As part of a series profiling the expected Round 1 sides for all 17 NRL clubs in 2023, Canberra are as always a difficult team to predict.
Canberra fullback Xavier Savage has been ruled out until Round 7 after breaking his jaw in the Raiders’ trial loss to Canterbury on the weekend at Moruya.
Savage will undergo surgery on Tuesday to repair the fracture but with an expected recovery period of around eight weeks, it means he won’t be sighted again in a Raiders jersey until April.
After passing before the line, Savage was collected by Bulldogs forward Jackson Topine.
It’s a bitter blow for the Raiders who will enter 2023 on the back of a hot-and-cold campaign with an otherwise relatively unchanged squad.
Ricky Stuart (Photo by Mark Evans/Getty Images)
The Raiders have an ageing roster with some of the final survivors from the 2019 Grand Final team in the twilight of their career like injury-plagued centre Jarrod Croker, winger Jordan Rapana and English forward Elliott Whitehead.
Their campaign last season was thwarted from the get-go with a season-ending ACL tear in Round 1 to hooker Josh Hodgson and halfback Jamal Fogarty’s club debut being delayed until the end of May due to a knee injury.
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They managed to sneak into the top eight once their spine was settled midway through the season and then upset the Storm in Melbourne in week one of the finals. Ricky Stuart claimed after their semi-final loss to Parramatta that they had a top-four roster when all players are available.
Who’s new?
Newcastle prop Pasami Saulo is the only new face in the national capital with first-grade experience, bolstering their already strong forward depth. He is no certainty to crack the 17 for Round 1.
Who’s gone?
Hodgson has joined Parramatta while Ryan Sutton (Bulldogs) and Adam Elliott (Knights) are also experienced campaigners who have left the pack. Veteran back-up halfback Sam Williams has retired while Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad has returned to the Warriors after losing the fullback spot to Savage.
Xavier Savage. (Photo by Mark Nolan/Getty Images)
Key spots to unlock
Savage being out means Stuart could switch Jordan Rapana to the back from the wing or bring in a utility back like Albert Hopoate or Harley Smith-Shields in the No.1 jersey.
Jarrod Croker’s recovery from a serious shoulder injury could force a reshuffle in the centres but he is likely to have to play his way back into the NRL side after such a lengthy layoff while Stuart could switch Whitehead to lock with Elliott no longer around or use a middle forward in the No.13 jersey like Joseph Tapine.
Zac Woolford cemented the starting hooker’s spot mid-season with Tom Starling reverting to his bench role and Ricky Stuart now has another option with Danny Levi at the club.
Round 1 predicted team
1 Jordan Rapana
2 Nick Cotric
3 Matt Timoko
4 Sebastian Kris
5 Semi Valemei
6 Jack Wighton
7 Jamal Fogarty
8 Josh Papalii
9 Danny Levi
10 Joseph Tapine
11 Hudson Young
12 Corey Harawira-Naera
13 Elliott Whitehead
Interchange
14 Tom Starling
15 Emre Guler
16 Peter Hola
17 Corey Horsburgh
Other squad members: Xavier Savage (injured until Round 7) Pasami Saulo, Adrian Trevilyan, Albert Hopoate, Ata Mariota, Brad Schneider, Clay Webb, Zac Woolford, Harley Smith-Shields, James Schiller, Jarrod Croker, Matt Frawley, Trey Mooney.
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Short Memory
Roar Rookie
News? Hardly. Just last season's results. But I guess more recent than Wighton's Dally M 3 years ago... Fake? Sure. Elaborately documented and recorded on video in front of literally millions of witnesses. King? Brown, Munster, Manu, Meaney, Brimson, Deardon, Tabuai-Fidow, C. Walker, Amone, Luai, Moylan, Burton, Mam, Bird, Hoy, S. Walker, and Walters all wore the number 6 during '22 season and all made more line breaks than "the Dally M winning, linebreaking 5/8" For Try Assists you'd have to throw Luke Brooks (yoiks!) and Sean O'Sullivan (double yoiks!!) in there above Wighton as well. It's touching how much you love Jack (does he know about your feelings for him?) but he's about as close to being king as the third son of the Gresley Baronets of Derbyshire.
