History, facilities and a winning roster; the Green Machine can go all the way | Locker Room

History means little to some other NRL clubs, at the Raiders it’s everything, and it’s a big reason Canberra will go one better in 2021.

Canberra players celebrate victory with the crowd after the Sydney Roosters v Canberra Raiders Semi Final at the SCG. Picture: Brett Costello

Want to know why the Canberra Raiders will win this year’s NRL premiership?

Across the top of Raiders forward Joseph Tapine’s locker is the name of club legend Bradley Clyde.

The last thing that Canberra halfback George Williams sees before he shuts his locker each day, is the name of three-time premiership-winning Raider and one of the greatest hooker‘s of all-time, Steve Walters.

Laurie Daley, Mal Meninga, Noa Nadruku, they are just a few of the legendary Canberra names that stare back at the Raiders players every day.

History means little at some other footy clubs.

At the Raiders, it’s everything.

Kayo is your ticket to the best sport streaming Live & On-Demand. New to Kayo? Get your 14-day free trial & start streaming instantly >

Curtis Scott. Picture: Alix Sweeney

At the Raiders, they celebrate Dane Tilse‘s name on Curtis Scott’s locker as much as they do David Furner on that of Dunamis Lui’s.

Every new Canberra player is given the phone number of a legend. They are told to pick up the phone at any time.

The connection enforces a reality - the Raiders know that the legends just aren’t names and pictures on the wall, but they are watching their efforts, their decision-making and how they are upholding their legacy.

They don’t talk about making finals in Canberra anymore, they talk about winning the premiership.

Want to know why the Raiders can go one better than their heartbreaking 2019 grand final defeat?

Take a peek inside the club‘s $19-million two-storey centre of excellence in Braddon.

The Raiders enjoy state-of-the-art facilities. Picture: Supplied

As you walk from the locker rooms with legends of the past watching over you, you slide past the deep plunge pools used for recovery and down into an open plan kitchen good enough for an inner-city cafe’.

Through the kitchen windows is a massive gym floor where every weight plate is embossed with the Raiders logo.

A wrestling room is just across from the 14 squat racks. Opposite is the rehabilitation centre where the latest of hi-tech sports science is being used to get captain Jarrod Croker back onto the park.

The amazing new #Canberra#Raiders Centre of Excellence at Braddon... the venue for tonight’s 2020 Season Launch. Great night! Thank you @raiderscanberra! #NRL#WeAreRaiders#wearecbr#bleedgreen#rugbyleague#canberraraiders#fromallangles#simplythebestpic.twitter.com/a2tYZLQEGj

— The Greenhouse (@TheGHRaiders) March 6, 2020

You are then led directly out onto a synthetic sprint track and two pristine football fields.

We took a similar walk a few years ago, through the elite training centre of NFL’s Seattle Seahawks.

The Raiders brand new centre of excellence is superior to that of the 2014 Superbowl Champions.

As you peer inside the Raiders 84-seat lecture theatre, past the pigeon holes where every player‘s GPS units are tucked, you can’t help but think of the other NRL sides in this year’s competition still training each day under a grandstand or demountable.

Canberra powerhouse Josh Papalii. Picture: Grant Trouville/NRL Photos

Preparation won‘t be an issue for the Green Machine in 2021.

Want to know why the Raiders are primed to win the 2021 premiership?

Go back to Josh Papalii‘s foray into the boxing ring last month.

Papalii’s fight with former NRL player Ben Hannant was never going to be a classic. The Canberra front-rower was $1.25 to win.

A Friday night in the middle of a leg-cruelling pre-season is typically reserved for a ‘night off’ ahead of a few rewarding beers on Saturday.

And for some players, watching the fights with the teammates you’ve run side-by-side with all week, is reason enough to pass.

But there at Canberra’s RUC Bowling club sat every single Raiders player and staff member watching Papalii overcome Hannant.

There are clubs that will read this knowing that you can‘t fabricate off-field unity and a bond that translates into fighting for each other on the field.

A winning culture is behavioural.

Ricky Stuart has instilled a no-excuses culture at the Raiders. Picture: Jason O’Brien/NRL Photos

NRL forwards Corey Horsburgh and Corey Harawira-Naera were recently caught drink-driving.

In the past, coaches have been prepared to smother an issue for the sake of naming a stronger line-up on Sunday.

Coach Ricky Stuart didn’t bother waiting for the NRL Integrity Unit’s penalty before declaring the duo would be overlooked for round one.

“It’s not my job to keep a position in this team — it’s their job,’’ Stuart said three weeks ago.

A day later, Stuart sacked four junior players because they lied about their role in a boozy brawl that included a glassing.

“The incident is one thing, but lying to your superiors just doesn’t wash at our club,” Stuart said.

“It may seem tough, but this isn’t the culture that we accept at our club.’’

Last season, the Raiders debuted seven new faces as they were rocked by injuries, none more influential than the loss of world-class hooker Josh Hodgson after just nine games.

At one point mid-season, so thin were the Raiders options in their pack, they began to explore trade options.

Yet amid all that, Jack Wighton won the Dally M Medal and the Raiders made it to within 80 minutes of a successive grand final appearance.

High up on a wall inside Canberra‘s weights room, on a massive blue and green canvas are the words; “History Makers.”

That’s what the 2021 Raiders can do.