Canberra Raiders

Sean Fagan of RL1908.com

Since they were included for the 1982 season the Canberra Raiders have been one of the more successful examples of premiership club expansion.

Unlike Newcastle and Brisbane which have large Rugby League cultures to support them, the Australian Capital Territory and nearby Queanbeyan is not anywhere near as strong a base.

The region seems to want to support winners, shifting allegiances once a local team is amongst the top teams. The Raiders acknowledge the situation and are well aware of the constant battle for support they are in.

Nonetheless, Rugby League does have a long history in the Raiders' area, even back to before Canberra was established as Australia's national capital city. Matches of rugby between teams from Queanbeyan and Goulburn were being played in the years before Rugby League arrived in NSW. With the demise of rugby union immediately after the Great War, Rugby League was played in the Canberra area as a series of challenge cups through the 1920s.

The Federal Capital Territory and District Rugby League competition started in 1928. Teams involved in this competition competed for the Canberra Times Shield. An indication of the high standard of play was the selection of Queanbeyan winger Alan Ridley for the 1929 Kangaroo tour, as was Eric Weissel from the adjacent Riverina area where the famous Maher Cup was taking hold. Cup competitions were very popular in the southern districts of NSW and the 'fever' soon spread to the Australian Capital Territory (ACT).

The demand for Cup football brought about the demise of the local premiership competition in 1937 and the Massy Cup (from 1930) and the Carr Cup (from 1933) took the limelight. After the teams in each cup competition had battled out for a winner, the two cup champions would take on each other for the Group 8 Championship. Some of the teams were Canberra Rovers, Federal Rovers, Warrigals and Queanbeyan.

World War Two brought a temporary closure to the playing of competitive Rugby League in Group 8 before it recommenced in 1946. The ACT District Rugby League commenced under a regular competition format in 1947 without the old Massy and Carr Cups. The district had another Kangaroo tourist selected in 1948 when Johnny Hawke made the trip to England. In 1946 Canberra was also given its first international match with a game against the touring British Lions. The Canberra representative side, also at times called Monaro, regularly gained matches against touring sides in the following decades. The team beat France in 1955 and Great Britain in 1977 (with Larry Corowa scoring five tries).

Rugby League struggled through the 1950s after a reorganised 'zone' system was adopted for the Group 8 area. Three zones were implemented with Crookwell, Goulburn and Canberra as the centre of each. The system failed and dramatically affected the popularity of the game, which didn't start to improve until the mid 1960s. The ACT competition was granted its own Group status under the NSW Country Rugby League in 1974 and the clubs played for the Molongolo Shield. Under coach Don Furner Queanbeyan United became the most successful club during the late 1960s and again in the 1970s. The 'Blues' won six premierships between 1973 and 1981, including the last four straight.

With the NSWRL looking to expand out of Sydney the Queanbeyan Leagues Club, under Les McIntyre, put forward a proposal to operate a Canberra club in the premiership. Their dominance of the local competition was seeing local interest on the wane, even though the area's football talent and depth was at an all time high. Canberra battled against a bid from Campbelltown for inclusion, and had to overcome concerns from Sydney clubs about travel costs to matches at Queanbeyan. The bid was eventually accepted once Canberra agreed to pay the travel expenses of visiting teams for the initial seasons.

The first Canberra jersey design was the result of a public competition. The blue and gold coloured piping was a continuation of the ACT representative jerseys, while the predominant green along with the white is recognised as the colours of the Hall club, which was the first Rugby League team in the district.

While the club was to play in NSW at Queanbeyan's Seiffert Oval (adjacent to the Queanbeyan Leagues club that was backing it), the name of Canberra was adopted to include the much larger ACT and the nation's capital. Initial nicknames suggested for Canberra included the Senators, Capitols and Warrigals before the far more popular Raiders was finally settled upon.

Canberra struggled in their first two seasons, suffering some fearful hidings. Their initial year included an embarrassing 45-0 loss to Illawarra Steelers who were also in their debut season. A highlight was the first win which was over Newtown at Seiffert Oval. The club finished in last place and struggled to attract any big name players. The home crowds though were encouraging and coach Don Furner convinced supporters and officials to be patient.

The Raiders began 1984 in sensational form, winning six of their first eight matches. The team included Ron Giteau, Chris O'Sullivan, Terry Regan, Gary Spears, Terry Fahey, Sam Backo, Ashley Gilbert, David Grant, Ivan Henjak and Craig Bellamy. Canberra couldn't sustain the pace, but managed to reach a play-off for fifth place against Souths at the SCG.

Before and after the 1986 season was very productive for Canberra in the player market. With Queensland coach Wayne Bennett assisting Furner at the Raiders, the club gained many top players from the Brisbane competition. The most notable signing was Test centre Mal Meninga, but also arriving in this period were Gary Belcher, Peter Jackson. Gary Coyne and the Walters brothers Steve and Kevin. Dean Lance was made club captain. In an era where the Sydney based Rugby League media had no real appreciation of the talent emerging in Queensland, the improved playing roster of the Raiders was largely dismissed as a premiership force.

