2021 Rd 11 V Storm: Teams and Previews *Teams p1*

[BadnMean]

How the hell is Guler even in 1st grade

Because the guy is one of the best up and coming forwards in the game. He is still struggling a little coming back from injury, but I reckon he is very harshly treated on here.

He had a good first stint vs the Bulldogs, some strong carries and effort plays like a big cover tackle on a break. Average second stint.

[greeneyed]

Your v'landys hate makes me cry.

You make me cry.

I'm glad you like the photos.

Now you’ve done it again!

[Bay53]

How the hell is Guler even in 1st grade

Because the guy is one of the best up and coming forwards in the game. He is still struggling a little coming back from injury, but I reckon he is very harshly treated on here.

He had a good first stint vs the Bulldogs, some strong carries and effort plays like a big cover tackle on a break. Average second stint.

I reckon he has done that a few times this year.

[BVRaider]

Happy for Brad "Rob" Schneider, hope he actually gets some minutes like others have said. Whilst it's probably the smarter option to think we will just get smashed so it's easier to take when we do I unfortunately have some hope. This Storm side is far from unbeatable and the biggest thing I took away from their win against the Dragons was that they still conceded 4 tries against a 12 man side.

[Billy Walker]

We need to work on a new technique where our ball carriers we lead with the head and target their shoulders. We will have them down to 9 players in no time and then might be an even money chance to jag a win.

[Canberra Milk]

Valemei has bought his nearest and dearest in Fiji a television and a Sky Sports subscription, meaning they can now watch his NRL Raiders appearances from the comfort of their own lounge room. Fiji is in COVID lock down at present.

"The good about my family, because they live in a small island, they're pretty safe, it's not going there. They've only got COVID in the main island."

Read more: https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/ ... /?cs=14239

They're really not terrible stats, Aekins

[BadnMean]

Valemei has bought his nearest and dearest in Fiji a television and a Sky Sports subscription, meaning they can now watch his NRL Raiders appearances from the comfort of their own lounge room. Fiji is in COVID lock down at present.

"The good about my family, because they live in a small island, they're pretty safe, it's not going there. They've only got COVID in the main island."

Read more: https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/ ... /?cs=14239

They're really not terrible stats, Aekins

Not terrible. But it shows me that unless they are made on line breaks, run metres from a fb don't really do much for a team vs a FB who can actually create chances through speed or passing.

Bit of a traffic cone in defence too.

[julian87]

I really, really like Brad Schneider as a young half so I’m excited for him.

[-PJ-]

No Jordan, Jarrod, Jack, Josh, Joe, Josh..

[MrPosh]

Valemei has bought his nearest and dearest in Fiji a television and a Sky Sports subscription, meaning they can now watch his NRL Raiders appearances from the comfort of their own lounge room. Fiji is in COVID lock down at present.

"The good about my family, because they live in a small island, they're pretty safe, it's not going there. They've only got COVID in the main island."

Read more: https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/ ... /?cs=14239

They're really not terrible stats, Aekins

Generally speaking, most of what Adkins does is pretty tidy.

What's harder to measure is what he doesn't do - at least, compared to CNK.

[greeneyed]

The stats are also affected by appearance numbers, Hynes has eight, Aekins five.

[twistedbydesign]

Disappointed the mouthwatering matchup of Sam Williams vs Chris Lewis at five-eighth didn't get some coverage in the GH preview.

We're going to get done here - likely badly - but the addition of the kid adds some interest. Good luck to him!

[Botman]

How the hell is Guler even in 1st grade

Because the guy is one of the best up and coming forwards in the game. He is still struggling a little coming back from injury, but I reckon he is very harshly treated on here.

Ignore it. That post is just a dude telling on himself.

[BadnMean]

The stats are also affected by appearance numbers, Hynes has eight, Aekins five.

