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The Canberra Raiders are sitting pretty at the moment, sixth in the NRL and one win off top slot. They’ve done it in the least Raidersy way, too: by taking leads early and holding onto them.
This team, remember, was the Canberra Faders, the worst side in the comp at front-running. Now, they have managed to win nine games this year with a margin of eight points or fewer, including three where they have held off a late charge from their opponents to get the points.
It’s been a remarkable turnaround, and one that is being carried by the form of halfback Jamal Fogarty. The Gold Coast junior joined from the Titans last year, but missed the bulk of the season with injury and was badly missed in his absence.
Now, he’s the heart and soul of the team, with the bulk of their points in recent wins over the Roosters, on Sunday night, and the Tigers, three weeks ago, coming off his boot.
On top of that, his defensive kicking has been exceptional, consistently delivering Canberra into great field position. James Tedesco, the best fullback of the last decade in the NRL, felt the full force on Sunday evening with an aerial barrage that left him looking like a raw rookie.
Speaking to The Roar in the sheds after the match, Fogarty explained that it was his dedication – and a secret weapon – that has helped the Raiders along.
“It’s good to see all the reps at training coming off,” he said. “Not just me, just Jack (Wighton) and the other halves with Andrew Bishop our coach. Whether it’s raining or freezing cold, we’re always out there kicking.
“To see us put in the hard work and then get results is really nice. That’s who I am. I’ve never been the most talented but something I will do is work hard. That’s something I’ve always prided myself on: kicking well and tackling well.
“It’s easy to stay out there when you have a good kick coach, Jacko is out kicking with me and we’ve got the two hookers throwing us dummy half passes with the wingers and fullbacks down the back to catch. It’s very easy with the group willing to put in the time.”
Bishop is the secret weapon, a veteran of hundreds of Canberra AFL games, and the club’s Wellbeing Officer. Elliot Whitehead, joking after the post-match press conference, mentioned him too, though coach Ricky Stuart preferred to heap praise on his halfback.
“Practice,” said the coach when asked about Fogarty’s improvement.
“He’s so diligent in doing his practice, he’s one of the last blokes off. He’s always on the field.
“He isn’t wrapped for his kicking game. He’s got as good a kicking game as some of the top kickers in the game. He’s got height, he’s got distance, he’s management of the game with regards to his kicking has excelled and I reckon it kept us on the front foot for a lot of the game tonight.
“It’s hard to be patient in a game of footy, because you like to do the pretty things and the things that excite people, you want to do more of that.
“When he’s consistently banging away, you get bored of it and players can fall for the cheaper, softer option and want to do something tricky. He doesn’t understand how beneficial he is to the team.”
Fogarty himself saw it as him playing his role in the team, but acknowledged how important he had been in the 20-18 win over the Roosters.
“Teddy is a world class player and we know what he can do, but we definitely had a tactic to put it as high and as long as we could,” he said.
“Just to get enough numbers down there in our defensive line, because we know if we only get three or four down there, he was going to step us and carve us up.
“The tactic tonight was to put it as long and high as we could to control him, as well as Joey Manu and Daniel Tupou. That set our game up very nicely.”
As for the ‘Faders’ tag – Fogarty insisted that there was still a long way to go in his game management yet.
“It’s more that we get out to good starts and then let ourselves down,” he said. “
That’s why the games are close! It’s good for our confidence to know that we’ve been able to win a couple of close games. We’re getting used to it and it’s becoming the normal for us at the moment.
“We’ve been going alright with it, but there’s room for improvement, especially with myself. Once we get fatigued, the game’s been going end to end and we play a bit one out. That’s the area I need to improve, to make sure we’re still a threat.
“If we don’t, then the good teams like Penrith, the Broncos, Souths and Melbourne will eat us up. That’s the area I want to improve on.”