{"id":76893,"date":"2025-08-25T15:25:31","date_gmt":"2025-08-25T05:25:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.neds.com.au\/blog\/?p=76893"},"modified":"2025-08-26T10:28:57","modified_gmt":"2025-08-26T00:28:57","slug":"nrl-round-26-are-the-raiders-the-real-deal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.neds.com.au\/blog\/2025\/08\/nrl-round-26-are-the-raiders-the-real-deal\/","title":{"rendered":"NRL Round 26: Are the Raiders the Real Deal?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Risky Raiders or Ricky\u2019s Raiders?<\/strong> <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Running the length off a rebounded field goal attempt in Golden Point typifies the Canberra Raiders under Ricky Stuart in NRL season 2025.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I myself was guilty of firing off the \u2018that\u2019s the most Raiders way ever to beat the Panthers\u2019 <\/em>texts at fulltime on Friday night as Canberra pulled off another impossible winning moment, but there\u2019s another way of looking at it.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

on one hand, the chaotic fashion in which the Raiders won in NRL Round 25 is unrepeatable, unreliable and arguably unfavourable as an attacking system.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the other hand, it\u2019s exactly<\/em> the kind of identity and connection that the best attacking teams in the NRL play with. Not to mention it\u2019s also hardly the first time Canberra have produced a buzzer beater miracle this year, which by default does<\/em> make their footy somewhat<\/em> repeatable.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m keen to sing the praises of Ethan Strange in particular this week, but not for his match-winning highlight reel assist for Kaeo Weekes.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A week after he put three of the best on Daly Cherry-Evans, Strange was back in the box seat with three crucial try involvements as Canberra ran down the defending champs.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first – a simple looking pass assist for Simi Sasagi – is my favourite because of its repeatability. Canberra have set up on the right post to earn a 6\/5 split in the defensive line (six defenders on the open side, five on the blind) and stack six along their backline accordingly.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s a simple numbers match up designed to put Strange (and his outside men) into a one-on-one situation with room to move, and they nail it.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brad Schneider works hard in the line to be fairly square with Strange when he takes possession outside the Hudson Young lead. Izack Tago is similarly well positioned on Sasagi one channel wider, but when Strange jinks on his run to put a subtle in-and-away on Schneider, Tago bites.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s only half a step but it\u2019s all Strange needs. He takes the cue and throws into space while Sasagi skips overs on the pass to beat Tago on the outside before he even catches the ball.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Simple. Repeatable. Try time.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the past two weeks Strange has ironed out some reliable, repeatable and very effective attacking actions down Canberra\u2019s left edge. That\u2019s a huge tick of approval for Ricky\u2019s Raiders who now have some genuine repeatable actions to fall back on in the pressure cooker of finals footy.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Leave Lachie Alone!<\/strong> <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s pretty late in the season to be tinkering with systems and lineups but that\u2019s exactly where the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs find themselves heading into NRL Round 26.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lachlan Galvin continues to dominate any conversations around the Bulldogs but he\u2019s just one of a few moving pieces for Cameron Ciraldo to manage right now. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Galvin\u2019s 81 touches against Melbourne in NRL Round 25 though goes a long way to capturing both the type of player he is and the reason why<\/em> Canterbury moved heaven and earth to fit him in.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Few young halves look as confident playing on the ball as Galvin does. Even fewer can do so against one of the best defensive systems in the NRL who were tirelessly rushing off the line to pressure the Bulldogs attack last week. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

With 159 metres from a ridiculous 28 runs, Galvin was a constant threat to the defence on Friday night. There were times (as the commentary was keen to note) when it looked a little clunky or awkward as he skipped across field looking for support, but overall Galvin is an undeniable net-positive on the Bulldogs attack.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The panic and disruption Galvin puts into the defence won\u2019t always translate into personal attacking numbers (Galvin had just one linebreak from 81 receipts in NRL Round 25). His influence is more fairly measured though in how the Bulldogs capitalise on the looks or moments Galvin creates, one or a few tackles later. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The highlights will show Stephen Crichton and Connor Tracey combining beautifully for a short side raid to put Jacob Kiraz over in the 70th minute. What they don\u2019t<\/em> show is Galvin playing on the ball in yardage one set earlier, helping to put Canterbury into position to fire a shot.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He collects an offload on his own 20m line to carry the Bulldogs an extra 15 yards out of trouble on play two.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He then quickly orchestrates a midfield yardage shift that almost puts Crichton through on the right edge. Galvin\u2019s willingness to dig deep and engage the line before passing not only creates the space for Crichton in this instance but also earns a penalty for a late tackle.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now in better field position, Galvin pops up on the left edge this time to drop Viliame Kikau back underneath and open up the right side again.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another reception from pivot holds up a sliding Storm defence and allows Matt Burton to swing late, creating the extra number to very nearly tip Jacob Preston through the line.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Melbourne\u2019s right edge has just been hit with two different looks in the last two sets; both of them orchestrated by Galvin. Under pressure and fatigue, they can\u2019t solve the problem a third time as Crichton digs, Tracey tips, and Kiraz scores.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Look where Ryan Papenhuyzen\u2019s – and Melbourne\u2019s – attention was for Kiraz\u2019s try. Galvin and Burton can be seen resetting into shape on the open side of the field, and that\u2019s where Papenhuyzen sends the extra number as Melbourne organise their line.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

All the while, Crichton spots Cam Munster engaged at marker while a tired middle fills up down the short side and ices the look to find Kiraz in an overlap situation.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Galvin isn\u2019t even in the frame as Kiraz dots down in the corner but deserves plenty of credit for creating that look for the Bulldogs attack. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Canterbury are one-and-three in the past month but Friday\u2019s loss to Melbourne was a different story.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

With a 500+ metre yardage differential and an absurd 10 linebreaks generated, the Bulldogs attack can take plenty of confidence from that performance. Only a desperate defensive performance from Melbourne in the scramble denied the Bulldogs last week but there are positive signs for Canterbury leading into the finals if you\u2019re prepared to look a little closer.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Are you happy to back the Bulldogs to upset the Panthers next week? Let us know in the comments.\u00a0<\/em>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Running the length off a rebounded field goal attempt in Golden Point typifies the Canberra Raiders under Ricky Stuart in NRL season 2025.   I myself was guilty of firing off the \u2018that\u2019s the most Raiders way ever to beat the Panthers\u2019 texts at fulltime on Friday night as Canberra pulled off another impossible winning moment, but there\u2019s another way of looking at it.   on one hand, the chaotic fashion in which the Raiders won in NRL Round 25 is unrepeatable, unreliable and arguably unfavourable as an attacking system.   On the other hand, it\u2019s exactly the kind of identity and connection…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":34,"featured_media":76894,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[24],"hub_post_cat":[8162],"class_list":["post-76893","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-rugby-league","tag-rugby-league"],"acf":{"md_tip_date":"","md_tip_date_end":"","md_market_url":"","tip_date":"25\/08\/2025","event_country":"Australia"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.neds.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76893","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.neds.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.neds.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.neds.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/34"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.neds.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=76893"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.neds.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76893\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.neds.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/76894"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.neds.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=76893"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.neds.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=76893"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.neds.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=76893"},{"taxonomy":"hub_post_cat","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.neds.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hub_post_cat?post=76893"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}