the very least).
So I predict the Raiders will finish the season coming in second again. From there, they will streak into the grand final and perhaps win it. I can’t decide between them and the other team that will make it into the grand final.
Anything outside of a top four and deep finals run for this team has to be considered a failure. Let’s hope they deliver on their potential.
2016 finish: second
Predicted 2017 finish: second
Transfers
Gains: Jordan Turner, Dunamis Lui, Makahesi Makatoa, Scott Sorensen, Brent Naden, David Taylor
Losses: Lachlan Lewis, Sisa Waqa, Zac Woolford, Sam Williams, Brenko Lee, Paul Vaughan, Edrick Lee, Shaun Fensom
Full-strength team
1. Jack Wighton
2. Nick Cotric
3. Jarrod Croker
4. Joey Leilua
5. Jordan Rapana
6. Blake Austin
7. Aiden Sezer
8. Shannon Boyd
9. Josh Hodgson
10. Junior Paulo
11. Josh Papalii
12. Elliot Whitehead
13. Iosia Soliola
14. Kurt Baptiste
15. Clay Priest
16. Joe Tapine
17. Dave Taylor
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