Canberra Raiders

Club information
Full name	Canberra Raiders Rugby League Club
Nickname(s)	The Green Machine
Colours	Lime Green,      White
Founded	1982
Current details
Ground(s)	Canberra Stadium (25,000)
CEO(s)	Don Furner, Jr.
Coach	David Furner
Captain(s)	Alan Tongue
Competition	National Rugby League
2009	13th
Home colours		Away colours
Current season
Records
Premierships	3 (1989,1990,1994)
Runners-up	2 (1987,1991)
Minor premiership	1 (1990)
Wooden spoons	1 (1982)
Most capped	318 - Jason Croker
Most points	1,218 - David Furner

The 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' 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. 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 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. Over the following years they improved steadily, becoming the first non-Sydney team to make the finals (1984), feature in a grand final (1987) and win a premiership (1989). This heralded a period of great success for the club, with four grand final appearances and three premierships in eight years. After this came the Super League war, with the Raiders switching to the rebel competition before continuing to compete in the re-unified NRL.

In the past decade, the Raiders have suffered from an exodus of experience. At the beginning of the 2009 season, the Raiders squad contained only four players who have played at the representative level. Joel Monaghan and Terry Campese each represented the Australian side during the 2008 Rugby League World Cup, with Monaghan also playing for the NSW blues during the third game of the 2008 State of Origin Series. Also, Bronson Harrison has represented New Zealand, and Phil Graham has represented Country Origin. However calls up for captain Alan Tongue to Country Origin, David Shillington to the Queensland State of Origin side and Tom Learoyd-Lahrs to the New South Wales Origin side now sees the Raiders with a solid spread of representative players in their squad.

Contents 1 History 1.1 1980s 1.2 1990s 1.3 2000s 1.4 Toyota Cup (Under 20s) 2 Emblem and colours 3 Canberra Raiders 2010 4 Player transfers for 2010 5 Captains/Coaches 5.1 Captains 5.2 Coaches 5.3 25 Year Dream Team 6 Statistics and Records 6.1 Season Summaries 7 Honours 7.1 Premierships (3/26) 7.2 Runners Up (2/26) 7.3 Minor Premierships (1/26) 7.4 Wooden Spoon (1/26) 8 Notable supporters 9 References 10 External links

[edit] History

At the beginning of the 1980s, the New South Wales Rugby Football League (NSWRFL) was looking to expand its Sydney-based premiership into other areas of the state. The Canberra franchise was accepted in 1981 as the 14th team for the 1982 NSWRFL season. Along with the Illawarra Steelers who were also introduced that season, they became the first NSWRFL club based outside Sydney since the old Newcastle team left in 1909.

[edit] 1980s

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 first points recorded by the Canberra Raiders were scored by Peter McGrath (later to become Chairman of the Australian Rugby Union). McGrath finished with 41 points in his first and only season with the Raiders.^[1] 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.

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,Luke Walker, 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. The Raiders then went on to play in England at Old Trafford in the first offical World Club Challenge against 1988-89 RFL champions, Widnes. However they were not able to win going down 30-18 in front of 30,768 people.

[edit] 1990s

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.

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.

[edit] 2000s

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.

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 with a new captain in Alan Tongue relying 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.^[2]

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.^[3] Coach Neil Henry incurred a fine of $10 000 for questioning the impartiality of the referee after the round 19 clash^[4].

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 then 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. In September 2008, despite a heavy injury toll, the Raiders guaranteed themselves a place in the NRL 2008 Finals Series winning seven of thier last nine regular season games, 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.

The season had 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 was also sacked from the club.