Yeah. But 3 of those 8 are off the bench for Hynes. So not as big a difference, particularly if Hynes is able to come on and actually make something happen off the bench, suggests he is above plodder status.

[Green Taipan]

As someone who has tipped against the Raiders since the less than convincing win against Cronulla, I actually think we are in with a shot. I liked the way the team lifted last week when Paps got sent off. Some of our biggest "stars" have been coasting this year and now there is new blood in the team it may energise the whole team. The Storm will be expecting another walk-over so we need to get on top early with aggressive defence and expansive attack which they wont expect. I wasn't going to go to the game given our usual capitulations in the 2nd half but I have some hope now and will go even though it will be a very cold night!

[Rickmando]

Inspiring stuff from Rick. About time he ditched the veteran deference to those who have stuck the most solid, preferring to encourage some of these young blokes to come through the grades.

Very apt that we get Schneider in the side this week, as a team we may struggle to even get “off the schneid” against this professional Storm outfit.

Let’s hope the great man Schneider a) gets some minutes for a start b) shows us a glimpse of something all of us desperate degenerates can pin our future premiership hopes to and c) isn’t too traumatised by getting the hardest assignment in football in game no. 1

[greeneyed]

Sam joins George as Canberra Raiders try new NRL halves combination

For the first time since George arrived, Williams will be listed twice on the Raiders' team sheet.

"I'm excited to play with George, I think he's a really good seven and he's a really good player," Sam Williams said. "It's important I don't come in and change too much, I need to come in and complement the players that have been there for the last few weeks.

Read more: https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/ ... /?cs=14239

Raider #5 Jon Hardy to sound Viking Horn: https://www.raiders.com.au/news/2021/05 ... -v-storms/

VIDEO: Lui on stepping up as pack leader: https://www.raiders.com.au/news/2021/05 ... ck-leader/

PODCAST: Behind the Limelight: Sam Williams: https://www.raiders.com.au/news/2021/05 ... williams2/

[Northern Raider]

As someone who has tipped against the Raiders since the less than convincing win against Cronulla, I actually think we are in with a shot. I liked the way the team lifted last week when Paps got sent off. Some of our biggest "stars" have been coasting this year and now there is new blood in the team it may energise the whole team. The Storm will be expecting another walk-over so we need to get on top early with aggressive defence and expansive attack which they wont expect. I wasn't going to go to the game given our usual capitulations in the 2nd half but I have some hope now and will go even though it will be a very cold night!

Exactly. It was like a call to action for everybody and they responded. It was a complete attitude shift and they dominated the game when down to 12 players. I was of the opinion our 2nd half fade outs were an issue with conditioning and fitness.
I'm now of the belief it's more mental than physical.

As for winning this week I'm not so sure. Might need more than a plucky spirit to overcome the class gap. It's hard to overlook the fact our team is half full of reserve grader players.

[Northern Raider]

Inspiring stuff from Rick. About time he ditched the veteran deference to those who have stuck the most solid, preferring to encourage some of these young blokes to come through the grades.

Very apt that we get Schneider in the side this week, as a team we may struggle to even get “off the schneid” against this professional Storm outfit.

Let’s hope the great man Schneider a) gets some minutes for a start b) shows us a glimpse of something all of us desperate degenerates can pin our future premiership hopes to and c) isn’t too traumatised by getting the hardest assignment in football in game no. 1

I'll add option d) ....fans don't come down too hard if he has a tough time of it on debut.

[-PJ-]

If they can’t at least lift their performance in front of home fans I’ll be pearced..

Good to see Jon Hardy blowing the horn.

Who was the last player to blow the horn for a win ?

It was soooo long ago.

[Northern Raider]

If they can’t at least lift their performance in front of home fans I’ll be pearced..

Good to see Jon Hardy blowing the horn.

Who was the last player to blow the horn for a win ?

It was soooo long ago.

That would be round 1 vs Tigers.

Who was that?

[-PJ-]

If they can’t at least lift their performance in front of home fans I’ll be pearced..

