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| 2008 Canberra Raiders season | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
National Youth Competition champions | ||||
| NRL Rank | 6th | |||
| Play-off result | Lost in qualifying final (Cronulla Sharks, 36–10) | |||
| 2008 record | Wins: 13; draws: 0; losses: 11 | |||
| Points scored | For: 650; against: 563 | |||
| Team information | ||||
| CEO | Don Furner | |||
| Coach | Neil Henry | |||
| Captain | ||||
| Stadium | Canberra Stadium | |||
| Avg. attendance | 11,913 | |||
| High attendance | 15,550 | |||
| Top scorers | ||||
| Tries | Adrian Purtell (15) | |||
| Goals | Todd Carney (46) | |||
| Points | Terry Campese (120) | |||
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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.
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.
| Trial Games | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Round | Opponent | Result | Can. | Opp. | Date | Venue | Crowd | Position |
| Trial Match | Gold Coast Titans | Win | 34 | 28 | 16 Feb | Ipswich | N/A | |
| Trial Match | Brisbane Broncos | Win | 32 | 16 | 23 Feb | Wade Park | 8,500 | N/A |
| Trial Match | North Queensland Cowboys | Loss | 20 | 32 | 1 Mar | Mackay | N/A | |
| NRL Regular Season Games | ||||||||
| 1 | Newcastle Knights | Loss | 14 | 30 | 15 Mar | Energy Australia Stadium | 17,233 | 14/16 |
| 2 | Penrith Panthers | Win | 20 | 16 | 22 Mar | CUA Stadium | 7,503 | 12/16 |
| 3 | St George Illawarra Dragons | Win | 21 | 14 | 29 Mar | Canberra Stadium | 14,400 | 8/16 |
| 4 | Gold Coast Titans | Loss | 12 | 32 | 5 Apr | Skilled Park | 17,381 | 11/16 |
| 5 (1989 League Legends Cup) | Wests Tigers | Win | 30 | 24 | 13 Apr | Canberra Stadium | 12,240 | 6/16 |
| 6 (Heritage Round) | Melbourne Storm | Loss | 16 | 23 | 21 Apr | Canberra Stadium | 15,550 | 11/16 |
| 7 | BYE | 25–27 Apr | 9/16 | |||||
| 8 | New Zealand Warriors | Loss | 6 | 14 | 4 May | Mount Smart Stadium | 7,358 | 11/16 |
| 9 | Sydney Roosters | Loss | 4 | 30 | 10 May | Sydney Football Stadium | 10,241 | 13/16 |
| 10 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | Win | 38 | 10 | 19 May | Canberra Stadium | 11,155 | 10/16 |
| 11 | BYE | 23–26 May | 10/16 | |||||
| 12 | Manly Sea Eagles | Loss | 18 | 31 | 30 May | Canberra Stadium | 13,120 | 11/16 |
| 13 | Parramatta Eels | Loss | 12 | 30 | 7 Jun | Parramatta Stadium | 10,195 | 12/16 |
| 14 | Brisbane Broncos | Win | 34 | 16 | 15 Jun | Canberra Stadium | 11,157 | 12/16 |
| 15 | Canterbury Bulldogs | Win | 58 | 18 | 21 Jun | ANZ Stadium | 9,845 | 10/16 |
| 16 | Cronulla Sharks | Loss | 24 | 36 | 30 Jun | Canberra Stadium | 9,136 | 11/16 |
| 17 | Melbourne Storm | Loss | 14 | 30 | 6 Jul | Olympic Park | 11,719 | 12/16 |
| 18 | St George Illawarra Dragons | Win | 19 | 12 | 13 Jul | WIN Stadium | 14,040 | 11/16 |
| 19 | Sydney Roosters | Win | 34 | 12 | 20 Jul | Canberra Stadium | 13,417 | 9/16 |
| 20 | Gold Coast Titans | Win | 46 | 4 | 26 Jul | Canberra Stadium | 8,700 | 8/16 |
| 21 | Brisbane Broncos | Loss | 6 | 34 | 3 Aug | Suncorp Stadium | 28,103 | 10/16 |
| 22 | Penrith Panthers | Win | 74 | 12 | 10 Aug | Canberra Stadium | 6,500 | 6/16 |
| 23 | Newcastle Knights | Win | 38 | 18 | 17 Aug | Canberra Stadium | 12,206 | 6/16 |
| 24 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | Win | 40 | 25 | 24 Aug | ANZ Stadium | 10,128 | 6/16 |
| 25 | North Queensland Cowboys | Loss | 10 | 22 | 30 Aug | Dairy Farmers Stadium | 14,985 | 7/16 |
| 26 | Canterbury Bulldogs | Win | 52 | 34 | 7 Sep | Canberra Stadium | 15,411 | 6/16 |
| NRL Finals Games | ||||||||
| QF | Cronulla Sharks | Loss | 10 | 36 | 13 Sep | Toyota Stadium | 18,562 | N/A |
| Colour | Result |
|---|---|
| Green | Win |
| Red | Loss |
| Yellow | Golden point Win |
| Blue | Bye |
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]
| Award | Winner |
|---|---|
| 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 |
Players used outside top 25 Released mid-season |
| 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 | ||||||
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The Canberra Raiders are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the national capital city of Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. They have competed in Australasia's elite rugby league competition, the National Rugby League (NRL) premiership since 1982. Over this period the club has won three premierships out of six Grand Finals, the last one played being the 2019 NRL Grand Final, resulting in a 14-8 controversial loss to the Sydney Roosters. Canberra currently have the second longest active premiership drought in the NRL totalling 30 years. The Raiders' current home ground is Canberra Stadium in Bruce. Previously, the team played home matches at Seiffert Oval in Queanbeyan, New South Wales, with the move to the Canberra Stadium in Bruce taking place in 1990. The official symbol for the Canberra Raiders is the Viking. The Viking, also a mascot at Raiders' games, is known as Victor the Viking.
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Todd Carney, also known by the nickname of "Toddy", is an Australian former professional rugby league player who played in the 2000s and 2010s.
Brett Morris is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played on the wing and as a fullback for the St George Illawarra Dragons, Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs and the Sydney Roosters in the National Rugby League (NRL) and Australia at international level and played with Anthony on Xbox with Billy Slater.
The 2007 Canberra Raiders season was the 26th in the club's history. They competed in the NRL's 2007 Telstra Premiership, finishing the regular season 14th.
The history of the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks rugby League Football Club goes back to its foundation in the 1960s.
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The 2008 Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks season was the 42nd in the club's history. Coached by Ricky Stuart and captained by Paul Gallen and Greg Bird, they competed in the National Rugby League's 2008 Telstra Premiership, finishing the regular season 3rd to qualify for the finals. The Sharks then came within one game of the Grand Final but were knocked out by eventual runners-up Melbourne Storm.
The 2008 St. George Illawarra Dragons season was the 10th in the joint venture club's history. They competed in the NRL's 2008 Telstra Premiership and finished the regular season 7th out of 16 teams, being knocked out in the finals by eventual premiers, the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles.
The 2009 Canberra Raiders season was the 28th in the club's history. They competed in the NRL's 2009 Telstra Premiership and finished the regular season 13th.
The History of the Canberra Raiders Rugby League Football Club began with their establishment in 1982. Along with the Illawarra Steelers, they became the first clubs from outside the Sydney area in over half a century to compete in the New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership. The Raiders have competed in every season of top-level rugby league in Australia since then and have won a total of three premierships: 1989, 1990 and 1994.
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Kyle Flanagan is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a five-eighth for the St. George Illawarra Dragons in the National Rugby League (NRL).
