Bluesbrother wrote: ↑March 19, 2024, 4:16 pm
Fans criticising at every chance they get. We're sitting 2-0 on top of the competition. 4 of the last 5 finals series, looking like we will get to another finals series this season. In a transition year might I add. Yet our fans take every opportunity to bag selections and pontificate like they know more than the combined football IQ of the entire raiders NRL coaching staff, which consists of 1000's of games worth of coaching experience. It's honestly baffling the ignorance of some.
Are you fans or are you just people who never got anywhere in your own life so you jump on and bag people to make yourselves feel important?
Some of your recent comments have been a bit over the top. It's disappointing as I think you have some reasonable views. This is a fan forum; fans are entitled to have their opinions and to voice them, whether it's about team selections or the coaching. But collectively we all want the team to win and to do well.
I like Ricky and hope we win a premiership with him. But if he's as infallible as you make him out to be, then he would have more than the one premiership that Graham Murray and Phil Gould built for him. We even saw some baffling selections at representative level, with the likes of Jamie Buhrer being selected for NSW. And games lost when he was the Australia coach with a team full of superstars, and the same paranoia that he exhibits now, accusing tournament organisers and match officials in the 2008 World Cup to conspire to cause the Australia loss
We are improving on last year and hope we continue to do so.
Dylan’s Raiders wrote:Whitehead still needs to be better than serviceable - Hoskinsings is a point of difference for us in attack, a top 2 tackler (only behind smiths chips), and averaged about 110 running metres.
Only a small sample size but Smell hasn’t averaged 100 meters since pre covid. He needs to be very good to warrant staying on the field in that position.
Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't have picked Whitehead in the starting lineup.
Bluesbrother wrote: ↑March 19, 2024, 4:16 pm
Fans criticising at every chance they get. We're sitting 2-0 on top of the competition. 4 of the last 5 finals series, looking like we will get to another finals series this season. In a transition year might I add. Yet our fans take every opportunity to bag selections and pontificate like they know more than the combined football IQ of the entire raiders NRL coaching staff, which consists of 1000's of games worth of coaching experience. It's honestly baffling the ignorance of some.
Are you fans or are you just people who never got anywhere in your own life so you jump on and bag people to make yourselves feel important?
Some of your recent comments have been a bit over the top. It's disappointing as I think you have some reasonable views. This is a fan forum; fans are entitled to have their opinions and to voice them, whether it's about team selections or the coaching. But collectively we all want the team to win and to do well.
I like Ricky and hope we win a premiership with him. But if he's as infallible as you make him out to be, then he would have more than the one premiership that Graham Murray and Phil Gould built for him. We even saw some baffling selections at representative level, with the likes of Jamie Buhrer being selected for NSW. And games lost when he was the Australia coach with a team full of superstars, and the same paranoia that he exhibits now, accusing tournament organisers and match officials in the 2008 World Cup to conspire to cause the Australia loss
We are improving on last year and hope we continue to do so.
Bluesbrother just has pro-Sticky views, reason doesn't really come into it
Bluesbrother wrote: ↑March 19, 2024, 4:16 pm
Fans criticising at every chance they get. We're sitting 2-0 on top of the competition. 4 of the last 5 finals series, looking like we will get to another finals series this season. In a transition year might I add. Yet our fans take every opportunity to bag selections and pontificate like they know more than the combined football IQ of the entire raiders NRL coaching staff, which consists of 1000's of games worth of coaching experience. It's honestly baffling the ignorance of some.
Are you fans or are you just people who never got anywhere in your own life so you jump on and bag people to make yourselves feel important?
I’ll continue to bag selections all I want.
We have Ferrari’s in the garage and Stick is still driving the Hillman.
3rd Battalion Royal Australian Regiment..Old Faithful
#emptythetank
I’ve been thinking about the selections and the only thing that comes to mind as to why we are seeing what we’re seeing, is a tough 2 week away stretch of NZ and then Sharks. Maybe this camp is a 2 week camp. NZ then Sydney. And he’s managing work loads.
This theory only comes true if we see the likes of Ata and Horse come back in next week. Ata is with the team so won’t play cup.
Hosking has been a game winner for us. Try assists and tries himself. I just don’t understand why he wouldn’t keep him there.
