What on earth is going on at the Raiders?

Geoff, I agree with you whole heartedly on all points. Ricky Stuart has to go, he has done some good things for the Club & it is better because of it. But his time has come, the reason that the team fades in the second half is because their hearts aren't in it. They are not playing for the coach, frankly they are sick to death of him. There is no spirit in the team. I read somewhere that Jarrod Croker was a wonderful ball player. What a load of ****, the main reason Cortic left was because Croker couldn't or wouldn't give him the ball. Croker was a very good player until the role of the centre & wing became the realm of the powerful running & defending player about three years ago. If Ricky Stuart resigned tomorrow I would expect the team to go out the very next game & play their hearts out for the whole 80 minutes. I'm sick of the way that this situation is going. Unless Ricky Stuart is removed it won't get any better. I'm glad we agree on Hudson Young. Matthew Timoko deserves a run & Curtis Scott should go to whoever want's him. I'm yet to convince you on this one, but just look at the last game, he was useless.

I'm fine and enjoying life even if it is just watching all the NRL games on TV as well as lots of other shows. I am glad we have a great public health system because I've been a big user.

Hear what you are saying Harry. And I hate to watch the slow demise of Jarod Croker. He has some great passing skills and rugby league smarts but he just doesn't get the sort of return metres or tackle busts that is required of a centre these days. He was good when Leipana was on fire between 2016 and 2019 - and probably earlier - but in their absence and the heat on Curtis Scott to perform Jarod has been exposed. His stats so far this season shows him averaging 66 return metres per game and when he gets tackled he gets folded like a deck chair. By comparison Jordan Rapana is averaging 144 metres this season, Kris is averaging 88 and Scott is averaging 106. Not sure we can carry a player like that in a team that is really struggling.

I know Croker isn't the player he used to be but I think he still has way more to offer than many Canberra fans give him credit for. I haven't seen any more of Timoko or Smith-Shields than what they've shown in first grade on their very few opportunities, but of the first-choice, established centres Croker has the best passing game by far. I love Kris to bits but he's a bulldozer. Scott's the same type of player. Look at some of the passing plays that Wighton, Whitehead, and Croker put on last season - Croker's quick hands, his tap-ons or his flick passes, were just beautiful to watch and nobody in the team at the moment comes anywhere close to matching that ability. If we want a Raiders team with slick attacking moves then right now Croker's the guy for that. If we want a Raiders team that's going to bang the door down then he's probably not. The sad reality is that players who can do both are few and far between and we don't have them.

Wow - sounds as though you've gone through some tough times TB3 - hang in there - we always have the footy to look forward to each year that brings hope for the future

Great article Sam I have been a Warriors/Raiders supporter for many, many years. Born in NZ and living in Canberra, I can't help but follow them both. What a lot of you are saying is correct; going for the "nobody's" worked out well for us. I remember avidly watching CNK the seasons before signing with the Raiders. In 2017 I think he played 7 times as fullback or wing when the Warriors were down players. And every time he played he did it with 100% enthusiasm. I remember losing my mind when the Raiders signed him, told everyone under the sun about how great he was going to be. And he didn't (and still doesn't) disappoint. CNK is a great example of who the Raiders should be going for. Yeah we have our well known players like Wighton and Papalii. But it's these - up and coming, happy to take a chance with us - type that really put in the effort and put us over the line. The English players put us over the line as well, but you always knew they wouldn't be here for long, and if the rumours of Williams wanting to live by the beach were true, then that's just hurtful to a club that paid out $200k to get him released early from Wigan. I also use to love Sticky, but I feel a growing resentment from other fans about him. Yeah, he is fun to watch while he throws a bottle or kicks a chair, but it's the lack of ownership that drives me mad. It's always someone else's fault...

Your parents are doing well to be nearing a century. My mother died at 68 but she aged overnight when my older sister died at 31. She had a heart attack soon after and was never the same. Losing a child is awful and the younger they are the worse it is. My older brother died at 38 and made her very sad. Dad looked back at the awful 80s with sadness. I had a heart attack during chemotherapy but the heart specialist has done tests and says my heart has recovered and is in great shape. I don't go near the water in any form, beach or river, and I'm looking forward to getting my hernias and strictured bowel fixed before having my colon re-attached. I'm fit and healthy so St.G-Ill getting thrashed by the Tigers doesn't have any effect on me. I lived in Adelaide for a couple of years and liked it as I lived in Hawthorn in a big cool house with high ceilings.

Be nice to know the context of the conversation between George and Ricky that immediately lead to the contract release.. You'd imagine if George genuinely requested and needed a mental health day and a rest from the next game that the club would have obliged .. I think there may have been a little more heat in that chat than either G or R are telling us. Additionally , considering the club has no actual legal grounds to release George - then if George was adamant he wanted to stay he literally could . But I think George would prefer not to stay but take his full pay. All the best George ..

