Canberra Raiders

Infobox rugby league club
clubname = Canberra Raiders


fullname = Canberra Raiders Rugby League Club
nickname = The Green Machine
shortname =
founded = 1982
ground = Canberra Stadium
capacity = 25,000
ceo = flagicon|Australia Don Furner Jnr
mgrtitle = Coach
manager = flagicon|Australia David Furner
captain = flagicon|Australia Alan Tongue
URL = [http://www.raiders.com.au raiders.com.au]
league = National Rugby League
season = 2008
position = National Rugby League, 6^th, Qualifying Finalists
premierships = 3
premiershipyears = 1989,1990,1994
minorpremierships = 1
minorpremiershipyears = 1990
spoons = 1
spoonyears = 1982
runnerups = 2
runnerupyears = 1987,1991
c
flagicon|Australia Jason Croker
mostc

points = flagicon|Australia David Furner
mostpoints = 1,218
current = Canberra Raiders season 2008
homejersey = Canberra Raiders home jersey 2006.svg
awayjersey = Canberra Raiders away jersey 2006.svgThe Canberra Raiders are an Australian professional rugby league football team based in the city of Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. They compete in the National Rugby League (NRL), Australasia's premier rugby league competition.

The Raiders were admitted to the New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership in 1982, along with the Illawarra Steelers, as part of the league's first expansion outside Sydney. Within five years, the Raiders had made the semi-finals, winning their maiden premiership in 1989. This heralded a period of great success for the club, with four grand final appearances and three premierships. However, in the last decade, the Raiders have suffered from an exodus of experience. At the beginning of the 2007 season, the Raiders squad contained no current representative players (the only such squad in the NRL). However, this situation has improved, with Phil Graham earning representation for the Country side [ [http://canberra.yourguide.com.au/detail.asp?class=sport&subclass=rugby%20union&story_id=580224&category=Rugby%20Union Graham fields Country call-up Centre replaces an injured Tahu - Sport - Rugby Union - The Canberra Times ] ] and Neville Costigan securing an interchange position in the Queensland State of Origin team. [ [http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,21734244-2722,00.html Reject wins place in Maroon pack | The Australian ] ]

The official symbol for the Canberra Raiders is the Viking. The Viking, also a mascot at Raiders' games, is known as Victor the Viking.

The Raiders' current home ground is Canberra Stadium in Bruce, Australian Capital Territory. Previously, the team played home matches at Seiffert Oval in Queanbeyan, New South Wales, with the move to Canberra Stadium taking place in 1990.

History

In March 1981, the Canberra franchise was accepted as the 14th team in the New South Wales Rugby League premiership for 1982. The initially unnamed team decided to adopt the name "Raiders", which was coined by the media in reference to the team being based outside Sydney since the old Newcastle team left in 1909.

1982-86

The club's initial seasons were a mixed bag, with the team earning the wooden spoon in their debut year. The team was notorious for late game collapses, leading to the nickname "Canberra Faders". In fact, no team has conceded more tries in a season than the 1982 Raiders. The club's first win, a 12-11 heartstopper v Newtown, came in its 8th match, and 3 more wins followed, most notably against then competition leaders Souths. 1983 saw 9 wins, more than doubling 1982's four. However, the team continued to struggle to win away from home. An away win first up in 1984 foreshadowed a much improved season, a positive winning record (13-11) snagging a playoff for fifth versus Souths. But this game was lost (4-23), and the Raiders had still not succeeded in reaching the semi-finals of the competition.

1985 saw regression, with the team winning only 8 games (though the reserves did reach the Grand Final). Though 1986 was similarly disappointing, the team had a core group of players, such as Mal Meninga, Gary Belcher, Steve Walters, and John Ferguson who would greatly influence the coming decade.

1987-1995

This was the most successful period in the Raiders' short history, with 5 Grand Finals and 3 premierships. In 1987, the team finished third, resulting in a maiden semi-finals appearance. Despite losing their first finals match against Easts, the Raiders rallied to defeat Souths (46-12) and Easts again (32-24). The latter earned the team a place in the Grand Final, but they were never really competitive against minor premiers Manly, going down 8-18.
Laurie Daley, Peter Jackson and Glenn Lazarus debuted this year. 1988 featured free-scoring (over 100 tries in 22 games) and a number of large victories, with the team again finishing in third place on the ladder. Unfortunately, a narrow loss against Canterbury in the Major Semi-Final was followed by defeat against Balmain and an early exit.Notable players starting out in 1988 were Brad Kay, Bradley Clyde, and Ricky Stuart.

