2008 Canberra Raiders season

Last updated

2008 Canberra Raiders season
NRL Rank6th
Play-off resultLost in qualifying final
(Cronulla Sharks, 36–10)
2008 recordWins: 13; draws: 0; losses: 11
Points scoredFor: 650; against: 563
Team information
CEO Don Furner
Coach Neil Henry
Captain
Stadium Canberra Stadium
Avg. attendance11,913
High attendance15,550
Top scorers
Tries Adrian Purtell (15)
Goals Todd Carney (46)
Points Terry Campese (120)
<  2007 List of seasons 2009  >

2008 was the Canberra Raiders' 27th season in the National Rugby League competition. The Raiders began the year favourites to win the wooden spoon. [1] However, they finished 6th (out of 16) and were eliminated in the first week of the finals.

Contents

Season summary

The 2008 season started with some promise for the Raiders – a good showing despite a loss in round 1 vs. Newcastle was followed up with two solid wins against Penrith and St. George-Illawarra. The club has since suffered a series of losses, whilst snaring only the occasional victory, with a big come from behind victory against Wests being noteworthy. In the representative field, Todd Carney and Joel Monaghan picked for Country Origin, and Monaghan being a shadow player for the New South Wales Side. However, as in recent seasons, injuries have been the curse of the Canberra club, with no less than three players suffering dreaded ACL ruptures, arguably the worst kind of injury a footballer can receive, essentially ending their season. Worse, the three players afflicted, Will Zillman, Lincoln Withers and Phil Graham are amongst the Raiders best players. Compounding this, talented back-rowers Neville Costigan and Tom Learoyd-Lahrs have spent minimal time on the field due to recurring minor injuries. The club has also suffered badly in the recruiting race, with Zillman and strong front rower Michael Weyman opting to go elsewhere next season, with indications that Costigan and Scott Logan will do the same. Additionally, half Michael Dobson left the club mid-season for the English club Hull KR, due to lack of opportunities in Canberra. Finally, Coach Neil Henry has exercised a get-out clause in his contract, and will coach the North-Queensland Cowboys in 2009, with former player and club legend, but inexperienced coach, David Furner taking over in 2009. To date, beyond a few talented youngsters, the club is yet to procure a single player of note for season 2009, and will once again be forced to rely on youthful talent. At Round 13, Canberra sat well outside the eight, and the season looked as though it could end with a whimper.

However, far from fading away, the Raiders bounced back with a comprehensive victory over the Brisbane Broncos and then proceeded to thrash the Canterbury Bulldogs, inflicting the worst loss on the Sydney-based club in over half a century. Despite successive losses to the Cronulla Sharks and defending premiers Melbourne Storm, Canberra fought hard in both games, then broke a 13-year losing streak in Wollongong (and ended a 7 match winning streak by the home team) with an impressive win over St. George-Illawarra. The season highlight, however, was a comprehensive 34–12 win over league leaders, the Sydney Roosters. With 7 rounds left in the 2008 premiership, Canberra sits just one point outside the top eight. With a comparatively friendly draw, playing several teams below them on the table, the Raiders are poised to sneak into the semi-finals for the first time in two years. After a comprehensive 74–12 win over the Panthers the Raiders moved into an unexpected 6th spot on the ladder from 11th to almost cement a spot in the 2008 finals series with 4 games remaining.

The Raiders went closer to the top eight with two important wins against Newcastle and Souths. They are now on a three-match winning streak with 2 games remaining.

The season has not been without controversy, however, with star halfback Todd Carney and fullback Bronx Goodwin being stood down by the club after an altercation at a Canberra nightclub following the round 19 win against the Roosters. Carney was eventually dismissed by the club after failing to agree to the punishment plan the club had laid out for him, Goodwin's future is still to be determined.

As of 6 September 2008, despite a heavy injury toll, the Raiders are guaranteed a place in the NRL 2008 Finals Series, a feat which was at the start of the season impossible according to Rugby League punditry in Australia.

The Raiders semi-final appearance was brief, however. After being defeated by the Cronulla Sharks, the Raiders 6th-place finish was considered to be enough to get them a second chance. However, a huge upset with 8th-place New Zealand defeating minor premiers Melbourne saw the Raiders eliminated.

