Canberra v Newcastle: 5 warning signs the Raiders and Knights NRL seasons are in peril
Time is running out for Canberra and Newcastle to turn around their season and one thing is certain — this weekend’s loser will be in a world of hurt, PAUL CRAWLEY writes.
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Canberra and Newcastle came into this season with hefty expectations to improve on their 2020 performances and give the NRL premiership a real shake.
But, after eight rounds, both teams have just three wins, have lost five of their past six and languish outside the top eight.
On Saturday, the Raiders and Knights face off in Wagga Wagga in a match that will leave the loser in a world of hurt.
But how did they slump so badly?
The Saturday Telegraph looks at the issues facing two proud clubs and whether they can fix them to re-establish themselves as contenders come finals time.
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In this episode, Phil ‘Buzz’ Rothfield, Michael Carayannis and Adam Mobbs argue over who is in more trouble — Newcastle or Canberra. They also pay tribute to the late Bunny Reilly, reflect on the career of Brett Morris and discuss Xavier Coates becoming the latest Bronco to abandon ship.
RAIDERS’ WOES: UNREST WITHIN
The Raiders have hosed it down all week but there is no hiding from the fact all is not well behind closed doors in the nation’s capital, and it’s obviously been bubbling along for some weeks.
It took Joey Tapine’s wife Kirsten to lift the lid on it all when she had a crack at coach Stuart’s use of the interchange on Instagram, in the wake of last round’s loss to South Sydney.
I don’t care how it’s been portrayed but I find it hard to believe any footballer’s wife would have said what Kirsten did if their hubby was a happy camper.
That’s not to say Ricky didn’t deserve to give Tapine a rocket because his form has been really ordinary.
Tapine is one of the game’s more dangerous attacking forwards when he’s having a go and he should not be playing off the bench if he’s in the right frame of mind.
So regardless of who’s at fault, unless the Raiders get it sorted quick smart they will continue to be worse for it.
Then you have $700,000-plus-a-season Josh Papalii’i’s recent comment that “footy isn’t the most important thing for me right now” before the supposed world’s best prop took an unexpected rest in round eight last week.
Now there’s revelations Josh Hodgson gave up the co-captaincy two weeks ago and it was kept in-house. To get a perspective on Hodgson’s influence on this group you only need to look back at vision of those early games this season when TV cameras captured the Raiders players standing in their pre-match huddles and it was always the crafty No. 9 doing most of talking.
If Tom Starling excels against Newcastle on Saturday and Stuart can’t guarantee a starting place for Hodgson, who hasn’t been great since returning from a long-term knee injury last season, how will that affect morale? It may appear a short-term positive, but it’s hard to see how the Raiders will be a better side if the Englishman doesn’t get back to his best.
In 2019, Hodgson was one of the competition’s standout players. At his peak, he is a class above most dummy halves.
CONTRACT CAPERS
The other huge concern surrounding Hodgson is this contract situation that has the potential to get very ugly. Already rival clubs are watching with interest after Canterbury and Brisbane made some sneaky inquiries, and you can bet we haven’t heard the last of it.
At 31 Hodgson has previously indicated he wants to do a Cam Smith by playing on well into his mid-30s.
But unless he’s prepared to take a significant pay cut you’d imagine his long term future won’t be in Canberra given the rise of Starling, who’s on a pittance, and also this young kid on the bench of NSW Cup named Adrian Trevilyan who they have massive raps on.
Trevilyan was the dummy half from Kirwan State High in Queensland a couple of years back that Andrew Voss named as the dummy half in his best ever schoolboy team. And while he’s still only 18, by the end of next year you’d think Trevilyan will be banging down the door for first grade at the same time Hodgson’s current deal expires.
It’s just a shame it’s become an issue this early given Hodgson has more than a year and a half to run on his current deal.
BATEMAN, COTRIC BIG LOSSES
As handy as Hudson Young and Corey Harawira-Naera are, they are not John Bateman.
The Englishman’s departure has left a huge void. So has Nick Cotric, who has been largely underestimated.
Going into the season, the Raiders’ outside backs depth was their biggest weakness. The loss of Cotric and the neck injury to fullback Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad that will keep him out until at least round 15, has left them further exposed.
