Canberra post first victory for NRL season

Hi Albo - agree with your assessment that the Raiders injuries may have been a blessing in disguise if that's possible - it meant Havilli had more minutes at hooker and Sezer had many more minutes at 5/8 where they both excelled - which may not have happened had there not been injuries. Hopefully it is food for thought for Ricky.

I'm not so sure. I could see Canberra coming back. Parra and the Bulldogs are locked in for the bottom 4. Obviously you think Canberra is also though I disagree but who is the 4th?

I would love that but what's the bet it's Elliott to second row and Eastwood to lock. I don't think Jackson has too much to worry about. He definitely caught Sezer high but it was glancing and not violently and it wasn't particularly late. I think it will be a careless grade one...he'll likely only get a suspension if he has carry over points...

The Dogs got half a season's dose of good fortune against the Panthers a fortnight ago. A dodgy refs obstruction call, an intercept off their own line & and a ricochet from a miskick, all for tries before the Panthers then lost their star playmaker for the rest of the game. And they just hung on with the Panthers finishing over the top them. I think they will need more than luck to challenge for a finals berth this year.

Question ? What do Doggies fans think of Woods.? It’s hard not to compare him to Klemmer and it’s not a flattering comparison.

Woods is terribly out of form

Rhyse Martin should get a run on in the starting side should Jackson get suspended.

The Dogs have a good side, the trouble is the other 15 teams do as well. High standards this season. The bounce of the ball has not been going their way. A Woods drop 5m from the Canberra line and they run 100m to score? A couple of things in the Souths game. The style of play has been much better this year. Hope their luck changes.

Palpable relief for the club including players coaches staff and long suffering supporters. Please stick with Cotric at fullback and Croker on the wing. It worked didnt it? And anyone who thinks Elliott is just doing enough to keep his spot must know a lot more than me about the game. Im seeing 100% inspirational effort in attack and defence for the whole 80 and an attitude perfectly suited to the captains role!

Raiders should string together a few wins now but their poor start could come back to haunt them in August.

Albo, appreciate your succinct review of the game.

My thoughts from this game : 1. Dogs had enough ball to win the match but not enough individual skills to get the job done. Apart from Mbye injecting himself somewhere, they seemed limited to bombs to score. 2. Raiders with less ball had their usual suspects Rapana & Leilua ( and later Croker) back in the highlights frame cashing in on a good kicking / bombing game to them from Sezer. The Dogs defending of these kicks was poor and this was the key determiner for the final result. 3. Whilst the Raiders copped a bunch of injuries, to a degree I think it worked in their favour by having plenty of breaks in play, and getting long minutes out of Havili and Lui in particular, who really went well in the middle third. Tapine was strong all night in shutting down the Dogs favoured left side attack. 4. Not sure if either team has the required quality in the key positions to threaten a spot in the 8 ?

Great to see the Raiders get a win - gutsy effort given they lost 3 players during the match. Very impressed by Aidan Sezer who played perhaps his best game for the Raiders. Just shows what he can do when he is running the show without the influence of Austin and Hodgson. Copped another whack near the end of the match. I think Josh Jackson might go for a couple for that. Feel for the halves at times - they cop a ton of punishment and little is done to prevent it.

I have to give credit to the Raiders, always looked more dangerous in attack and they played inspired defense so well done it should give them some confidence and with a soft schedule they could be sniffing around the top 8 once Origin starts. I thought Cotric was good at FB, he's a much stronger runner than wighton but I guess he's back to the wing. The Bulldogs were well the Bulldogs. Forwards played ok although not outstanding. Attack still looks clunky and they will struggle to put enough points on the better teams. For a big man and Origin player Woods to me is better than average but way behind some of the best props in the game. Canterbury is in big trouble, their next 5 are against the Cowboys, Roosters, Panthers, Broncos & Eels. They could be 1 & 9 and looking ahead to 2019. Rotten schedule.

Ricky should direct the "hairdryer" at the players a bit more often, rather than wasting his time directing it towards the Blind Society.

Every time the Dogs lose I enjoy this season a bit more. Bottom four locked in .

It’s a good point about the halves. I don’t think either Foran or what I’ve seen of JMK that these sweeping second man plays suit their natural game. I think they need to play far straighter. Even when they do get one over the opposition when the ball gets to the centres or wingers they’re heading at 45 degrees. There are positives. Jackson has also been good and RFM is playing really well. If he can start running some different lines he’ll be even more effective.

Jimmy you and TB are right to point out that the Dogs are actually a pretty good side. I thought they were last year as well, but the problem they had last year was that they were a good side between their 25 and the opponent's 25. And that was it. They still have a problem knowing what to do with the ball when they are in the opponent's 25. Why? I can't work it out. Baz might be on to something when he says they stand too deep. They just - I don't know, they just don't have the entrepreneurship to pull out good 'on the fly' plays, and I haven't seen any decent set plays this year that I can recall. Kicks to the try line are a normal feature of the game, and as we know, they often bear fruit. The Dogs aren't alone in being systematically negligent in covering off that aspect of play.

Hopoate almost scored a miracle try which would have made it 12 all and made the Raiders very nervous. A massive turning point I reckon. Foran is doing very well but I had a good look at Licha after Gus mentioned how he's not linking up with players after troubling the defence and it could be a big factor. Api K linked up well with his players last week against the Raiders thru the middle. It was a tough night to meet the Raiders and a big factor in how mid range teams perform thru the year. If you meet enough teams at the wrong time you are in trouble. Some teams are going to meet The Tigers and the Warriors when they lose steam and get a win they weren't going to get if they met them in the early rounds. The key to some wins looks to be getting Mybe the ball with some room closer to the line he is too good for the defenders. Pay no doubt ''gets the culture'' but to those who thought that would bring wins aren't in touch with reality.

There are some real positives for the Dogs though TB. Klemmer is killing it. He is the best prop in the nrl ATM. Plus moving Mbye to FB was Inspired. I think the problems with the attack stem from your halves. Foran is good but his combination with the other key players is not there yet and I still have a big query on Lichea. His delivery from DH can be woeful at time plus I hate that step backwards he takes before he passes. Surely it just gives the other team more time to get up in defense. They were OK last night and all is not lost .