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.”
Tim Buck 3
Roar Rookie
I'll have a look at the SANFL winners. It's been a long time. It seems Canberra isn't big enough to attract an AFL or an A-League team. My friends who played soccer all have an English team they follow. Some also have an AFL team.
Geoff from Bruce Stadium
Roar Rookie
Ah - West Torrens - the Eagles. They had a pretty tough time when I was in Adelaide during the 70s, 80s and early 90s. But when they merged with Woodville they became a bit of a powerhouse - and still are. In terms of a Canberra AFL team I'm sure they supported a team here they would have packed out Manuka every time they played there. But the AFL had designs on the Sydney market - as did Australian soccer who consistently refused to have a men's A league team in Canberra. Pretty short sighted for mine.
Tim Buck 3
Roar Rookie
Yes, I agree Canberra would've worked well for the AFL with all the interstate workers and visitors. Maybe they thought Canberra wouldn't get big enough crowds. Many people I know have an AFL team and I like the Crows although my viewing is mostly Rugby League, including the ESL when it's on Fox. I lived in Adelaide for a while and went to a few games with my friend, a West Torrens fan. West Torrens usually lost but I saw them beat Woodville at Adelaide Oval.
Wolzal
Roar Rookie
Sorry, people replied to me sincerely and now I feel bad. I was being somewhat sarcastic as my issue was with the language used in the article: ...a veteran of hundreds of Canberra AFL games Canberra Aussie Rules / Australian Rules Football games, or AFL Canberra games? It's unfortunate the National Council was folded and administrative duties of the code were handed over to the AFL, because ever since they've been hell bent on making "AFL" synonymous with the code, never more obvious than with the advertisements that adorn the buses telling kids to "Play AFL". Do we play NBA? Play NRL? Hit a round of PGA or train UFC? Even Brian Taylor on the weekend called it the "AFL Hall of Fame" and not the Australian Football Hall of Fame. People will accuse me of pedantry but ever since the AFL were made "custodians of the game" they have done a terrible job, consistently eroding and rewriting history.
mushi
Roar Guru
When I say won by more it's that if the other 12 guys were matching/beating their opposite number. That's what would worry me given how out if position we were towards the end and we're hardly a team in form.
Geoff from Bruce Stadium
Roar Rookie
The Raiders have plenty of big scalps playing away from home. I'd include the win against the Roosters on Sunday at the Sydney Football stadium where they'd previously had a shocking record. Plus the Roosters were desperate. The wins against the Broncos at Suncorp and the Rabbitohs at Accor Stadium were phenomenal given how well these teams play on their home grounds. They seem very adept at regrouping after a bad loss and taking down one of the big clubs the following week. I tipped them to beat the Roosters based on this. But as a member I've been there for those very disappointing performances against Penrith (they were in the contest at half time), Manly (which they were never in), and the Warriors (where they were leading at half time but should have been bigger given their possession). Those big losses were enough to blow out their negative differential given how they only seem to win by small margins. They rely on effort and defence to contain the opposition - and if that is missing slightly they pay for it. But credit where it is due, They have won a lot of close games this season they would have lost years ago - and that will hold them in good stead if they manage to make the finals. The Raiders appear to play finals type football all the time when they are on. But it would certainly be useful to win by bigger margins from time to time when they get the upper hand.
Geoff from Bruce Stadium
Roar Rookie
Fogarty was the difference between the two sides really. His kicking has gone to another level and its effectiveness makes me wonder why Jack Wighton was doing so much of the kicking in the second half of last year and earlier this season. Jack was always good for a kick out on the full so giving more responsibility to Jamal has been a very good change of tactics. The Raiders got out to a dominant 18 point lead but those tries to Joey Manu either side of half time were crucial in getting the Roosters right back into the game. From there it was an arm wrestle. Easy to say that the Raiders should have won by more but there are two sides out there and the Roosters were as desperate to win as the Raiders.
