Round 3: RAIDERS vs TITANS

[C-Whiz]

I know this is against the general current consensus and it's hard for me to remain positive at this time, but I really HOPE we ditch the BS that we dished up on Sunday, have a good hard look at ourselves, and put something constructive together.

I don't want to get into the "sack Carty" mentality and then be hoping for bad results just to support that idea. I understand those who do, it's been 3 long years now, and I fully support your decision and reasoning, but it's not where I want to be right now.

What I want to see is the Titans rise to be a top 8 team, win more than we lose, and play deep into the finals. I'm a season member, I want to WANT to go to watch them play. I need to stay positive.

Titans to show us something, and win by anything.....

[Mexican titan]

I know this is against the general current consensus and it's hard for me to remain positive at this time, but I really HOPE we ditch the BS that we dished up on Sunday, have a good hard look at ourselves, and put something constructive together.

I don't want to get into the "sack Carty" mentality and then be hoping for bad results just to support that idea. I understand those who do, it's been 3 long years now, and I fully support your decision and reasoning, but it's not where I want to be right now.

What I want to see is the Titans rise to be a top 8 team, win more than we lose, and play deep into the finals. I'm a season member, I want to WANT to go to watch them play. I need to stay positive.

Titans to show us something, and win by anything.....

Good post mate, I agree with you completely and I think most people would. I have been savage on the coach this last week but there is nothing I would prefer than the team win and keep winning. Although I would like Carty out, for that to happen we need to lose a stack of games and it would be another year wasted. The alternative of winning and playing finals footy is a far better option. But all things considered we have had a very easy draw to start with so we need to be winning now.

It's quite strange for me to be wanting a coach out. I grew up following Manly and have followed them for over 40 years and been a member/season ticket holder for 30 years and I cannot ever recall wanting a coach sacked.

Let's hope things turn around and quickly.

[karnage]

Well said Whiz - the #sackCarty thing is just so relevant right now because we have a ready made replacement who can step in at a time in the season where there is everything in the world to play for. WE NEED A GOOD YEAR. We can't afford to let 2014 slip away as 11, 12 and 13 have and then make change when it is all too late.

For the record, I never 'hope' for bad results, but unfortunately I have come to expect them....

[Smakked]

Raiders by 10, just cannot see us getting a win down there of theback of the last 2 games, we have to much work today and 1 week is not enough time

[teke]

Blair had to be dropped. Great. But Taka is not the answer now and he will never, ever be the answer in the future. He is a second rower. His lateral movement is not good enough in defence so if our defence gets spread thin the likes of Milford, Croker and Robinson will cut him to ribbons.

It is so frustrating that our club can allow us to be so wafer thin in such a clutch position. We have one average starting centre and absolutely nobody behind him.

Canberra have scored 20+ away to the Knights and Cowboys, both of whom are better than us. They will score 20+ against us at home. We will not score 14.

The supposed lack of lateral movement is easily rectified by communication from the back (the fullback) and a good attitude. Taka may not be the answer but god dam the right side is going to be strengthened 20 fold both in defence and attack this weekend.

[Coaster]

Watching Blair rush in and watching poor old Mead following him knowing full well he was going to be in trouble was disheartening.

[teke]

What about when White came across and was the only one with his hands on Richardson, Blair was not one or 2 men in he was the 4th man in from the line

[karnage]

Fair enough. I hope you're right. Sundays was one of the few home games I haven't watched on TV after watching live. I just don't care to watch it.

[DIEHARD]

Stuart calls for support for Sunday's game
Tue 18th March, 03:06PM
Coach Ricky Stuart has called on the Canberra community to come out to GIO Stadium in droves this weekend to support both the Raiders and Brumbies at a promotion for Canberra Milk's 'Dual Code Offer.'

Canberra Milk, proud sponsor of both the Raiders and the Brumbies, have released on their milk bottles this weekend a ‘Dual Code Rugby General Admission (GA) Ticket Offer’ for either a Raiders or a Brumbies match, which aims to encourage the local community to get behind both footy codes.

Simply present 6 Dual Rugby Tokens that are found on the bottles to the box office on the day of the specified game to receive your GA ticket for just $10.

Kylie McCaffery, Marketing and Sponsorship Manager at Canberra Milk confirmed, "Our company is very excited about the upcoming matches for both the Raiders and Brumbies, and through providing this special offer on our 2 and 3 litre bottles we hope the local community feels inspired to get out and show their support of the two local rugby teams.”