A slow start to the 2009 season saw the raiders lose to the tigers and the roosters. However with the help from under 20's debutants Josh Dugan, Jarrad Croker and Travis Waddell they won their next two matches. Despite a disappointing season for the raiders losing to many close games the raiders were able to beat the Melbourne Storm for the first time in 14 games and 7 years 26-16 in round 16 to keep their slim finals hopes alive.^[5] The Raiders also had a memorable win over the number one team at the time St George-Illawarra Dragons, by 24-12.^[6] Despite wins against three of the top four (St George Illawarra Dragons, Gold Coast Titans and the Melbourne Storm) and coming within three points of the other (Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs) losses to bottom placed teams Cronulla Sharks and Sydney Roosters at home saw the raiders finish in 13^th.

[edit] 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^[7]

[edit] Emblem and colours

Since inception, the Raiders' team colours have been lime green and white with blue and gold bands. In recent years, the "away" strip for the team has been mostly white, with lime green, blue and gold bands. The lime green was chosen as the main colour as it differentiated the side from other club's colours. The blue and gold were included in the Raiders colours as they are the traditional sporting colours of the Australian Capital Territory.

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.

Home jerseys of the Raiders

1982-1992 2009-present	1993-1996	1997	1998-1999
2000-2002	2003-2005	2006-2008

[edit] Canberra Raiders 2010

No. Position Player FB Josh Dugan WG Daniel Vidot CE Jarrod Croker SR Danny Galea CE Joel Monaghan FE Terry Campese HB Marc Herbert PR Dane Tilse HK Glen Buttriss PR Scott Logan PR David Shillington SR Bronson Harrison LK Alan Tongue (Captain) SR Trevor Thurling SR Tom Learoyd-Lahrs PR Troy Thompson SR Joe Picker WG Michael Brophy WG Justin Carney

No. Position Player CE Brad Cross SR Andrew Edwards LK Shaun Fensom HK Stuart Flanagan WG Sam Huihahau PR Daniel Joyce WG Brett Kelly SR Cy Lasscock FE Josh McCrone PR Josh Miller FE Zac Russ PR Nick Skinner HB Matt Smith CE James Stuart SR Joel Thompson SR Glen Turner FB David Milne HK Travis Waddell WG Drury Low WG Matthew Sing

[edit] Player transfers for 2010

IN Danny Galea (from Wests Tigers) OUT Phil Graham (to Sydney Roosters) Nigel Plum (to Penrith Panthers) Adrian Purtell (to Penrith Panthers)

[edit] Captains/Coaches

[edit] 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

[edit] 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-

[edit] 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

[edit] Statistics and Records

[edit] Season Summaries

Season Pos Pld W D L B F A +/- Pts Notes Crowd* 1982 1414th 26 4 0 22 N/A 269 862 -593 8 Wooden Spoon 10,825 1983 1010th 26 9 0 17 N/A 495 614 -119 18 9,798 1984 066th 24 13 0 11 2 379 394 -15 30 Lost in Play Off for 5th 10,639 1985 1010th 24 8 2 14 2 432 534 -102 22 7,833 1986 1111th 24 8 1 15 2 391 413 -22 21 6,851 1987 033rd 24 15 0 9 2 441 325 116 34 Runners-Up 6,918 1988 033rd 22 15 0 7 N/A 596 346 250 30 Lost in Minor Semi 9,988 1989 044th 22 14 0 8 N/A 457 287 170 28 Premiers 9,241 1990 011st 22 16 1 5 N/A 532 245 287 33 Premiers 13,542 1991 044th 22 14 0 8 N/A 452 327 125 28 Runners-Up 14,587 1992 1212th 22 10 0 12 N/A 435 409 26 20 11,103 1993 033rd 22 16 1 5 N/A 587 272 315 33 Lost in Minor Semi 14,569 1994 033rd 22 17 0 5 N/A 677 298 379 34 Premiers 17,392 1995 022nd 22 20 0 2 N/A 634 255 379 40 Lost in Preliminary Final 15,683 1996 066th 21 13 1 7 N/A 538 384 154 27 Lost in Quarter Final 10,440 1997 033rd 18 11 0 7 N/A 436 337 99 22 Lost in Preliminary Final 11,622 1998 077th 24 15 0 9 N/A 564 429 135 30 Lost in Minor Semi 10,135 1999 099th 24 13 1 10 2 618 439 179 31 12,057 2000 044th 26 15 0 11 N/A 506 479 27 30 Lost in Semi Final 12,186 2001 1111th 26 9 1 16 N/A 600 623 -23 19 9,780 2002 088th 24 10 1 13 2 471 641 -170 25 Lost in Qualifying Final 10,348 2003 044th 24 16 0 8 2 620 463 157 36 Lost in Semi Final 13,422 2004 088th 24 11 0 13 2 554 613 -59 26 Lost in Qualifying Final 11,116 2005 1414th 24 9 0 15 2 465 606 -141 22 12,404 2006 077th 24 13 0 11 2 525 573 -48 30 Lost in Qualifying Final 11,489 2007 1414th 24 9 0 15 1 522 652 -150 20 11,512 2008 066th 24 13 0 11 2 640 527 113 30 Lost in Qualifying Final 11,913 2009 1313th 24 9 0 15 2 489 510 -31 22 11,027

