What a brilliant weekend to be a Raiders supporter?
56-16! It brings back memories of a cold Saturday night trouncing of the Broncos a few years back; 56-0. Remember that?
The thrashing of the Titans is one of the most comprehensive wins we’ve had in a while and was a fantastic way to get off the mark at home in 2015.
Blake Austin showed us again that he’s one of the most elusive runners in the NRL, Edrick Lee outpaced one of the NRL’s (if not Australia’s) fastest men, and captain Jarrod Croker showed us that he can do it all standing on his ear.
The battle of the forward packs was absolutely brilliant. Or should I say the battle of the Raiders pack vs Ryan James?
James tried every trick in the book to rattle our big men and I’m sure he was one step away from dishing out an old fashioned noogie at one stage.
But it was our big men who stepped up and left James with the metaphorical wedgie.
It was pure entertainment and those who braved the cold at GIO Stadium were well rewarded for their efforts.
Our boys will be looking to use that attacking momentum going into this weekend’s clash against the very much in-form Dragons, because it’s attack that will get the boys across the line in this one.
The Dragons have put a string of wins together based on one thing; good defence.
From their past six games, the Dragons have conceded just 48 points at an average of 8 points a game.
Their attack on the other hand has been modest. The Dragons have managed to score 92 points in the same period at 15 points a game. 31 of those points came from one game alone.
Conversely, the Raiders attack has scored 161 points over the same period (27 per game) and conceded 124 points (21 per game).
There are a number of conclusions we can draw from that data.
If you’re a Dragons fan, you’re acutely aware of the root cause of boredom; or you derive much of your entertainment from fascinating activities such as completing other people’s tax returns at no cost.
Just kidding Dragons fans. Without an opposition, we have no game, so I’m very much look forward to this Sunday.
On a serious note, the Raiders have transformed themselves into one of the most exciting teams in the NRL week in, week out.
The boys are starting to appear on the radar of a number of opposition teams as one to watch and it’s not just those teams that are keeping an eye out.
With the red hot form of Austin, Vaughan, Papalii and Croker amongst others, an Origin call up can’t be far away for a couple of our boys.
A good game this weekend could go a long way to seeing one or two selected.
Go Raiders!
