It’s never wise to doubt Ricky Stuart and what he can do with a roster – and that’s why we think they’ll avoid the spoon – but the Canberra Raiders are just simply too green to challenge properly this year.
And no, we don’t mean the club colours (though it does help us write the headline). Instead, the roster is just filled with too many young faces or stars figuring out their place in the team.
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For many, it feels like Ricky and the Raiders powerbrokers may have missed the mark on what should have been the start of a 2020s rebuild. They picked up a star English recruit, international second rower Matty Nicholson, and grabbed Ethan Sanders from the Eels, but neither feels like they’re going to fire the squad back into finals play any time soon.
As we said though – never tip against Ricky too hard. He’ll get them firing, just maybe not this season.
Or, if he fails to find the juice, it may be the end of the long Stuart reign in Canberra.
Round 1 side: 1. Kaeo Weekes 2. Xavier Savage 3. Matthew Timoko 4. Sebastian Kris 5. Savellio Tamale 6. Ethan Strange 7. Jamal Fogarty 8. Josh Papali’i 9. Tom Starling 10. Joseph Tapine 11. Hudson Young 12. Zac Hosking 13. Morgan Smithies Bench: 14. Owen Pattie 15. Corey Horsburgh 16. Matty Nicholson 17. Trey Mooney
Coach: Ricky Stuart (12th year)
Biggest loss: Elliott Whitehead Biggest gain: Matty Nicholson
First five: Warriors (Las Vegas), Broncos (H), Sea Eagles (A), Cowboys (A), Sharks (H)
Last year’s finish: 9th
Predicted 2025 finish: 12th
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TopSport odds: Premiers: $34, Top 4: $8.50, Final 8: $3.10, Most Losses: $9.50