Yes it went down to -6 a few nights ago but Canberra is beautiful in summer with warm sunny days and cool nights. I hated the hot humid nights in Sydney.

Most of the Poms that I have known have come to Australia for the warm weather. Those that like the cold go to NZ or Canada. You do have to wear warm clothes at Bruce Stadium and the plastic seats are cold too.

Like Bowraville is north of the Tweed

Hard to disagree Albo. I think the players are trying but they lack confidence and when things start to go against you and you start losing it snowballs and gets worse. The harder you try the worse you play. When you have confidence like the Panthers and Storm at the moment everything just clicks. I think Curtis Scott is playing better than last year when he had that court case weighing on him, CHN is upping his work rate and really trying, Sutton has probably been the best of the forwards, Hodgson is really trying despite him giving up the captaincy and being demoted to the bench, Jack Wighton is having a crack, and ironically George Williams was one of our better players until the proverbial hit the fan. But some of the forwards have bee disappointing - notably Hudson Young - I think Guler and Horsborough were still overcoming injuries from last season and have taken forever to get match fitness - and now the Horse has another long term injury - Soliola and Ryan James are getting on a bit are and are being managed playing supporting roles . For me Papa and Joe Tapine need to do more and show the way. We need their leadership. The back were always going to be a problem as were both alluded to before the season started. The squad was unbalanced with too many forwards and not enough backs. The loss of CNK has been devastating. He is the heart and soul of the backline. Jordan Rapana is trying hard but hasn't got the pace he used to have. Croker should have been eased out after 2020. Kris is showing glimpses but needs to improve his defence. Not sure about Bailey Simmonson. He just doesn't rack up the line breaks or tackle busts that you need and he's been given plenty of opportunities. Aekins is trying but makes too many defensive mistakes and he's not the big defensive body that CNK is. I reckon young Valemei has potential as a winger and I would like to see Timoko given a crack at centre along with young Schneider at half back for the rest of the season. Lets face it the season is just about cooked so why not see what the young blokes can bring.

We are working on it being declared part of QLD for Origin purposes

Agree Randy. The attritional style used by Ricky to score two or three tries and try and defend it just doesn't work with the new environment of the 6 again rule, reduction of scrums and general increase in intensity. Ricky needed to make some tough decisions and move blokes like Sia and Jarod Croker on before this season started and give earlier opportunities to young backs like Timoko and Harley Smith-Shields. He had Jordan Rapana playing as a centre last season rather given one of these two a go. Honestly. He needed to take more risks and develop players. We need to develop a more expansive style of play where we can score 30 points plus while also being able to defend. Penrith and the Storm are setting the standard and we need to try and match it. He gives the young half Schneider 10 minutes off the bench one week and then he disappears the next. We badly need an injection of youth and enthusiasm. And why does the team look gassed after 20 minutes? Did they go easy on them during the pre season? If so why? Given the George Williams fiasco we badly need to recruit an organising half with a kicking game like a Sean Johnson.

Miserable times for Raiders fans, Geoff. There is something very wrong there. You only have to look at the players demeanor and lack of individual form this season. I can't think of one player who looks to have improved his individual form this season , perhaps with the exception of Sutton , whilst Whitehead has maintained his form. But the rest have gone backwards , some a long way backwards ( eg Tapine, Young, Horsburgh, Papalii, CHN, and even Wighton & G Williams) . There needs to be an infusion of new blood into the joint. Maybe they can borrow Jarome Luai for a few weeks to generate some enthusiasm into the squad ? Much must be sheeted home to Ricky to have allowed things to get so low. He does seem clueless now in how to fix the troubles.

Hi TB3. I have a bush block down on the south coast of NSW - just outside Bateman's Bay - and may build a house on it in the next couple of years - the recent bushfires were a bit unsettling and put me off a bit - but couldn't believe the difference in temperature down at the bay when we mowed it a couple of weeks ago. We might downsize here and live down the bay during the Winter and come back here in the warmer months depending upon what our children do. Not sure I could go back to Adelaide. There are a lot of things going for it - milder weather, great food and wine, nice old houses that are less expensive than over here etc. I still have friends there and my parents are both 99 can you believe and moved into an Aged care facility about 3 months ago. But I would miss the East coast beaches and forests, the occasional trip to Sydney to catch a band and see friends and the NRL has very little coverage over there given they are AFL mad. Mind you given the way Canberra are playing at the moment having very little NRL coverage might be a blessing! :happy:

Canberra's lows are lower than anywhere else in the country though, melbourne and hobart included. The city is 500m above sea level and it gets winds coming in off the snowy mountains.

forwards unfit, poor rotation, slow backs who don't have any impact, poor kicking game and old tactics which don't work in 2021 Vlandyleague.

Hi Walter. Stuart was a total hero to me when playing (getting up qld, yeehaw), as his coach time has gone along i have same thought as you.