With 5 rounds to play in the 1989 season, Canberra were 7th and in danger of missing the semis. But a hard fought 14-10 win over Easts started a 9 match winning streak, culminating in the club's first Premiership. In one of the all-time great Grand Finals, the Raiders sent the game into extra time after a late John Ferguson try that was converted by Meninga. Steve Jackson scored the winning try to win the premiership for the Raiders. 1990 was a stellar year for the club at all levels. All three grades making the Grand Final, with only the reserves losing. The first grade side earned their first Minor Premiership and a second consecutive title, defeating Penrith in the decider. Trouble brewed in 1991 as the club was embroiled in salary cap hardships. Nonetheless, a fourth Grand Final birth was secured - the team's third in a row. However, the team went down to Penrith in a repeat of the 1990 Grand Final. Jason Croker, the team's longest serving player, debuted this year.

The fallout from the salary cap imbroglio saw several players leave the club, most prominently Glenn Lazarus, Brent Todd, David Barnhill,Nigel Gaffey and Paul Martin. An average performance resulted, with the Raiders missing the finals for the first time since 1986. David Furner, son of former Raiders and Australian coach Don Furner, started out in this year.

1996-2006

Since their final premiership in 1994, the Raiders have been unable to scale their previous heights, largely due to their inability to lure representative players to the capital. The team bowed out in Round 1 of the 1996 finals series, losing to St George. The next year, they were one of several teams that joined the breakaway Super League competition, losing in the preliminary final to the Cronulla Sharks. It was upon rejoining the newly formed National Rugby League the following year that the team began their decline. The Raiders' problems came to a head in the late 1990s, when club legends Ricky Stuart and Bradley Clyde were forced out in order to accommodate players such as Brett Finch. Finch would ironically leave the Raiders soon after to play under Stuart, now a coach at the Cronulla Sharks. The Raiders had mixed results in the new millennium, often finishing just inside or just outside the final eight and usually being bundled out of the finals in the early weeks, However, in 2003, the Raiders unexpectedly led the competition for most of the season, almost clinching the minor premiership. The Raiders then lost narrowly to the Melbourne Storm in the opening finals game, but still advanced to Week 2 due to ladder position. In one of the closest games in recent history, the Raiders were eclipsed by one point in the preliminary final by the New Zealand Warriors and eliminated from the 2003 competition.

Many fans believed the achievements of 2003 would be improved in the following years. However, the Raiders finished a disappointing 8th in 2004, being knocked out in week one of the finals by the Sydney Roosters. Club legends Ruben Wiki and Mark McLinden left the Raiders for other clubs in this year. Wiki's loss, in particular, was a bitter pill to swallow for many Raiders fans, as it was found that the New Zealand Warriors had significantly breached the salary cap in signing him. The 2005 side was written off by fans and critics alike, as the club's two major signings, Jason Smith and Matt Adamson, were ageing veterans considered well past their prime. However, both, particularly Smith, proved formidable campaigners, and the Raiders were joint competition leaders in Round 10. But as the season progressed, injuries took their toll and the Raiders finished second last on points differential to the Newcastle Knights. The Raiders started Season 2006 heavy favourites to run last, but despite this pessimism and heavy losses to the Knights and the Roosters early on, fought back and guaranteed themselves a finals berth with a round to play.

2006 saw club stalwarts Simon Woolford, Clinton Schifcofske and the club's longest serving player, Jason Croker, leave the club, going to St George Illawarra, the Queensland Reds rugby union team and the Super League (Europe) club Les Catalans respectively. Outgoing backs Schifcofske and Adam Mogg both earned representative berths with Queensland in State of Origin. Saturday 9 September 2006 saw Jason Croker, Simon Woolford, Clinton Schifcofske, Michael Hodgson, Jason Smith and Adam Mogg all play their final games for the club. The round one finals series clash with the Bulldogs saw the Raiders defeated 30-12 in slippery and muddy conditions at Telstra Stadium, and eliminated from the 2006 premiership race. This was also the final match for coach Matthew Elliott, who is coaching Penrith in 2007. His replacement is former North Queensland Cowboys' assistant coach Neil Henry.