It's just frustration boiling over from fans because we want the team to be the best it can be but year after year we see team selections that are objectively stupid and doesn't make use of the full potential of the squad. The stupid team selections also always take a long time to correct and often it's had to be injuries that eventually force the 'correction'. Switching Cotric and Rapa to their weaker sides for no reason, Valemei having diabolical extended runs at wing and centre, Tapine wasting on the bench all game, Starling to lock, Elliot to hooker, Kris to fullback and then wing, a prop at lock for years when EVERY other team has moved on from that strategy and plenty more.
There's no consistency in the way that some players are given a mortgage on a spot in the 17 no matter how poorly they perform, while others can play well but still get dropped for no reason. If Ricky wants to whinge about consistency in refereeing and judiciary, he should think about how some of the players in his squad must feel about his own consistency.
"The game owes me nothing, I owe the game everything." - Alan Tongue
Regs Revolution wrote: ↑March 20, 2024, 7:14 am
I’ve been thinking about the selections and the only thing that comes to mind as to why we are seeing what we’re seeing, is a tough 2 week away stretch of NZ and then Sharks. Maybe this camp is a 2 week camp. NZ then Sydney. And he’s managing work loads.
This theory only comes true if we see the likes of Ata and Horse come back in next week. Ata is with the team so won’t play cup.
Hosking has been a game winner for us. Try assists and tries himself. I just don’t understand why he wouldn’t keep him there.
If we need to manage workloads for round three then I'm seriousy questioning the conditioning the boys are in. Especially given we've played two games to start the season where we haven't gotten beaten up in the forwards.
Sometimes the light at the end of the tunnel is just the train that's about to hit you.
If it is about managing workload then it wouldn't wait until players are already struggling. If ever a team was in a position to do it, its the Raiders this year.
I don't think that's the case though, I just think Ricky has a type of player he likes and age is a massive criteria for him with middle forwards.
gerg wrote: ↑March 19, 2024, 10:02 pm
I don't see AFB ripping in like he did last year. He's mentally moved on.
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Huh?
He ran for 155m last week, had a couple of offloads and made 21 tackles at 100%.
The week before he ran for 220m, scored a try, had two line-breaks, had another couple of offloads and made 24 tackles at 100%.
He’s averaging almost 190m per game and hasn’t missed a tackle yet. The guy is playing as well as ever.
Some wishful thinking there, Gerg, old mate.
Haha, yeah maybe. I mean he has always been a metre eater but he was absolutely destroying teams last year. I missed last week's game but thought the sharks contained him pretty well.
Although I don't think EW should be in the team as others are past him, I can understand as the captain u put him in. If nothing else to give him a chance to show he is good enough or realize he isn't. It will save u headaches of a disgruntled player later in the season. EW will have 3 tough games to show he has a great 30mins in him at NRL level against tough opponents so it'll be interesting.
As a side note I thought hoskings response to the news was really impressive.
Not the first time Ricky picks a captain not fit for first grade...
Seems like he's always a year or two behind on captain selections .....wait...team selections in general.
Mind boggling really and we will probably be punished for it come Friday arvo...
The thing is, I get EW is captain (that’s a mistake in itself) but Ricky sent Croker to reserves on more than one occasion due to form and old age. Why can’t he do the same to EW? Why is EW now untouchable?
The senior players have a say in selections too, right? Whitehead should just tell Stick look Hosking's been killing it, you can't possibly pick me. It's his last year, it's not like he needs to play for another contract
When Zac Hosking signed with the Raiders ahead of the 2024 season, he knew he wouldn’t break into the starting side straight away. But when Elliott Whitehead went down with a calf injury before Round 1, the former Panther was thrown onto the left edge.
Across his two games Hosking was arguably the best forward in the competition and tallied two tries and two try assists in wins over the Knights and Tigers.
The 27-year-old was excellent but has now been shifted back to the bench with Whitehead returning.
Ricky Stuart couldn’t drop his captain to the bench in place of Hosking, with Whitehead being one of the club’s most consistent forwards in recent years.
"Ricky Stuart couldn’t drop his captain to the bench in place of Hosking, with Whitehead being one of the club’s most consistent forwards in recent years."
Most consistent? At what? Being the worst on field?
"He will likely shift Josh Papalii to the bench, another veteran who has signalled he will hang up the boots after this season."
When and where has Papalii said he's retiring at the end of the year? Foxsports keep saying it, but I'm yet to see any quotes from the big man himself.
Last edited by Finchy on March 20, 2024, 1:19 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Finchy wrote: ↑March 20, 2024, 11:50 am"He will likely shift Josh Papalii to the bench, another veteran who has signalled he will hang up the boots after this season."
