2008 Canberra Raiders season

2008 Canberra Raiders season
National Youth Competition champions
NRL   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   Alan Tongue
Stadium   Canberra Stadium
Ave. Attend.   11,913
High. Attend.   15,550
Top scorers
Tries   Adrian Purtell (15)
Goals   Todd Carney (46)
Points   Terry Campese (120)
 < 2007 List of seasons 2009 > 

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.

Contents

Season summary

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 in to 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 know 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.

Season Results

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

Toyota Cup (Under 20s)

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]

Club Awards

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

Squad

Players used outside top 25

Released mid-season

Run-on Team

Canberra Raiders Run-on Team

Ladders

Team Pld W D L B PF PA PD Pts
1 Melbourne 24 17 0 7 2 584 282 +302 38
2 Manly-Warringah 24 17 0 7 2 645 355 +290 38
3 Cronulla 24 17 0 7 2 451 384 +67 38
4 Sydney Roosters 24 15 0 9 2 511 446 +65 34
5 Brisbane 24 14 1 9 2 560 452 +108 33
6 Canberra 24 13 0 11 2 640 527 +113 30
7 St. George Illawarra 24 13 0 11 2 489 378 +111 30
8 New Zealand 24 13 0 11 2 502 567 -65 30
9 Newcastle 24 12 0 12 2 516 486 +30 28
10 Wests Tigers 24 11 0 13 2 528 560 -32 26
11 Parramatta 24 11 0 13 2 501 547 -46 26
12 Penrith 24 10 1 13 2 504 611 -107 25
13 Gold Coast 24 10 0 14 2 476 586 -110 24
14 South Sydney 24 8 0 16 2 453 666 -213 20
15 North Queensland 24 5 0 19 2 474 638 -164 14
16 Bulldogs 24 5 0 19 2 433 782 -349 14
Team Pld W D L B PF PA PD Pts
1 Canberra 24 18 0 6 2 744 581 +163 40
2 Brisbane 24 15 1 8 2 684 476 +208 35
3 New Zealand 24 14 3 7 2 721 533 +188 35
4 Penrith 24 15 1 8 2 692 583 +109 35
5 Parramatta 24 14 3 7 2 578 564 +14 35
6 St. George Illawarra 24 13 2 9 2 561 520 +41 32
7 Bulldogs 24 12 3 9 2 711 587 +124 31
8 Gold Coast 24 13 1 10 2 686 567 +119 31
9 Wests Tigers 24 13 0 11 2 620 623 -3 30
10 South Sydney 24 11 2 11 2 618 584 +34 28
11 Manly 24 11 0 13 2 519 532 -13 26
12 Newcastle 24 8 1 15 2 526 630 -104 21
13 Melbourne 24 8 1 15 2 512 638 -126 21
14 Cronulla 24 6 1 17 2 394 666 -272 17
15 Sydney 24 6 0 18 2 480 721 -241 16
16 North Queensland 24 4 3 17 2 455 696 -241 15


References

  1. ^ AAP (3 April 2008). "Rabbits firm as wooden spoon tip". stuff.co.nz. http://www.stuff.co.nz/AAMB10/aamsz=275x15_TEXTLINK/4462706a10713.html. Retrieved 2008-04-06. 
  2. ^ Raiders snatch golden point premiership, Canberra Raiders, 5 October 2008.
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