The Raiders are set to embark on a new chapter in their proud history under the coaching of Ricky Stuart and greatly appreciate the on-going support from the iconic brand of Canberra Milk.

"The Raiders thank Garry Sykes and his Canberra Milk team for their on-going support, and in particular I applaud them for this dual-code initiative which provides benefit to the local community" commented Jason Mathie, Raiders Commercial and Marketing Manager.

The ‘Dual Code Rugby General Admission (GA) Ticket Offer’ will take place this weekend when the Raiders and the Brumbies will occupy GIO Stadium Canberra on consecutive days. The Brumbies take on the Stormers on Saturday the 22nd of March with the Raiders then taking on the Gold Coast Titans on Sunday the 23rd of March in what will be their first home match of the year.

http://www.raiders.com.au

[Supergoose]

Agree with the Nafe Seluini comments, he's certainly better than Matt Keating. I am enjoying the contribution of Paul Carter. He's a good 'un. Let's hope some hard decisions get made soon and we can get on city supporting a team that has a dig week in and week out.

[DIEHARD]

Titans face early injury crisis

Gold Coast coach John Cartwright has ruled out sending an SOS to former Eels hooker Matt Keating as he struggles to cobble together a side just three weeks into the 2014 Telstra Premiership.

Desperate to bounce back after a poor display against the Wests Tigers on Sunday, Cartwright is facing an early injury crisis with Beau Falloon (knee) and Aidan Sezer (quad) both in doubt despite being named in the squad of 19 to take on the Raiders on Sunday evening.

With Matt Srama still a number of weeks away with a shoulder injury, Sam Irwin injuring an ankle playing in the Intrust Super Cup last weekend and now Falloon in doubt, Cartwright's stocks at No.9 fall solely to part-time hooker Paul Carter.

Ironically, Keating himself was injured playing for Burleigh Bears also last weekend but even if he had been fit to play Cartwright insisted that the veteran of 130 NRL games is not an option at this stage.

"That would be too big an ask on Matt," Cartwright said. "There are alternatives there. Young Matty Beddow has done a lot of training there in the pre-season as well so once we know who's available and who's not we'll come up with a decision.

"If Beau's out we've got Paul Carter there but we'll also have to come up with another alternative there in the hookers."

It's not just the hooking position where the Titans are all of a sudden looking short with Sezer in doubt and Albert Kelly missing training on Tuesday morning. While Kelly is expected to be fit to play, talented young half Christian Hazard is also currently sidelined with a hamstring strain, making Sezer's replacement – should the Titans need one – a tricky selection.

"They're key players in key positions so we won't really know the make-up of the side until Saturday," Cartwright said.

"[Five-eighth] is where we're not really sure. There are some options there. We've got William Zillman who could slot in there and Mead at fullback, or Ashley Harrison. We'll talk about that once we know who is available and sit down with the coaches and discuss that.

"In key positions, they're the hard ones to replace. You can't tend to stockpile players in those positions but they're short-term, so if we can get them back and all available soon we'll be happy."

There was more encouraging news amongst the forwards with Greg Bird (shoulder), Ryan James (hamstring) and Mark Minichiello (virus) all named and expected to be able to take their place in the side.

Cartwright did also make one unforced change with Brad Takairangi brought in at right centre for Maurice Blair in order to address worrying defensive deficiencies exposed by the Tigers on Sunday.

"We gave up some tries there on the weekend that we don't think we should have given up with some decisions that went wrong," Cartwright said.

"'Taka' played a lot of footy last year with Albert on that right edge so we're just pairing them up again."

http://www.nrl.com/titans-face-early...3/default.aspx

[DIEHARD]

Anthony Milford delivering for Canberra Raiders in farewell season

Canberra livewire Anthony Milford is living up to the promise he gave to his teammates, vowing to leave on a high before joining Brisbane next season.

The Raiders are respecting Milford's decision and coach Ricky Stuart says they will not be pressuring the talented playmaker to keep him at the club before the June 30 deadline.

After tearing up Newcastle in spectacular fashion last weekend, the 19-year-old's next target is Sunday night's first home game of the season against the Gold Coast.

Raiders captain Terry Campese is among those eager to see what Milford can produce at Canberra Stadium as the damaging fullback continues to light up the NRL.

"He's a special talent and well deserved his man of the match on the weekend,'' Campese said.

''At the moment, it's about letting him play football and I think he's been showing what he can do for us.

''He told all the boys he was going to focus 100 per cent on this season.