2007

In 2007, the Raiders were an unknown quantity. Having lost star players such as Schifcofske, Smith, Croker and Woolford in key positions, the Raiders found themselves rellying on young, inexperienced players such as Todd Carney, William Zillman and Michael Dobson to step up and take on more prominent roles within the team. The sense of inexperience was reinforced by the selection of Neil Henry as coach, despite his lack of first-grade coaching experience. Though the Raiders were bolstered by late season signings Neville Costigan and Matt Bickerstaff, several critics believed that the Raiders' significant loss of experience would result in their "winning" the wooden spoon.Fact|date=April 2007

2007 was, overall, a disappointing season for the Raiders, who finished in 14th place despite entering the top 8 midway through the season. However, two players - Phil Graham for Country Origin and Neville Costigan for Queensland - achieved representative status. The season was notable for the difference in the team's performance at and away from home, with just 2 of their 9 wins occurring outside Canberra.Fact|date=April 2007. Coach Neil Henry incurred a fine of $10 000 for questioning the impartiality of the referee after the round 19 clash [ [http://www.leaguehq.com.au/news/news/raiders-accept-10000-fine/2007/07/23/1185043004174.html Raiders accept $10,000 fine - leaguehq.com.au ] ] .

2008

The 2008 season started with some promise for the Raiders - a good showing despite a loss in round 1 vs. Newcastle was followed up with two solid wins against Penrith and St.George-Illawarra. The club has since suffered a series of losses, whilst snaring only the occasional victory, with a big come from behind victory against Wests being noteworthy. In the representative field, Todd Carney and Joel Monaghan picked for Country Origin, and Monaghan being a shadow player for the New South Wales Side.

However, as in recent seasons, injuries have been the curse of the Canberra club, with no less than three players suffering dreaded ACL ruptures, arguably the worst kind of injury a footballer can receive, essentially ending their season. Worse, the three players afflicted, Will Zillman, Lincoln Withers and Phil Graham are amongst the Raiders best players. Compounding this, talented back-rowers Neville Costigan and Tom Learoyd-Lahrs have spent minimal time on the field due to recurring minor injuries. The club has also suffered badly in the recruiting race, with Zillman and strong front rower Michael Weyman opting to go elsewhere next season, with indications that Costigan and Scott Logan will do the same. Additionally, half Michael Dobson left the club mid-season for the English club Hull KR, due to lack of opportunities in Canberra. Finally, Coach Neil Henry has exercised a get-out clause in his contract, and will coach the North-Queensland Cowboys in 2009, with former player and club legend, but inexperienced coach, David Furner taking over in 2009. To date, beyond a few talented youngsters, the club is yet to procure a single player of note for season 2009, and will once again be forced to rely on youthful talent. At Round 13, Canberra sat well outside the eight, and the season looked as though it could end with a whimper.

However, far from fading away, the Raiders bounced back with a comprehensive victory over the Brisbane Broncos and then proceeded to thrash the Canterbury Bulldogs, inflicting the worst loss on the Sydney based club in over half a century. Despite successive losses to the Cronulla Sharks and defending premiers Melbourne Storm, Canberra fought hard in both games, then broke a 13 year losing streak in Wollongong (and ended a 7 match winning streak by the home team) with an impressive win over St. George-Illawarra. The season highlight, however, was a comprehensive 34-12 win over league leaders, the Sydney Roosters. With 7 rounds left in the 2008 premiership, Canberra sits just one point outside the top eight. With a comparatively friendly draw, playing several teams below them on the table, the Raiders are poised to sneak into the semi-finals for the first time in two years. After a comprehensive 74-12 win over the Panthers the Raiders moved in to an unexpected 6th spot on the ladder from 11th to almost cement a spot in the 2008 finals series with 4 games remaining.

The raiders went closer to the top eight with two important wins against Newcastle and Souths. They are know on a three match winning streak with 2 games remaining.

The season has not been without controversy, however, with star halfback Todd Carney and fullback Bronx Goodwin being stood down by the club after an altercation at a Canberra nightclub following the round 19 win against the Roosters. Carney was eventually dismissed by the club after failing to agree to the punishment plan the club had laid out for him, Goodwin's future is still to be determined.

As of the 6th of September 2008, despite a heavy injury toll, the Raiders are guaranteed a place in the NRL 2008 Finals Series, a feat which was at the start of the season impossible according to Rugby League punditry in Australia.

The Raiders semi-final appearance was brief, however. After being defeated by the Cronulla Sharks, the Raiders 6th place finish was considered to be enough to get them a second chance. However, a huge upset with 8th place New Zealand defeating minor premiers Melbourne saw the Raiders eliminated.