Geoff from Bruce Stadium
Roar Rookie
Would have been interesting if the AFL administration had stuck a team in Canberra instead of Western Sydney. Given the city still attracts people from all over Australia to work - including the AFL states of WA, SA and Victoria - I'm sure it would have flourished. I was brought up on AFL in Broken Hill and Adelaide - and only really got on board the Raiders in the NRL due to a lack of a local AFL team in Canberra.
Tim Buck 3
Roar Rookie
AF was played in Canberra before RL because the public servants moved to Canberra from Melbourne, the first capital of Australia. Canberra RU was big with teams from the ANU, Duntroon and Daramalan playing with local rugby clubs but it was not on TV. When I arrived in Canberra the one commercial channel showed the VFL match of the day live on Saturday afternoon. A Sydney RL game was shown after the Sunday night movie. This all changed in 1982 and RL took off with games shown in prime time. All the RL fans in Canberra had a team to follow and the Raiders converted many to the game. I thought it took hold from day one but it certainly grew when Mal Meninga arrived in the cold capital.
mushi
Roar Guru
His kicking game was phenomenon on the weekend... but we were still in that game. Raiders have some, albeit smaller than my guys, question marks that they didn't turn that kicking game into a 20 point win
Tim Buck 3
Roar Rookie
The Greater Western Sydney Giants play some games in Canberra. They played Richmond a few years ago on a cold Saturday night and quite a few went home to watch it on TV.
andrew
Roar Rookie
Boyd's the better half. Sexton hasn't really kicked on, can't believe some idiot thought Saints could swap Sexton for Hunt.
dogs
Roar Rookie
Assuming he meant the ACTAFL. Which back in the early 80s was probably the biggest local comp down there, very closely followed by Rugby (no Vikings juggernaut back then). It wasn't until around a decade of the Raiders that league really took hold.
Randy
Roar Rookie
guess they thought Toby Sexton would be their long term halfback. He hasn't really come along though, he looks incredibly slow to me...
Wolzal
Roar Rookie
Canberra has an AFL team?
andrew
Roar Rookie
Good to see Fogarty going well after being let go from the Titans. One of Holbrook’s really smart moves, and he’s left wondering why he got sacked.
Randy
Roar Rookie
Unfortunately when the Raiders lose they are losing big- Warriors, Manly and Panthers have all put a massive dent in our F&A. In saying that we have beaten some top teams - Broncos, Sharks, Rabbitohs... very hard season to tip.
Andrew01
Roar Rookie
The Fogarty story is all well and good - Yep, He is a solid number 7 with a very good kicking game and i am sure he is one of the last to leave the training paddock (seriously given how many NRL players are the last to leave the training paddock, there must be some really long training sessions!) The correlation and observation about how the Raiders are "sitting pretty" and that the team "remember, was the Canberra Faders, the worst side in the comp at front-running. How have they shunned the Faders tag?!" is very glass half full analysis. First a technicality: Fogarty didn't miss the bulk of last year. He played in 15 of the Raiders 26 games. About 60% of games. Yep. They are currently 6th (for whatever that is worth). But in a comp where 1st to 9th is decided by just 4 competition points, compared to the other Top 8 sides their for and against ranges from an astonishing 133 points worse than the Warriors, to 244 points worse than the Panthers. Only 5 clubs have a worse for and against and none of those teams will be playing finals. In a tight competition, For and Against is going to matter,. As for losing the "Faders" tag.. Lets look at the glass half empty version of that. They have led three teams by 18 points this year; Rd 9 v Dolphins: Led 18-0 after 25 mins to win 31-30 (in GP) Rd 14 v Tigers: Led 18-0 after 68 mins. Lost lead late but won 20-19 Rd 17 v Roosters: led 18-0 after 39 mins. Won 20-18. They have had double digit leads in 5 additional games and not won any games by more than 8 points. Raiders 2nd halves this year: 3 wins, 10 losses, 2 drawn Raiders final 20 minutes this year: 3 wins, 9 loses, 3 drawn To Fogerty's credit he has kicked them to victory in those games where they blew 18 point leads, but to suggest this season is any deviation from the way Stuart's Raiders play is a myth. He gets them to play on passion and heart, and that isn't always possible for a full 80 minutes.