The Raiders’ outside backs aren’t anywhere near as dangerous as the strike power in Penrith, Souths and Melbourne.
AGEING ROSTER
Experience is important but the Raiders’ overall age is getting a bit long in the tooth. Eleven players are 28 or older and seven of them are in their 30s. These include Jarrod Croker (30), Hodgson (31), Elliott Whitehead (31), Jordan Rapana (31), Dunamis Lui (31), Sia Soliola (34), Sam Williams (30). After that is Ryan James (29), Josh Papalii’i (29), Jack Wighton (28) and Siliva Havili (28).
Competition leaders Penrith’s oldest player is Matt Eisenhuth, who is 28, just a couple of months older than Api Koroisau. The majority of the Panthers are between 20 and 25. Their game, under the six-again rule, has gone to another level, whereas the Raiders’ seem to be really struggling with the extra fatigue factor.
ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM
Captain Croker is one of the game’s great blokes and has been an outstanding player and ambassador for Canberra. But, similar to Hodgson, Croker’s form before his most recent injury had become a concern.
That’s not saying Croker is done. He has earned the right to try and rediscover his best while playing NRL. But when he returns from injury he needs to find his old spark or the pressure will mount. Only 12 months ago Croker, now 30, signed a new deal to keep him at the club until the end of 2024.
KNIGHTS’ WOES: CLUB LOST ITS SOUL
The Knights built their foundations on an “our town, our team” motto, and “be the player others want to play with”. And for every Andrew Johns there was always a Billy Peden or a Marc Glanville, a Robbie McCormack, a Mark Sargent, a Mark Hughes and a Michael Hagan.
Paul ‘Chief’ Harragon of course was an inspiration, as were all of their captains going all the way back to Sam Stewart.
All were great clubmen too, perhaps most importantly, really identified with the blue-collar demographic of the Hunter.
This current crop may be good fellas but does this team still reflect what this region is about? None of the Knights’ current senior leaders are Newcastle born and raised. Somewhere along the way this club has just lost its soul because of this lack of connect.
Until they rediscover that connection I don’t know if the Knights will ever climb out of the hole they have been in for well over a decade.
Because it also reflects in their football. Whereas they used to be known for being a team that would dig in for the whole 80 minutes every week, some of their performances in 2021 have really lacked that commitment, with coach Adam O’Brien conceding last weekend that the team isn’t what it was even last year.
It was also really interesting to listen to Trent Robinson talk about the respect his players had for the Newcastle fans after the game, with the Roosters coach highlighting that as one of his side’s big motivations.
The Knights badly let down their fans.
LACK OF LEADERSHIP
Mitchell Pearce has always been his own worst enemy off the field and again last off-season his actions left this club in a giant hole.
His sexting scandalforced the club to make the call to stand Pearce down as captain and that had a massive impact.
It also exposed the overall lack of leadership in the squad with O’Brien having to call on Daniel Saifiti and Jayden Brailey to take over as co-captains. At that stage Brailey had only played two games for the club after suffering an ACL injury last year.
INJURY DRAMAS
The Knights have not handled their ongoing injuries well. In particular, the loss of Pearce to a ruptured pectoral that will sideline him until at least round 14 hit them the hardest, given the extra pressure it puts on Kalyn Ponga, who has just become a marked man.
Enari Tuala is the only backline player to play all eight games, but it has really exposed their lack of depth.
LIMITED STRIKE
Assistant coach Craig Fitzgibbon gave a pre-match presentation to Roosters sponsors last weekend where he apparently identified exactly how the Chooks planned to beat the Knights — by shutting down their two most dangerous players, Ponga and Bradman Best.
It worked, and highlighted Newcastle’s lack of serious strike across the park compared to the better teams. The Knights having only scored 137 points this year, the fourth worst attack in the comp.
FORWARDS UNINSPIRING
The Knights’ pack is more than capable of holding its own against most, but it has been seriously underwhelming. Tyson Frizell looked like the buy of the year after round one but his recent form has reflected the team’s struggles.
Frizell said he left St George Illawarra because “I’m looking to win a premiership”. Yet after eight rounds the Dragons are sixth, the Knights are 11th and an NRL title looks a long way off.
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Originally published as Canberra v Newcastle: 5 warning signs the Raiders and Knights NRL seasons are in peril
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