Season Preview
Youth got to be kidding me!? A new era of Canberra Raiders rugby league will begin this season for Ricky Stuart and his young squad. With each club’s top 30 squads finalised, the Raiders officially have the least amount of accumulated first grade experience with 1676 games. This equates to an average of 55.8 games per player, which is made even more astonishing when you take into account Josh Papali’i proudly owns 305 of them. Tipped once again to finish in the bottom half of the ladder this season, Canberra have built a solid foundation to build on after finishing ninth last season, only missing out on finals football due to an inferior for-and-against to Newcastle. This will be Stuart’s biggest challenge this season in my opinion, to get such a young team mentally and defensively ready to make a top eight push. The key to success, as proven by Penrith and Melbourne, is ‘suffocating’ defence. It is not sustainable in rugby league to win 32-28 each week with lowered defensive standards.
The Raiders will start off their season in Las Vegas, the city where the “Raiders” is also the name of the NFL home town franchise. This will generate mutual support and bring a massive buzz around the club. The Raiders lost a massive amount of leadership with Elliot Whitehead and Jordan Rapana both departing at the conclusion of last season, so the question marks will be around if Canberra’s youth first approach will be a success, or will the lack of experienced signings come back to haunt them. Canberra have bought in the highly talented Ethan Sanders from Parramatta, Matty Nicholson from Warrington, Savelio Tamale from St George, and Myles Martin from Newcastle, so it’s not a lack of recruitment, more the lack of clarity how these signings will impact 2025 for this team.
Will 2025 be a success for the Canberra Raiders? It all depends what expectations their fans have and how patient they are willing to be with this line-up. Can they win the competition? I don’t believe so, but I do believe a top eight finish isn’t out of the grasp for such a naturally talented football team coached by a man who has been there and done it all as a player and coach. Defence, team chemistry, growth, and consistency building will be the most important attributes for Canberra to improve on going forward this season and beyond.
Best Signing
Embed from Getty ImagesEthan Sanders
Signing this promising halfback from the Parramatta Eels was a statement from the club, making him the player they want to build a team around going forward. Sanders won the SG Ball with Parramatta in 2023, has gone on to make his first grade debut for them last year, and represent NSW at under 19 level. How much of an impact he will make in 2025 depends on how Ricky Stuart rotates Ethan Strange and Jamal Fogarty, but overall he is without a shadow of a doubt Canberra’s best signing of the off-season talent-wise and future impact-wise.
Key Player
Embed from Getty ImagesJamal Fogarty
Last season a lot of Canberra’s on-field success came down to this man. His general play kicking game improved out of sight and was the key ingredient for Canberra’s grinding tactics. Before injury struck I’d go out and say he might of even had the best kicking game in the competition at that time. He led the league in kicking metres, and they’ll be relying heavily on his experience, leadership and game management. The perfect mentor for Ethan Strange, and Ethan Sanders, two “E’s” with A+ potential.
Player to Watch
Embed from Getty ImagesKaeo Weekes
Flair. Excitement. Speed. Natural Talent. X-factor. I can go on and on about this for Weekes. This man can cut open defences with one step, full-field tries that Canberra haven’t seen since they came across a young Josh Dugan way back in 2009. He is versatile and can play in the backs and the halves: a valuable talent who I predict will be the breakout player for Canberra this season. Fullback is his home and if pre-season is anything to go by – after witnessing that try against Cronulla – he is back and ready in 2025. Good luck setting your line opposition defences.
