Grace and will: Four years of toil has Raiders on verge of history

The Canberra Raiders are so close to their first ever finals series that they can taste it but for prop Grace Kemp, the pre-game routine remains the same no matter the magnitude of the occasion.

Now in their fourth season in the NRLW, the Raiders can finish as high as fifth with a win over Wests Tigers, and even a loss should still see them qualify due to a superior points differential over the Warriors.

For NSW Blues prop Kemp, who has been with the Raiders since their inception in 2023, this Friday's clash at Leichhardt Oval will be treated the same as her other 36 NRLW appearances.

A pink bow in her hair, a spot of shopping and making sure her steak is cooked exactly right the night before the match.

They might sound like small details in the grand scheme of a season, but for Kemp they are the familiar rituals that have helped her play a key role in lifting the Green Machine from 11th last year to a maiden finals campaign.

“It’s exciting. This year has felt really different. We’ve got such a different vibe in our group. We’re so connected," Kemp told NRL.com.

"To be able to work so hard and get there this year, not only for the club, our fans, but for one another is really cool and big 'ups' to the girls. 

“I love them all and there's not one person that won’t pull someone up. It’s a really safe space that we’ve created and I’m really proud.” 

After sitting as high as second on the ladder following wins in their first two games, and as low as seventh after Round 5, Kemp says the playing group's loyalty towards each other and their club has never wavered. 

“We’ve always known that the girl next to us, the club that we’re in, the team that we’re in, the support that we have, we can go all the way," she said.

“We’ve been given the resources to do it. We’ve just got to put our foot down and do it ourselves.

“We’re still in the mindset, we've got to show up for each other, got to show up for the club.  

‘There’s not a game that we don’t go into that we are not going to put our best foot forward and win, so we’ve just got to focus on next week as it comes.  

“But obviously finals are in the back of our minds and something that we’re really working hard towards.”