Good to see Jon Hardy blowing the horn.

Who was the last player to blow the horn for a win ?

It was soooo long ago.

That would be round 1 vs Tigers.

Who was that?

Kristy McBain..member for Eden-Monaro.

[Rickmando]

Inspiring stuff from Rick. About time he ditched the veteran deference to those who have stuck the most solid, preferring to encourage some of these young blokes to come through the grades.

Very apt that we get Schneider in the side this week, as a team we may struggle to even get “off the schneid” against this professional Storm outfit.

Let’s hope the great man Schneider a) gets some minutes for a start b) shows us a glimpse of something all of us desperate degenerates can pin our future premiership hopes to and c) isn’t too traumatised by getting the hardest assignment in football in game no. 1

I'll add option d) ....fans don't come down too hard if he has a tough time of it on debut.

Gets a free pass from me, all season if needs be. I’d say the blooding of a young half is almost the most crucial thing the club should be doing this year. 10-12 first grade games into him, regardless of the result, should be the priority

[Billy Walker]

If they can’t at least lift their performance in front of home fans I’ll be pearced..

Good to see Jon Hardy blowing the horn.

Who was the last player to blow the horn for a win ?

It was soooo long ago.

Jon Hardy - that’s worth the entry price right there! Geez he must be getting on in years. Loved watching him go around at Seiffert.

[TongueFTW]

Keeping them to less than 30 will be an achievement. Some thoughts:

* They will likely bring Johns into the side to play five eighth. He hasn’t been impressive in his performances so far. Even if they do this, their primary kicking option will be Hughes. Need to pressure him as much as possible, he has a good kicking game when they are winning territory (which, it seems to me, is every game).
* Brandon Smith is an amazing ball runner but his service from dummy half can he pretty shoddy, particularly when fatigued. Need him making as many tackles as possible.
* Unfortunately, our current style is made for the Storm. They compress their defence, and love opposition teams playing low risk “mistake free” football. The way to beat them is actually ball movement, which we refuse to do. Some of their forwards are not great laterally, the Dragons had some joy in the first half last week with ball movement. The times we have beaten them (the away game in 2019 when we were down 18-0 in particular), we moved the ball rather than just hit ups and dummy half runs.
* There aren’t many weaknesses, but the Jennings/Smith combination on their right has had some issues defensively. Even their left can be guilty of rushing up. In attack they love the second phase football (Welch leads NRL in offloads), and using Hynes on the sweep play. It will be interesting to see what side Sam Williams lines up. A right side defence of Sam Williams, CHN, Scott and Valemei will leak at least 18 points.

[Northern Raider]

It will be interesting to see what side Sam Williams lines up. A right side defence of Sam Williams, CHN, Scott and Valemei will leak at least 18 points.

Williams will line up on our left as a direct replacement for Jack.

[TongueFTW]

It will be interesting to see what side Sam Williams lines up. A right side defence of Sam Williams, CHN, Scott and Valemei will leak at least 18 points.

Williams will line up on our left as a direct replacement for Jack.

I thought so too, but given George played his whole career on the left (and looks far more comfortable there), Stuart might be tempted to put him there. I hope not.

[BadnMean]

Keeping them to less than 30 will be an achievement. Some thoughts:

* They will likely bring Johns into the side to play five eighth. He hasn’t been impressive in his performances so far. Even if they do this, their primary kicking option will be Hughes. Need to pressure him as much as possible, he has a good kicking game when they are winning territory (which, it seems to me, is every game).
* Brandon Smith is an amazing ball runner but his service from dummy half can he pretty shoddy, particularly when fatigued. Need him making as many tackles as possible.
* Unfortunately, our current style is made for the Storm. They compress their defence, and love opposition teams playing low risk “mistake free” football. The way to beat them is actually ball movement, which we refuse to do. Some of their forwards are not great laterally, the Dragons had some joy in the first half last week with ball movement. The times we have beaten them (the away game in 2019 when we were down 18-0 in particular), we moved the ball rather than just hit ups and dummy half runs.
* There aren’t many weaknesses, but the Jennings/Smith combination on their right has had some issues defensively. Even their left can be guilty of rushing up. In attack they love the second phase football (Welch leads NRL in offloads), and using Hynes on the sweep play. It will be interesting to see what side Sam Williams lines up. A right side defence of Sam Williams, CHN, Scott and Valemei will leak at least 18 points.