However, by the end of the season Canberra had proven them all wrong by disposing of Easts in the Final and nagging away at Manly right through the 1987 Grand Final before losing 18-8. The side gained further in 1988 when young players Glenn Lazarus, Laurie Daley, Brad Clyde (from local club Belconnen) and Ricky Stuart (from Queanbeyan Whites rugby union) became established First Graders. Under new coach Tim Sheens the Raiders again made the play-offs but consecutive losses abruptly ended the season.

In 1989 the Raiders suffered a mid-season form slump while their top players were away on an Australian team tour to New Zealand. They managed to reach the top five, but faced knockout matches the whole way. Canberra defeated Cronulla 31-10, Penrith 27-18 and South Sydney 32-16 to reach the Grand Final against Balmain. In what many call the greatest Grand Final in the NSWRL premiership, Canberra were down 12-2 at half-time and 14-8 inside the final two minutes.

A 'bomb' from Chris O'Sullivan bounced off the Balmain fullback into the hands of Daley who found John 'Chicka' Ferguson on his outside who raced across for the try. Meninga converted and sent the game into extra-time where the Raiders prevailed 19-14 to win the premiership. It was the first time a club outside of Sydney had won the Grand Final and there were wild scenes back in the nation's capital.

In 1990 the Raiders moved away from Queanbeyan to the newly rebuilt Bruce Stadium in Canberra as the club returned to the Grand Final. Facing a Penrith team in their first Grand Final, the experienced Raiders raced to a 12-0 lead. The Panthers hit back to be only two points behind at half-time. Canberra's winger Matthew Wood sprinted to the corner to snare another try and give his side an eight points lead, which Penrith couldn't overcome. Two premierships in two seasons was an impressive performance for a club that was still not yet ten years old.

In 1991 the Raiders were seeking to be the first club since Parramatta to achieve a rare three Grand Final wins in a row. Canberra was still in with a chance as they returned to the decider where they were to again play Penrith. Scores were locked at 12-all well inside the final quarter of match. However, Penrith edged in front with a field goal and then clinched the game with a try from a short dropout by Canberra who were fast running out of time.

Canberra's 1990 premiership team was found to have been over the NSWRL salary cap, which outraged the officials and fans of the other clubs. At the same time the club fell into a crippling financial debt and faced closure. Forced to release its best players a 'Save The Raiders' fund was set-up to keep the club afloat and retain their stars. After Meninga and Sheens agreed to stay for 1992 the majority of the team did the same. Front rowers Lazarus and Brent Todd were the most notable losses. Canberra finished the 1992 season in twelfth place.

Meninga's final season in 1994 inspired the club as they charged back up the Table. Canberra reached its fifth Grand Final in just eight seasons where they were confronted by minor premiers Canterbury. In the end it was no contest, as the Bulldogs had no answer the 'Green Machine' who beat the Bulldogs 36-12. Emotions overflowed when Meninga grabbed an intercept near the end of the game and steamed away for a try.

The Raiders seemed to have overcome their off field dramas and appeared certain to remain a premiership force for the rest of the 1990s at least. However, Canberra aligned itself with the News Ltd side of the Super League battle and the instability of the era disrupted the team. The club was also unable to replace the plethora of star players that retired or left as the decade came to an end.

The Raiders finished 1995 in second place but fell to Canterbury in the Final after delivering an uninspiring performance. Under Super League in 1997 the Raiders were coached by Meninga and the side struggled early on in the season. Canberra reached the Final in the 10-team competition but couldn't overcome Cronulla at their home field.

The Raiders then went into decline for the next few seasons. They finished in seventh place in the first NRL competition out of twenty teams and dropped further in 1999, missing the finals for the first time since 1992. Many of Canberra's fans swapped allegiances to the local rugby union Super12 side that were achieving better success.

Under coach Matthew Elliott the Raiders began to recover some lost ground. In 2002 their home form was so impressive it was enough to secure them a place in the semi-finals, despite winning only one game away from the ACT. 2003 heralded a return to the glory days as the Raiders took on the position of premiership pacesetters. With the ageless Ruben Wiki leading the charge, Canberra mounted their first serious title challenge since the mid-90s, winning seven games to open the season. However, the 'Green Machine' fell a game short of the Final after losing a gripping semi to the New Zealand Warriors by a point.

The club failed to build upon the 2003 position, and did not mount a serious challenge against the premiership heavy-weights until finishing the 2008 regular season in sixth place. A disappointing 36-10 loss to Cronulla in the opening semi-final weekend was compounded when an upset win by the 8th-placed Warriors over the minor premiers Melbourne, brought the Raiders campaign to an abrupt end.

Canberra though were clear-cut Minor Premiers in the NRL's Under 20's National Youth Competition, going on to win the Grand Final over Brisbane, and giving strong indications that the rise of the Raiders' juniors might signal a repeat of the late 1980s era.