Season results

Trial Games
RoundOpponentResultCan.Opp.DateVenueCrowdPosition
Trial MatchGold Coast TitansWin342816 FebIpswichN/A
Trial MatchBrisbane BroncosWin321623 Feb Wade Park 8,500N/A
Trial MatchNorth Queensland CowboysLoss20321 MarMackayN/A
NRL Regular Season Games
1 Newcastle Knights Loss143015 Mar Energy Australia Stadium 17,23314/16
2 Penrith Panthers Win201622 Mar CUA Stadium 7,50312/16
3 St George Illawarra Dragons Win211429 Mar Canberra Stadium 14,4008/16
4 Gold Coast Titans Loss12325 Apr Skilled Park 17,38111/16
5 (1989 League
Legends Cup)
Wests Tigers Win302413 Apr Canberra Stadium 12,2406/16
6
(Heritage Round)
Melbourne Storm Loss162321 Apr Canberra Stadium 15,55011/16
7BYE25–27 Apr9/16
8 New Zealand Warriors Loss6144 May Mount Smart Stadium 7,35811/16
9 Sydney Roosters Loss43010 May Sydney Football Stadium 10,24113/16
10 South Sydney Rabbitohs Win381019 May Canberra Stadium 11,15510/16
11BYE23–26 May10/16
12 Manly Sea Eagles Loss183130 May Canberra Stadium 13,12011/16
13 Parramatta Eels Loss12307 Jun Parramatta Stadium 10,19512/16
14 Brisbane Broncos Win341615 Jun Canberra Stadium 11,15712/16
15 Canterbury Bulldogs Win581821 Jun ANZ Stadium 9,84510/16
16 Cronulla Sharks Loss243630 Jun Canberra Stadium 9,13611/16
17 Melbourne Storm Loss14306 Jul Olympic Park 11,71912/16
18 St George Illawarra Dragons Win191213 Jul WIN Stadium 14,04011/16
19 Sydney Roosters Win341220 Jul Canberra Stadium 13,4179/16
20 Gold Coast Titans Win46426 Jul Canberra Stadium 8,7008/16
21 Brisbane Broncos Loss6343 Aug Suncorp Stadium 28,10310/16
22 Penrith Panthers Win741210 Aug Canberra Stadium 6,5006/16
23 Newcastle Knights Win381817 Aug Canberra Stadium 12,2066/16
24 South Sydney Rabbitohs Win402524 Aug ANZ Stadium 10,1286/16
25 North Queensland Cowboys Loss102230 Aug Dairy Farmers Stadium 14,9857/16
26 Canterbury Bulldogs Win52347 Sep Canberra Stadium 15,4116/16
NRL Finals Games
QF Cronulla Sharks Loss103613 Sep Toyota Stadium 18,562N/A
ColourResult
GreenWin
RedLoss
YellowGolden point Win
BlueBye

Toyota Cup (Under 20s)

The Raiders' Toyota Cup team won 28–24 over the Broncos' team in golden point extra time to with the Toyota Cup (Under 20s) premiership in the lead-up game to the NRL Grand Final on 5 October 2008 [2]

Club Awards

AwardWinner
Mal Meninga Medal Joel Monaghan
Coaches Award Dane Tilse
Rookie of the Year Glen Buttriss
Fred Daly Memorial Clubman of the Year Trophy Terry Campese
National Youth Competition Player of the Year Shaun Fensom
National Youth Competition Coaches Award Joel Thompson
Gordon McLucas Memorial Award (Junior representative player of the year) Justin Carney
Geoff Caldwell Memorial Award (Vocational Encouragement) Brendon Wheatley

Squad

Run-on Team

Canberra Raiders Run-on Team
8 Troy Thompson 9 Ryan Hinchcliffe 10 Dane Tilse
11 Marshall Chalk 12 Joe Picker
13 Alan Tongue(c)
7 Marc Herbert
6 Terry Campese
4 Joel Monaghan
3 Adrian Purtell
5 Justin Carney 2 Colin Best
1 David Milne

Ladders

PosTeamPldWDLBPFPAPDPts
1 Melbourne colours.svg Melbourne Storm 2417072584282+30238
2 Manly Sea Eagles colours.svg Manly Warringah Sea Eagles (P)2417072645355+29038
3 Cronulla colours.svg Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks 2417072451384+6738
4 Eastern Suburbs colours.svg Sydney Roosters 2415092511446+6534
5 Brisbane colours.svg Brisbane Broncos 2414192560452+10833
6 Canberra colours.svg Canberra Raiders 24130112640527+11330
7 St. George Illawarra colours.svg St George Illawarra Dragons 24130112489378+11130
8 New Zealand colours.svg New Zealand Warriors 24130112502567-6530
9 Newcastle colours.svg Newcastle Knights 24120122516486+3028
10 Wests Tigers colours.svg Wests Tigers 24110132528560-3226
11 Parramatta colours.svg Parramatta Eels 24110132501547-4626
12 Penrith Panthers square flag icon with 2020 colours.svg Penrith Panthers 24101132504611-10725
13 Gold Coast Titans colours.svg Gold Coast Titans 24100142476586-11024
14 South Sydney colours.svg South Sydney Rabbitohs 2480162453666-21320
15 North Queensland colours.svg North Queensland Cowboys 2450192474638-16414
16 Canterbury colours.svg Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 2450192433782-34914
PosTeamPldWDLBPFPAPDPts
1 Canberra colours.svg Canberra Raiders (P)2418062744581+16340
2 Brisbane colours.svg Brisbane Broncos 2415182684476+20835
3 New Zealand colours.svg New Zealand Warriors 2414372721533+18835
4 Penrith Panthers square flag icon with 2020 colours.svg Penrith Panthers 2415182692583+10935
5 Parramatta colours.svg Parramatta Eels 2414372578564+1435
6 St. George colours.svg St George Illawarra Dragons 2413292561520+4132
7 Canterbury colours.svg Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 2412392711587+12431
8 Gold Coast Titans colours.svg Gold Coast Titans 24131102686567+11931
9 Wests Tigers colours.svg Wests Tigers 24130112620623-330
10 South Sydney colours.svg South Sydney Rabbitohs 24112112618584+3428
11 Manly Sea Eagles colours.svg Manly Warringah Sea Eagles 24110132519532-1326
12 Newcastle colours.svg Newcastle Knights 2481152526630-10421
13 Melbourne colours.svg Melbourne Storm 2481152512638-12621
14 Cronulla colours.svg Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks 2461172394666-27217
15 Eastern Suburbs colours.svg Sydney Roosters 2460182480721-24116
16 North Queensland colours.svg North Queensland Cowboys 2443172455696-24115

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References

  1. AAP (3 April 2008). "Rabbits firm as wooden spoon tip". stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 6 April 2008.
  2. Raiders snatch golden point premiership [ permanent dead link ], Canberra Raiders, 5 October 2008.