Running some traffic at the Johns side will probably see results, now that we have both Jack and Aekins who can throw a decent pass if others jam in to help him.

Just on the bolded part. Raiders know this. We beat the Storm with that method back in 2019, suddenly played a lot more lateral, more often to where we had our strengths- 2019 Croker playing some of his best footy, BJ, Rapana, Cotric vs a slightly erratic Vunivalu and early model Olam who lacked some nous. Would need some great footy from our 3/4 line to do it again.

Scott had one of his better games vs Dogs I thought- played like the player I thought we were getting. Kris generally plays strong and should relish the chance. Our wingers are nowhere near the 2019 standard but Semi was very strong vs Bulldogs imo, really started to show some confidence and flair.

If Kris can get over Reimus Smith and Jennings then there could be some joy there. Scott will need to slip a pass or step Olam if he gets over eager in shooting out for those hits. Or cut out past him to Semi.

[Northern Raider]

It will be interesting to see what side Sam Williams lines up. A right side defence of Sam Williams, CHN, Scott and Valemei will leak at least 18 points.

Williams will line up on our left as a direct replacement for Jack.

I thought so too, but given George played his whole career on the left (and looks far more comfortable there), Stuart might be tempted to put him there. I hope not.

He may have played their previously. However he's been a fixture on the right in the Raiders structure. They won't be rattling that cage to cover a 1 week suspension for Jack.

EDIT: now I've said that you can lock in George to play on the right this week.

[Raiders666]

I'd Have Valemei in the side every week.. in one game he showed more than Simonsson has all year

[greeneyed]

Canberra Raiders debutant Brad Schneider locked in as naturally versatile

A natural footballer who can cover a range of positions. Half, five eighth, lock, even hooker.

"Level-headed, good kicking game, good citizen, strong in defence. He looks good," Raiders recruitment guru Peter Mulholland said. "I'm not sure he ends up a halfback. He could be a five-eighth, could be a lock - if the game keeps changing like it is he could easily be a lock forward.

Read more: https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/ ... /?cs=14237

Laurie Daley: Difficult to see Raiders overcoming loss of Hodgson, Papalii and Wighton: https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/ ... /?cs=14237

MATCH PREVIEW: Raiders v Storm: https://thegh.com.au/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=34623

https://www.raiders.com.au/news/2021/05 ... s-v-storm/

[1992]

I'd like to hear from Sideshow Mel..

[irvste]

He might not be playing but if anyone could do it Jack still manages to kick one out on the full

Sent from my SM-G781B using Tapatalk

[greeneyed]

CHN pumped for Brad Schneider's well-earned NRL debut

Raiders forward Corey Harawira-Naera was playing alongside this week's debutant Brad Schneider at the start of the year and says the newest Raider's NRL debut is one to get excited about.

"When I was playing my reserve grade games this year, when Sammy wasn't playing because he was 18th man for grade, Brad was my half and I can't give him a high enough rap," Harawira-Naera said.

Read more: https://www.nrl.com/news/2021/05/21/chn ... ned-debut/

VIDEO: Jamie Soward takes a look at Canberra Raiders v Melbourne Storm. The Raiders have won only three of their past 18 games against the Storm at Canberra Stadium: https://www.nrl.com/news/2021/05/20/rai ... -round-11/

[Canberra Milk]

Good talk from CHN, sounds mature