G money
Roar Rookie
Fake news. wighton is king
Short Memory
Roar Rookie
'22 season Wighton made 4 line breaks. Compared to Dylan brown's 18. But Wighton was equal to that famous game breaker Wayne Egan.... Olympic sprinter? Who do you mean? The top three fastest players in NRL 22 were JAC, Jojo Fifita and Jason Saab https://www.nrl.com/news/2022/07/26/addo-carr-records-fastest-speed-of-2022-so-far/
Short Memory
Roar Rookie
As they say in the investment disclaimers, past results are no guarantee of future performance. Also a couple of other teams fell off the ladder due to reasons outside of form.
Geo
Roar Rookie
That’s nasty. Thankfully the Raiders have a little bit of a chance to play in September whereas the Saints can organise Fiji weddings in September without fear of needing to cancel.
Geo
Roar Rookie
Our Jack does best when he doesn’t have to think.
Geo
Roar Rookie
After all the success we had in 2022, we didn’t need anyone else (said no one).
jok hawkins
Guest
Raiders are a useless bunch of egotistical individuals. The coach is a sociopath. About time people saw it too.
jammel
Roar Rookie
Massive loss Xavier Savage for 7 matches! Loss in terms of electricity in attack! Rapana probably the fill-in, but he is more error-prone. It'll be a concern for Ricky. We'll just have to make it up in the forwards and charge through teams for the first few months!
Forty Twenty
Roar Rookie
Looks like a top four forward pack and a bottom four backline.
matth
Roar Guru
Well they made it last year
Forty Twenty
Roar Rookie
The Dolphins might roll Manly twice in 23 if we have another funny year. Manly beat the Storm last season which shows you don't know what will happen. The Roosters and Storm were easy beats at times last season , so an apparent hard draw can be a lot easier if you get teams at the right time. After all the footy the Pennies have played I'd say they'll be great to face sometime later in the comp , particularly if they have a few players out.
Geoff from Bruce Stadium
Roar Rookie
Agree to an extent. I guess we can only base our predictions on what we see in the rear view mirror. Two or three teams from the bottom 8 may be big improvers next season but who? The 3 you mention may well improve or they may be just as bad. The Raiders played the Cowboys twice in 2022 and that seemed like a possible 4 points based upon 2021 - and they lost both. Mind you they should have won the game in Canberra. If you had the choice of playing some of the bottom of the 8 teams in 2022 twice in 2023 compared with Penrith, Roosters, Storm and Souths what would you choose?
G money
Roar Rookie
Horsburgh can't play big minutes..
G money
Roar Rookie
Maybe the Dally M winning, linebreaking 5/8.. Or the Olympic sprinter? lol
Forty Twenty
Roar Rookie
Having the ''easiest'' draw is about as meaningful as the ''two horse race'' declarations which appear halfway thru every season. Basing the ease of a draw based on where teams finished the year before is fine in theory but in reality it's very wobbly. The Broncos for example were on fire for much of last season and then became possibly the easiest opponents along with Manly for the last two months. Are Manly , the Knights and Titans easy opponents in 2023? Maybe so or maybe not or maybe at times?
Geoff from Bruce Stadium
Roar Rookie
Couldn't agree more. Just trying to put into context Ricky's comment about the Raiders being potentially a top 4 side in reference to 2022. Don't think he's made any comments about 2023. And yo are right there are a few teams who could have made the top 4 this year IF a few things had gone their way.
Rellum
Roar Guru
Talent wise and roster build I don't see much difference between the Raiders and the Dolphins. good forward pack, ok backline with a young speedster at fullback. Raiders will a little bit of an edge. Yet the Dolphins are a wooden spoon shoe in according to the press but the Raiders and top 4 or 8?
Dionysus
Guest
Recon 99% of NRL fans will agree with you there especially Dragons fans
Dionysus
Guest
There are a lot of other "if only" stories from 2022 my own Melbourne Storm has a bucket load. Counts for absolute zero though.