Peter Sterling’s warning for the Canberra Raiders after preliminary final defeat
After an embarrassing preliminary final defeat, an NRL legend has issued a warning to the Canberra Raiders and their supporters.
NRL
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Parramatta Eels great Peter Sterling has issued a dire warning to Canberra Raiders supporters, claiming the club’s window of opportunity to secure a long-awaited NRL Premiership is closing.
After featuring in last year’s Grand Final, the Raiders were touted as genuine contenders to win an NRL Premiership in 2020.
But despite toppling defending champions the Sydney Roosters in last weekend’s semi-final, Canberra was embarrassed by the Melbourne Storm in a 30-10 demolition during Friday evening’s preliminary final.
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Following his two-year stint with the Raiders, English international John Bateman revealed he would return to the Super League and represent the Wigan Warriors next season.
After losing star forwards Corey Horsburgh and Emre Guler earlier this season, Canberra’s roster could look significantly weaker over the coming years.
Speaking on Channel 9’s Sports Sunday, Sterling recalled how the Sydney Roosters were unable to recover after a handful of big names left the club following last year’s premiership victory.
“We talk about windows of opportunity, and I think that does exist,” Sterling said on Sunday morning.
“You tend to pay the price for success in our game — that’s why it’s so difficult to go back-to-back in premierships, and to basically maintain your position.
“You look at the Roosters — after they win a competition, they lose Cooper Cronk and Latrell Mitchell … it’s difficult to maintain the same squad.
“It’s really important when you look at clubs like that to see who’s coming through, and (the Raiders) were a little bit unfortunate this year to lose the likes of Corey Horsburgh, Emre Guler early in the season.
“Whilst you can see that window of opportunity’s closing, it remains open longer if you are developing players and you can see good things on the horizon, and I think there’s good depth in Canberra, so I think they’ll be a force again next year.”
Have the Raiders missed their premiership chance?
— Wide World of Sports (@wwos) October 17, 2020
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On Sunday morning, Raiders stars Nick Cotric and Jack Wighton were added to the extended New South Wales Blues squad ahead of November’s State of Origin series.
“The Raiders scored two tries (against the Storm on Friday) and Nick scored them both,” Blues coach Brad Fittler said, as reported by NRL.com.
“He’s a great finisher and I look forward to seeing him.
“(Wighton’s) had an incredible season. He can play in a few positions, he’s been great for us in the past, and I thought he was Canberra’s best for the whole season.”
Originally published as Peter Sterling’s warning for the Canberra Raiders after preliminary final defeat