Colour Result Yellow Premiers Dark Green Runners-up Light Green Qualified for finals Red Wooden spoon * Average home crowd

[edit] Honours

[edit] Premierships (3/26)

Year	Opponent	Competition	Score
1989	Balmain Tigers	Winfield Cup	19-14
1990	Penrith Panthers	Winfield Cup	18-14
1994	Canterbury Bulldogs	Winfield Cup	36-12

[edit] Runners Up (2/26)

Year	Opponent	Competition	Score
1987	Manly Sea Eagles	NSWRL	18-8
1991	Penrith Panthers	Winfield Cup	19-12

[edit] Minor Premierships (1/26)

Year	Competition	Wins
1990	Winfield Cup	16 (1 draw)

[edit] Wooden Spoon (1/26)

Year	Competition	Wins
1982	NSWRL	2

• NSWRL Premier League: 1
  

2003

• New South Wales Rugby League Club Championships: 1
  

1990

• Channel TEN Challenge Cup: 1
  

1990

• Tooheys Challenge Cup: 1
  

1993

• Jersey Flegg Cup: 3
  

1989, 1993, 2008

• National Youth Competition: 1
  

2008

• Presidents Cup: 2
  

1990, 1995

• S.G. Ball Cup: 2
  

1995, 2005

• Harold Matthews Cup: 4
  

1978, 1984, 1993, 1995

[edit] Notable supporters

Mark Webber, Formula One driver[8] Brad Haddin, Australian test cricketer[9] Brendan Jones, professional golfer[10] Michael Klim[citation needed] Michael Milton, multisport paralympian[11]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Official Sites Raiders Official Web Page NRL Official Site on Raiders Raiders Leagues Club

Fan Sites The Greenhouse - Raiders Supporters Forum

Statistics & Information Sites Canberra Statistics Tables RL1908 Raiders History

v • d • e Canberra Raiders Est. 1982 in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory The Club History · Records · Players · Coaches Home Grounds Seiffert Oval · Bruce/Canberra Stadium Culture Mal Meninga Medal · 1989 League Legends Cup Important Figures Laurie Daley · Furner family · Mal Meninga League NSWRL · ARL · SL · NRL Premierships (3) 1989 · 1990 · 1994 Seasons (28) 1980 · 1981 · 1982 · 1983 · 1984 · 1985 · 1986 · 1987 · 1988 · 1989 1990 · 1991 · 1992 · 1993 · 1994 · 1995 · 1996 · 1997 · 1998 · 1999 2000 · 2001 · 2002 · 2003 · 2004 · 2005 · 2006 · 2007 · 2008 · 2009 Other Competitions Current: National Youth Competition · S. G. Ball Cup · Harold Matthews Cup Past: Amco Cup · Jersey Flegg Cup · New South Wales Cup Affiliations Souths Logan Magpies  · Northern Raiders

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