Here comes the hot stepper: Strange back to torment crack Sea Birds
Ethan Strange is back as five-eighth and that gives Canberra a little X-factor in the Red Zone and elsewhere. Manly's good, though. But we'll beat them in Big Papa's 301.
Another coin toss game for the Machine, and with Ethan Strange wearing the No.6 jumper again after the odd appearance of him in the No.18 last week, I predict … I dunno.
We can win, for sure. Funny game, this National Rugby League. The wooden spoon candidates Parramatta Eels almost beat probable premiers Penrith Panthers last night, the Dragons beat Storm, Titans beat Broncos … if you hold the ball, kick for the corners, smash them, and repeat, and have a bit of a crack on the edges and fringes, meaning use one’s skills rather than only crash-balls and bullocking, you can knock over Manly at the excellent time-slot of 3pm on a Saturday afternoon.
With Strange back it gives our Canberra Raiders some potency where it’s needed, that being close to the line. I dunno if we’re not standing deep, or timing passes as well as they might be, but we’re battling to put on points in backline plays. They’re holding us on those edges. Penrith couldn’t hold Parra last night. It was about shape, quick hands, having a crack, trusting your skills.
Hudson Young’s grubber is case in point. Seb Kris’s flick pass. Have a go, champions.
In Important Punting News, the $2.42 for the Raiders is overs in a toss a coin game. One thing in punters’ favour is that odds are driven by people which is driven by press, in certain circumstances, and there’s an Accepted Group Think from press and fans/punters, who are largely based in Sydney because that’s where many people live, that Manly are a smokey for the finals, and the Raiders will likely run 10th.
And you can see where they’re coming from. It’s not their fault. Manly’s very typical of a “Sydney” side that’s pumped by their media, because Sydney media focuses on Sydney teams. It’s not a bad thing, or wrong. Just is. The Canberra Times won’t tell you how the North Queensland Cowboys are going, the Herald Sun cares not for the Dolphins of Redcliffe.
And The Daily Telegraph won’t tell their readers that much about Canberra Raiders, Melbourne Storm and North Queensland Cowboys, their audience isn’t into them. There are stories. Even occasional features. But it’s how it rolls.
Which means you can get what is known in professional punting parlance as “overs” when you’ve got a head-to-head. This is a toss a coin game. Our forwards can crush theirs, even the madman Nathan Brown. In fact especially him - he’ll hurl off the back fence, Josh Papali’i will know he’s coming. Joe Tapine, too. They could smash him into next week.
They have some guns, of course. As our edge men had a big job on Stephen Crichton, so too they’ll have one of the great and long-striding Tom Trbojevic.
But, again, our form the last five games, even if we’re two-and-three, has been good. Can’t knock defence, can’t knock fitness, can’t knock.
Can knock endeavour - they have to get better shape in those backline plays, and do more with the offloads, and do what Penrith do and if there’s nothing on just go forward, and win each individual ruck, contest, clash, bash-fest with Browny.
As we did in the rain at Brookvale last time we beat these people, I was soaked on the hill, it was glorious.
And at 4:46pm today I predict Raiders 21 will defeat Manly Sea Eagles in golden point, and there could be a half-time draw too, as there was against the Bulldogs and for which bookmakers gave me 9-1, and upon which I plonked a lobster and will thus buy something nice, thinking a light hoodie, saw my mate Steve in a grey Rip Curl one the other day, fancied it.
Up the Milk!