Toyota Cup (Under 20s)

The Raiders' Toyota Cup team won 28-24 over the Broncos' team in golden point extra time to with the Toyota Cup (Under 20s) premiership in the lead-up game to the NRL Grand Final on 5 October 2008 [ [http://www.raiders.com.au/2008/detail_desc.php?news_id=990 Raiders snatch golden point premiership] , Canberra Raiders, 5 October 2008.]

Emblem and colours

.

The original jersey's design was chosen through a competition held by the club in 1981. The winning entrant was Ms Patricia Taylor, whose design was duly adopted.

quad

Playing Squad for 2009

*flagicon|AUS|size=20px Terry Campese
*flagicon|AUS|size=20px Phil Graham
*
*
*flagicon|AUS|size=20px Marc Herbert
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
* (c)
*Players used outside top 25
*flagicon|AUS|size=20px Glen Buttriss
*flagicon|AUS|size=20px Justin Carney
*flagicon|AUS|size=20px Joel Thompson

Player transfers for 2009

IN

*
*
*

OUT

* (to South Sydney Rabbitohs)
* (Released mid-season for disciplinary reasons)
* (to Celtic Crusaders)
* (to St.George-Illawarra)
* (Released mid-season; to Hull KR)
* (to Melbourne Storm)
* (Retired)
* (to St.George-Illawarra)
* (to Celtic Crusaders)
* (to Gold Coast Titans)

Former Captains/Coaches

Captains

*David Grant - 1982
*Allan McMahon - 1983
*Ron Giteau - 1984-1985
*Dean Lance - 1985-1989
*Mal Meninga - 1989-1994
*Ricky Stuart - 1995-1997
*Laurie Daley - 1998-2000
*Simon Woolford - 2001-2005
*Clinton Schifcofske - 2006
*Alan Tongue - 2007-present

Coaches

*Don Furner - 1982-1986
*Don Furner & Wayne Bennett - 1987
*Tim Sheens - 1988-1996
*Mal Meninga - 1997-2001
*Matthew Elliott - 2002-2006
*Neil Henry - 2007-2008
*David Furner - 2009-

25 Year Dream Team

This is the 25 man "Dream Team" picked in the Canberra Times to celebrate the club's 25th season in 2006

*Coach: Tim Sheens
*Captain: Mal Meninga

*1. Sam Backo
*2. Gary Belcher
*3. Bradley Clyde
*4. Gary Coyne
*5. Laurie Daley
*6. Brett Mullins
*7. Chris O'Sullivan
*8. Ruben Wiki
*9. John Ferguson
*10. David Furner
*11. Ashley Gilbert
*12. Jason Croker
*13. David Grant
*14. Luke Davico
*15. Ivan Henjak
*16. Peter Jackson
*17. Dean Lance
*18. Glenn Lazarus
*19. Noa Nadruku
*20. Ken Nagas
*21. Clinton Schifcofske
*22. Ricky Stuart
*23. Steve Walters
*24. Simon Woolford

tatistics and Records

eason Summaries

* Average home crowd

Honours

Premierships (3/26)

Wooden Spoon (1/26)

*sport honours|NSWRL Premier League|1|2003
*sport honours|New South Wales Rugby League Club Championships|1|1990
*sport honours|Channel TEN Challenge Cup|1|1990
*sport honours|Tooheys Challenge Cup|1|1993
*sport honours|Jersey Flegg Cup|3|1989, 1993, 2008
*sport honours|National Youth Competition|1|2008
*sport honours|Presidents Cup|2|1990, 1995
*sport honours|S.G. Ball Cup|2|1995, 2005
*sport honours|Harold Matthews Cup|4|1978, 1984, 1993, 1995

References

External links

Official Sites
* [http://www.raiders.com.au/ Raiders Official Web Page]
* [http://www.nrl.com/Clubs/Raiders/tabid/85/Default.aspx NRL Official Site on Raiders]
* [http://www.raidersleagues.com.au/ Raiders Leagues Club] Fan Sites
* [http://www.thegh.com.au/ The Greenhouse - Raiders Supporters Forum] Statistics & Information Sites
* [http://stats.rleague.com/rl/teams/canberra/canberra_idx.html Canberra Statistics Tables]
* [http://www.rl1908.com/Clubs/Canberra-Raiders.htm RL1908 Raiders History]