When and where has Papalii said he's retiring at the end of the year? Foxsports keeping say it, but I'm yet to see any quotes from the big man himself.
Hilarious disconnect between the standard, cliched media soundbites and what the overwhelming majority of fans see and feel.
A fortnight ago it was “Raiders dealt massive blow as EW is ruled out”.
Meanwhile, 98% of fans, whilst obviously not wishing injury on anyone, absolutely do not see it as a blow to our prospects at all but indeed the opposite.
Now apparently EW is our most consistent forward. They are not wrong in the sense that he is the most consistently mediocre forward we have.
There is absolutely no shame in being past it in your mid 30s. Peak Whitehead was sensational.
But Ricky will be taking the absolute piss if he takes his nostalgic jaunt with EW over Hosking for more than a week or two.
I am still hoping that Ricky names the team like this but that Hosking starts and Whitehead plays off the bench.
I can see the reasoning behind Whitehead coming straight back in when he is fit. He's the club captain and there doesn't seem to be any indication that any of the players are unhappy with this. As fans we don't know much about his presence and leadership at training or during games or what impact dropping him would have on the group as a whole. At the moment the players are saying they are all happy to do what is best for the team and speak highly of Ricky in the media.
It's hard to remember an off season of recruitment where the general consensus in the league media was that we had recruited poorly and where the new recruits had had such a massive impact so quickly and that is a fantastic problem to have.
pickles wrote: ↑March 20, 2024, 1:06 pm
I am still hoping that Ricky names the team like this but that Hosking starts and Whitehead plays off the bench.
I can see the reasoning behind Whitehead coming straight back in when he is fit. He's the club captain and there doesn't seem to be any indication that any of the players are unhappy with this. As fans we don't know much about his presence and leadership at training or during games or what impact dropping him would have on the group as a whole. At the moment the players are saying they are all happy to do what is best for the team and speak highly of Ricky in the media.
It's hard to remember an off season of recruitment where the general consensus in the league media was that we had recruited poorly and where the new recruits had had such a massive impact so quickly and that is a fantastic problem to have.
Although I disagree with the selection, I'd say most who are reasonable agree it's fair enough that a bloke who has contributed so much to this club, who is a recently retired international rep, gets a chance to show what he can do on lower minutes. It's completely understandable. What is difficult to understand is why we must persist with two fourth string props over Mariota and Mooney. I can see the reasoning behind playing one, but to insist on playing two is where we start to enter the realms of insanity imo.
I am ok With Whitehead starting and Hosking on the bench, as long as Whitehead is there to eat up the first 20 or so minutes of the tough stuff and then a fresh Hosking is put out there to reap the rewards.
Big issue I have is Red not selected and Guler and Saulo picked over Ata and Mooney.
I am ok With Whitehead starting and Hosking on the bench, as long as Whitehead is there to eat up the first 20 or so minutes of the tough stuff and then a fresh Hosking is put out there to reap the rewards.
Big issue I have is Red not selected and Guler and Saulo picked over Ata and Mooney.
Guler and Saulo should be playing big minutes in Cup to replace Tapine or Horse should one of them be unavailable.
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The challenge with all this is we arent locking players down in positions. Like some of the lines top backrowers run and combinations with halves and centres. Even for storm, setting up tries for their fullback. Nothing too complicated. We are trying to fit players into a team because they are all friends.
We struggled to score points last year- I dare say we wouldn't beat Knights and we would have won by <10 points against the Tigers with our side 12 months ago.
IMO need to lock down our positions with the best possible squad we can put out there- every week. No pick on sentiment and emotion. That's the only issue I have with whats going on.
Pretty sure there was an article where Hors talked about the fact that he had difficulty motivating himself in the off season knowing that he was going to start the season suspended and hadn't trained as well as he would have liked to as a result. If this is the case it would explain the return through NSW cup to ensure that his match fitness and desire is where it needs to be.
The balance of our prop rotation is going to be tough. Tapine and Paps are a walk up start if it and Hors probably moves into the prop rotation as well leaving one spot for Guler, Saulo, Ata and Mooney if everyone is fit and available. It's good depth to have for sure.
Yes Hors did raise those mental challenges in an article I read.
He must be a frustrated footballer to be charged so heavily for an action we keep seeing regularly in games without similar charges.
I think a further frustration would be that not a single ex player or NRL media personality thought he wouldn’t get the charge reduced on appeal.
