Raiders fans probably don’t need reminding, but they were just an Edrick Lee catch and put down from an NRL decider against the Sharks.
They had an absolute gem of a 2016 season, and the ability is there to go one step further in the upcoming 2017 season.
It’s worth mentioning off the bat that I am not a Raiders fan, but I am excited to see what this team can produce in 2017, and I’m sure I am not alone.
There are few more exciting players in the game than the likes of Croker, Rapana and Leilua, while Boyd and Papalii are two of the most brutal forwards playing the game.
There’s a mixture of size, class and exciting across the park, and plenty of try-scoring potential. I’m not a betting man, but the smart money is on the Green Machine producing plenty of highlights in the upcoming eight months.
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Weakness: Lack of big game experience
Despite the talent on offer in Canberra, there’s a lack of big game experience that does come in handy at the business end of the season.
Hodgson, Papalii, Boyd, Soliola and Rapana all have international experience, but other key players, such as the likes of Wighton, Austin, Sezer, Croker, and Leilua are all sans Origin experience.
There isn’t a whole lot of finals experience in key positions neither. Last year will be absolutely priceless, but they were unable to overturn the momentum against the Sharks after Hodgson’s injury.
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This is by no means a crippling weakness, but big games and pressure situations require calm heads, and the best way to develop that is through experience.
Strength: Best attack in the game
After a quick look at the attacking weapons on show in Canberra, you can be forgiven for making comparisons to the great Green Machine sides of old.
Leilua and Croker are the best centre pairing in the game, Jordan Rapana has become arguably the most dangerous winger in the NRL also.
Sezer and Austin can bust any side to pieces from anywhere on the park, as can Josh Hodgson from dummy half. Jack Wighton’s evolvement at fullback is staggering.
Where the Raiders have a huge advantage in attack comes from their pack. Whitehead is a freakish ball-playing talent, Shannon Boyd is a monster with an offload, and Soliola and Papalii play as gigantic five-eighths at times.
Last year that blitzed all before them when it came to scoring points, and I can’t see anything changing this season.
Best Player: Josh Hodgson
The English rake was in genuine Dally M medal contention throughout 2016, and became the main man in a team full of superstars in the process.
There is a strong chance that he will become an 80 minute player this season, with Bapstite injured, and a monster Raiders forward pack that will need to be rotated. This is a positive in my view.
A quick look at Hodgson’s 2016 season, highlighted by his 15 try assists, shows his importance to the side.
As shown in 2016, the abilities of number nines to kick both in attack and in general play sees their side take a huge advantage over most other sides. In 2016, perhaps on Smith and Ennis were better.
Pressure On: Ricky Stuart
It’s hard to justify the pressure being in a coach who led his side to a second placed finish and within a scoring-play of a Grand Final, but Stuart has a huge role to play in 2017.
The expectation is very real in the nation’s capital, with fans of the Green Machine genuinely of the belief that this is their year.
Stuart needs to ensure that pressure doesn’t get to his players and distract them from their focus. The Raiders will lose games and it will be their mentor who will have to keep the spirits high and minds on the job.
He has an NRL premiership to his name at the Roosters, but became known for not converting brilliant seasons into title wins. As strange as it sounds, if the Raiders cannot lift the trophy, that reputation will multiply.
Prediction: 1st
A big call. A huge call. The Raiders look ready to capture their first ever NRL Minor Premiership, and their first top placed finish since the only time they achieved that back in 1990.
The last few seasons have seen storybook title wins for the Rabbits, Cowboys and the Sharks. 2017 looks like a year that those of us with Raiders supporting friends won’t soon be allowed to forget.
There is no guarantee a team will perform as it did a year before, but across the park the Raiders have done an incredible job of keeping their side together.
Croker’s injury is a setback, but those of us who have seen the outside backs on show in the Raiders lower grades will know there’s hardly a lack of options for Ricky Stuart to cover the loss.
To be frank, it’s tough to see any side being able to stop the Raiders in 2017, their attack is just too potent.
Exciting times ahead for fans of the Green Machine.