''All the boys are there to help him out on whatever he wants to do and you couldn't ask more of him.''

Milford's parents have relocated to Canberra this year to help ease his homesickness before he moves to Brisbane at the end of this season.

It has appeared to already have paid dividends, the reigning Mal Meninga medallist as the Raiders' player of the year having a blinder in the 26-20 win against the Knights.

Milford made three line breaks, a try assist and ran for 208 metres in a dominating performance to lead the Raiders to their first victory of the season.

The Raiders were reported to be building a $1 million per season war chest to help change Milford's mind but Stuart said the club would support whichever way the boom youngster wanted to go.

"Anthony's made his decision, it's very unfortunate that he will be at the Broncos,'' Stuart said.

''I said it at the start of the year that we've got Anthony for 2014 and we'll enjoy the culture we're growing and building.

''It's only early but we've got a healthy attitude and building a culture here at the club.''

The Raiders will go in with a makeshift forward pack minus Kangaroos enforcer Josh Papalii and workaholic lock Shaun Fensom.

Papalii will miss four to six weeks with an ankle injury, while Fensom will serve a one-game suspension for a crusher tackle after taking an early guilty plea for the dangerous contact charge on Knights centre Dane Gagai.

"It's a big loss, they're our two star back-rowers,'' Campese said.

"The guys that fill in those positions have a job to do.''

Representative prop David Shillington returns on the bench for his first game this season after he missed the opening two rounds with a rib injury.

Front-rower Paul Vaughan moves to lock, Jarrad Kennedy starts in the second row and Matt McIlwrick is included on the bench.

McIlwrick has played the majority of his 12 games at hooker but has impressed in the NSW Cup with Mounties as a second-rower.

Prop Tom Learoyd-Lahrs is at least another week away with an ankle injury.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/

[DIEHARD]

Canberra Raiders' five-eighth Jack Wighton thrives on Ricky Stuart's backing

Jack Wighton was kicking himself after his debut at five-eighth, but the 21-year-old has credited the unconditional backing of Canberra coach Ricky Stuart for helping him ‘’bury some demons’’ in Sunday’s 26-20 win at Newcastle.

Wighton admits he was spooked by kicking out on the full in his first touch in the No.6 jersey in Canberra's round one loss to the North Queensland Cowboys.

But, urged by Stuart to take the first few kicks of the game against the Knights, Wighton delivered a pinpoint grubber for centre Jarrod Croker to open the scoring. Wighton also pulled off a 40-20 late in the game which helped Canberra seal victory.

“It was a game plan and he [Stuart] kept confidence in me with my kicking,’’ Wighton said.

“It was great to see he didn’t try and take any part of my game away, he showed full confidence.

“That grubber was a bit of self assurance and it felt good getting a bit of consistency in my kicks.

“[There were] a lot of demons actually. I left that behind me and just played.’’

Wighton finished with two try assists and his early ball to Croker was a major weapon for the Raiders.

While the left edge Wighton patrols suffered a couple of communication breakdowns in defence, Wighton looked more comfortable than he did in Townsville.

Stuart confirmed he had urged Wighton to take the first few kicks and ease the burden on regular kicker Terry Campese.

“We planned to kick down that left edge and I wasn’t going to move Campo over to do it,’’ Stuart said.

“Jack had to do it, it’s his job.

“I wouldn’t give him a challenge or task if I didn’t think he’d be up to it.’’

Stuart made two big positional changes in the off-season, moving Wighton to five-eighth and shifting halfback Josh McCrone to hooker.

Both showed signs of blossoming against the Knights, with McCrone helping swing momentum in Canberra’s favour when he came on midway through the first half.

He scored a 25-metre try from dummy half and raised the intensity in attack.

“A lot of people doubted the change but it’s the right balance for us at the moment,'' Stuart said.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/l...#ixzz2wMfK4qx5

[Titanic]

Transiting Hong Kong and missed most of this discussion but surely it's too early tone playing the "injury" card, that really craps me off. We have a club. We have depth and we have young blokes. Also as has been mentioned many times … Tighe plays right, Blair plays left (ask Bellamy, I did last Saturday night) … WTF?

[Skyfire]

Transiting Hong Kong and missed most of this discussion but surely it's too early tone playing the "injury" card, that really craps me off. We have a club. We have depth and we have young blokes. Also as has been mentioned many times … Tighe plays right, Blair plays left (ask Bellamy, I did last Saturday night) … WTF?

Smokescreens ahoy.

It's the heat. It's injuries. In NFL they have more staff.