I hope the judiciary panel members gave him follow up advice on their decision, because most league followers were pretty shocked by the outcome. I think most didn’t even think it was a shoulder charge because he hit the player mostly facing him.
Andymachine wrote: ↑March 20, 2024, 7:47 am
It's just frustration boiling over from fans because we want the team to be the best it can be but year after year we see team selections that are objectively stupid and doesn't make use of the full potential of the squad. The stupid team selections also always take a long time to correct and often it's had to be injuries that eventually force the 'correction'. Switching Cotric and Rapa to their weaker sides for no reason, Valemei having diabolical extended runs at wing and centre, Tapine wasting on the bench all game, Starling to lock, Elliot to hooker, Kris to fullback and then wing, a prop at lock for years when EVERY other team has moved on from that strategy and plenty more.
There's no consistency in the way that some players are given a mortgage on a spot in the 17 no matter how poorly they perform, while others can play well but still get dropped for no reason. If Ricky wants to whinge about consistency in refereeing and judiciary, he should think about how some of the players in his squad must feel about his own consistency.
If I can steal someone else bit... you left a few out
*checks notes* Allwood as centre... late era Croker... invisible 4th bench player...
Andymachine wrote: ↑March 20, 2024, 7:47 am
It's just frustration boiling over from fans because we want the team to be the best it can be but year after year we see team selections that are objectively stupid and doesn't make use of the full potential of the squad. The stupid team selections also always take a long time to correct and often it's had to be injuries that eventually force the 'correction'. Switching Cotric and Rapa to their weaker sides for no reason, Valemei having diabolical extended runs at wing and centre, Tapine wasting on the bench all game, Starling to lock, Elliot to hooker, Kris to fullback and then wing, a prop at lock for years when EVERY other team has moved on from that strategy and plenty more.
There's no consistency in the way that some players are given a mortgage on a spot in the 17 no matter how poorly they perform, while others can play well but still get dropped for no reason. If Ricky wants to whinge about consistency in refereeing and judiciary, he should think about how some of the players in his squad must feel about his own consistency.
You're making these comments without the full picture though. Definitely entitled to your opinion but you can't make claims like "for no reason". The reality is you know nothing about the inner workings, people/players and their discussions with the coaches.
The big picture is that the raiders have consistently overperformed with their roster when you compare us to other clubs. Yet that consistently gets ignored and fans still aren't happy with that and actively look to bag what the coaches are doing.
If you go out and ask fans from other clubs and followers of the NRL generally you would find that most consider us to consistent over achievers.
The 6909-day drought ends to give Raiders fans hope
Is the Green Machine the real deal? Top of the ladder for the first time since 2005 and a bumper opening home crowd has excitement building behind a new-look, youthful Canberra Raiders team.
"Two out of two, but we haven't done anything yet - it's Round 3 this week, so we've still got a lot of footy to play for the year and a lot more doubters to prove wrong," Joe Tapine said. "We'll keep in our little shell, keep working hard and doing what we do."
NRL prop power rankings: Have your say on the best and worst in the competition
Rank 2: RAIDERS
Joe Tapine, Josh Papali’i, Ata Mariota, Emre Guler, Pasami Saulo
The one-two punch of Tapine and Papalii is elite. They put the Raiders in a position to win every game they play. Guler from the bench adds another round of pain.
greeneyed wrote: ↑March 20, 2024, 6:25 pmNRL prop power rankings: Have your say on the best and worst in the competition
Rank 2: RAIDERS
Joe Tapine, Josh Papali’i, Ata Mariota, Emre Guler, Pasami Saulo
The one-two punch of Tapine and Papalii is elite. They put the Raiders in a position to win every game they play. Guler from the bench adds another round of pain.
greeneyed wrote: ↑March 20, 2024, 6:25 pmNRL prop power rankings: Have your say on the best and worst in the competition
Rank 2: RAIDERS
Joe Tapine, Josh Papali’i, Ata Mariota, Emre Guler, Pasami Saulo
The one-two punch of Tapine and Papalii is elite. They put the Raiders in a position to win every game they play. Guler from the bench adds another round of pain.
greeneyed wrote: ↑March 20, 2024, 6:25 pmNRL prop power rankings: Have your say on the best and worst in the competition
Rank 2: RAIDERS
Joe Tapine, Josh Papali’i, Ata Mariota, Emre Guler, Pasami Saulo
The one-two punch of Tapine and Papalii is elite. They put the Raiders in a position to win every game they play. Guler from the bench adds another round of pain.
